Rentista Residence

1. Residence permit12 months
2. Renew12 months at a time

• Permanent residency
• Citizenship
• Dual citizenship not allowed
• Language required for citizenship

Country

Nicaragua

Program

Rentista Residence

Local name

Residencia Temporal de Rentista

Type

Passive income

Status

Active

Initial duration

12 months

Renewable

Yes (12 mo)

Temporary residence for a foreigner with stable, permanent income from abroad. The stay is granted for three months to one year and can be renewed. The current migration law defines the category and does not set a dollar amount.

Tax regime

Territorial

Foreign income taxed

No

Capital gains taxed

Yes

Method

in country, consulate

Apply from abroad

Yes

Ley 1228, article 2 bis, defines a rentista as a foreigner who receives stable, permanent income from abroad. Article 25(12) places the category in temporary residence, for three months to one year, renewable. It is not one of the permanent-residence subcategories. The annual temporary-residence card for subcategories that are not on the reduced list is CA$200. Rentista is not on that list. A dependent under article 25(13) pays CA$100. The residence form is CA$3. A separate permit to do paid work costs CA$200. Amounts are paid in córdobas at the Central Bank rate, and the fees shown use the tariff at par with the US dollar. A return-ticket guarantee deposit is due unless article 128 applies. Rentistas are not on that exemption list. Ley 694, repealed on 2 August 2024, had set the rentista test at US$750 a month in the 2009 text and US$1,250 in the 2020 consolidated text, plus US$150 per dependent, with immediate permanent residence and import relief. Those rules are gone. The 2012 regulation still asks for proof of the foreign income and an INTUR ratification. Ley 1228 ordered the executive to adapt the regulation. No adapted text, and no current income floor, was found. Absence of more than six months can cancel the stay. There is no remaining route from this temporary category to permanent residence, and naturalization is counted from a permanent-residence card. A later naturalization requires renunciation of the original nationality, except for Central Americans of origin living in Nicaragua. The 2012 regulation, article 125, still requires a Spanish, geography, history and civics test, with exemptions and no published level. Tax is the ordinary territorial income tax. Foreign income is outside it. Nicaraguan-source capital gains are taxed. Article 32 lets a rentista make investments at the amounts MIFIC sets without leaving this category. Those amounts are not published.

1. Oct 10, 2026

   Added

   created. Ley 1228 keeps rentista residence as a temporary category after Ley 694 was repealed, and the annual card is CA$200 (legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni).