Nicaragua pensionado visa 2026: the Ley 694 income requirement, single or married, and how a life annuity qualifies
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: Nicaragua’s pensionado residency under Ley 694 requires a stable, permanent pension received abroad of US$1,000 a month for a single applicant and US$1,150 for a couple ($150 more per dependent), with a minimum age of 45; the old $600 figure was raised in the law’s 2020 consolidated text. The law counts pensions from private institutions, so a life annuity from a US insurer bought while you still live in the US fits: at 62, about $152,000 to $172,000 of premium buys $1,000 a month for life (illustrative, September 2026 rates). The status is indefinite but requires six months a year in Nicaragua and yearly proof the money arrived.
Free guide: Moving abroad on a fixed income
Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
The Nicaragua pensionado visa requirement in 2026
Nicaragua’s retiree program is set by Ley 694, the Law to Promote the Entry of Pensioner and Rentista Residents. The figure many older guides quote, $600 a month, is out of date. The consolidated text of the law published in La Gaceta No. 156 of August 21, 2020 (with amendments through March 2020) sets these amounts:
| Item | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Residente pensionado | A pension from governments or public or private institutions, received abroad in a stable and permanent way, of US$1,000 a month | Ley 694 art. 2 and art. 4(1) |
| Residente rentista | Stable, permanent income generated abroad from profit distributions, rent or similar lawful business, of US$1,250 a month | Ley 694 art. 2 and art. 4(2) |
| Each dependent family member | +US$150 a month | Ley 694 art. 5 |
| Minimum age | 45 (exception for people already on an early pension, art. 23) | Ley 694 art. 10(3) |
| Proof of income | A certificate from the payer showing the monthly amount, its permanence and stability, and that it can pay for at least five years | Ley 694 art. 10(2) |
| Status length | Indefinite; residence card renewed under the migration law | Ley 694 arts. 13(3), 17 |
The law also comes with perks: duty-free household goods up to US$20,000, VAT relief on a vehicle up to US$13,000 every four years, and one-time VAT relief on up to US$50,000 of building materials for your own home (art. 7). And it comes with duties: live in Nicaragua at least six months a year, show every year that your pension actually entered the country through the Nicaraguan financial system, and do not work for pay except as the law allows (arts. 13 and 16). Six consecutive months without the income can cost you the status (art. 19).
Single or married: how much income you need for the Nicaragua pensionado visa
| Household | Monthly income (USD; the law sets dollars, paid in córdoba equivalent) | Who must receive it |
|---|---|---|
| Single pensionado | $1,000 | The applicant |
| Married couple | $1,150 ($1,000 plus $150 for the spouse) | The applicant must show the extra $150 for each dependent family member |
| Each additional dependent (children, parents) | +$150 | The applicant |
| Single rentista | $1,250 | The applicant |
| Rentista couple | $1,400 | The applicant |
The law extends the status to a spouse or stable partner, minor children and, exceptionally, parents and other close relatives who depend on the applicant (art. 5). It does not say spouses may add two pensions together, so plan the full amount in the applicant’s name.
When only one spouse has the pension
The spouse with the pension applies, and the other is added as a dependent for $150 more. Both the age-45 rule and the income apply to the applicant. If that spouse’s pension is short, a lifetime annuity on that spouse’s life, owned by that spouse, fills the gap. A joint and survivor annuity keeps paying the other spouse after the first death, which matters because losing the income for six months can end the status.
US gift note (general information, confirm with a tax adviser): if the premium comes from the other spouse’s money, moving it into an annuity owned by the applicant spouse is a gift between spouses. Between two US-citizen spouses, gifts are unlimited under the marital deduction. If the receiving spouse is not a US citizen, the 2026 annual exclusion is $194,000 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32); above that you file Form 709, and tax is generally not due because the excess uses part of the lifetime exemption.
Does a US annuity count for the Nicaragua pensionado visa?
Ley 694 is broad on the payer: a pension “from governments, public or private institutions,” received abroad in a stable and permanent way. A US insurer is a private institution, and a life annuity is stable and permanent. Article 10(2) also tells you exactly what the insurer’s certificate must say: the monthly amount, its permanence and stability, its conditions, and that the payer can keep paying for at least five years. A life annuity with lifetime wording answers each point. INTUR (the tourism institute) decides; if your income is only a purchased annuity, have a Nicaraguan lawyer review the certificate before you file, and remember the rentista route ($1,250) as a fallback.
Which annuity counts
What fits: a life-only SPIA, a life with cash refund SPIA, a joint and survivor SPIA, or an existing deferred annuity or MYGA converted to lifetime payments. A period-certain annuity of five years or more might meet the five-year certificate, but it ends, and losing the income for six months can cost you the status, so lifetime income is the right design. An income rider (GLWB) with a cashable account value, or a deferred annuity still accumulating, reads as savings.
Why I write about this. My mom is Norwegian, my dad is American, and they’re planning the move from the US to Norway. My mom is the sponsor (the host, or “reference person” in UDI’s words), so Norway’s income test falls on her income, not my dad’s. UDI told us in writing that money in an account does not count as income, and only lifelong income does. Their savings were not the problem; the paperwork wanted a monthly number in the host’s name. The rules in Nicaragua are different, but the problem is the same one many retirees hit: the income test, not the net worth. I’m writing this to help others in the same boat as my parents. Read how we worked through the Norway income requirement.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
Example: a 62-year-old American moving to Nicaragua
Premium = monthly target / payout per $100,000 x $100,000. At 62 the ImmediateAnnuities.com survey of September 9, 2026 (life-only, per $100,000 a month) averages $603 for a man and $582 for a woman; the best quotes were $660 and $637. Rounded to the nearest $1,000. Illustrative, not a quote.
| Household, age 62 | Monthly target | Premium, average rate | Premium, best rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single man | $1,000 | $166,000 | $152,000 |
| Single woman | $1,000 | $172,000 | $157,000 |
| Couple, annuity on his life | $1,150 | $191,000 | $174,000 |
| Couple, annuity on her life | $1,150 | $198,000 | $181,000 |
Social Security changes the math. It can start at 62, and Ley 694 counts government pensions, so a retiree whose own benefit is $1,150 or more may not need an annuity at all. The annuity is for people who retire before claiming, who delay Social Security toward 70, or whose benefit falls short: an $800 benefit leaves a $350 gap for a couple, about $58,000 of premium for a 62-year-old man at the average rate. The law does not say how two certificates are combined; ask your lawyer.
For a couple, a joint and survivor annuity pays less per dollar than single life, so the premium runs above the table; get a quote for both. Add 10 to 25% headroom, since the yearly proof is about money that actually arrived in Nicaragua, after US withholding and transfer costs.
How to set it up
- Buy while you still have a US address. US insurers generally will not issue a new contract to someone already living abroad.
- Choose lifetime wording, no commutation or cash-out rider. The certificate should say the payment continues for the lifetime of the annuitant, and that the insurer can pay for at least five years.
- Keep a US bank account, then move the money into a Nicaraguan bank every month. You must show each year that the pension entered Nicaragua through the national financial system. A US account does not change withholding: a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of federal withholding, even if payments go to a US account. Withholding is a prepayment, not extra tax.
- Start payments 3 to 12 months before you apply.
- Apply at INTUR in Managua or at a Nicaraguan consulate abroad (art. 8). Foreign documents must be legalized as the law requires and translated into Spanish; ask the consulate whether an apostille is accepted.
- Plan your calendar. At least six months a year in Nicaragua, or a justified absence approved by INTUR; investments in Nicaragua above US$75,000 exempt you from the stay rule (art. 15).
Before you commit, also read the US State Department’s current travel advisory for Nicaragua.
How the annuity is taxed: Nicaragua and the US
The US side (the same wherever you live)
As a US citizen you stay taxable on worldwide income wherever you live. A US single premium immediate annuity bought with after-tax savings is taxed under IRC 72: an exclusion ratio makes part of each payment a non-taxable return of your premium until the premium is recovered. If you bought it with IRA money, every payment is taxable. The foreign earned income exclusion does not cover annuities (IRC 911(b)(1)(B)(i)). Foreign tax on the payments can generally be credited on Form 1116. Since January 1, 2026, a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of federal withholding, even if payments go to a US account (IRC 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1). Withholding is a prepayment, not extra tax. An annuity from a US insurer is not reported on FBAR or Form 8938, and it is not a PFIC. See the exclusion ratio for Americans abroad and the exclusion ratio calculator.
Is there a US tax treaty with Nicaragua?
No. Nicaragua is not on the IRS list of United States income tax treaties (checked October 2026). So no treaty article decides which country taxes an annuity first, and there is no saving clause or re-sourcing rule: each country applies its own law, and the only relief from double tax is a foreign tax credit. The IRS notes that the US credit can only reduce US tax on foreign-source income, and the taxable part of a US insurer’s annuity is generally US-source, so without a treaty a foreign tax on it is hard to credit on your US return. Here that matters little, because Nicaragua’s income tax is built on Nicaraguan-source income.
The Nicaragua side
PwC (reviewed August 2026) describes Nicaragua as taxing citizens, residents and non-residents on income originating in Nicaragua, with resident rates from 0% to 30%. An annuity paid by a US insurer under a contract bought in the US is foreign-source, so under that approach it generally falls outside Nicaraguan income tax, even though Ley 694 requires you to bring the money into the country. Ley 694 itself grants customs and VAT relief, not an income tax exemption. Nicaragua’s tax code (Ley 822) has its own rules on capital income, and the tax authority has not published anything on purchased US annuities, so get a Nicaraguan adviser’s written view.
Net result
US tax is likely the only tax on the annuity, so Nicaragua is tax-friendly for it. Drawing down savings would be foreign-source too, so the annuity costs nothing extra in tax, and the exclusion ratio keeps part of each payment untaxed in the US until your premium is recovered.
Does Nicaragua have a wealth tax?
No. PwC reports there are no net wealth or net worth taxes in Nicaragua. A US annuity, accumulating or paying out, has no Nicaraguan wealth tax base to sit in.
The trade-offs, once
A SPIA is irrevocable: you trade a lump sum for income you cannot cash out. Payments are level unless you add a cost-of-living rider, so their buying power falls over time. Payouts are lower at younger ages, so a 62-year-old pays more for the same monthly income than a 70-year-old. The income is backed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability. For most people the answer is to size the annuity to the requirement plus some headroom and keep the rest of the portfolio working. Nicaragua decides every application on its own merits; a well-documented lifetime income makes the file strong, but no one can promise approval.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In Nicaragua the main applicant shows the income and the spouse joins as a family member, so the annuity sits with the main applicant. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for Nicaragua. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the Nicaragua requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Moving abroad on a fixed income: hub
- Retirement visa income requirements compared
- Using an annuity to meet a visa income requirement
- Costa Rica pensionado income requirement
- Panama pensionado visa
- Belize QRP income requirement
- Immediate annuity calculator
Sources
- Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua: Ley 694, consolidated text (La Gaceta No. 156, August 21, 2020)
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nicaragua, taxes on personal income
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nicaragua, other taxes
- IRS: United States income tax treaties, A to Z
- IRS Publication 514: foreign tax credit limited to US tax on foreign-source income
- IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments, including the gift exclusion for a non-citizen spouse (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
- 26 U.S.C. 3405 (withholding on pensions and annuities)
- ImmediateAnnuities.com: immediate annuity rates by age (survey of September 9, 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.