Living in Nicaragua is wonderful. However, one inconvenient thing about living here is that every 90 days Quinn and I have to renew our visas because we are not residents of Nicaragua. After living in Laguna de Apoyo for a few months we unfortunately lost track of time and realized we had been here four days over our 90 day limit and knew there was going to be a penalty. We had to get our passports stamped ASAP so this time, rather than going down to Costa Rica again (a 3 hour trip form Masaya), we decided to head to Managua (only 20 mis away) to get this taken care of at the mall called Metro Centro.
After two quick bus rides from Masaya, we arrived at the front of the mall. We walked right in and found the immigration center in the middle of the shopping center. The line was out the door, but we figured it was going to be faster than it was last time when we waiting in line at the boarder.
After waiting in line for 20 minutes, we finally got inside. The security guard asked if we had copies of our passport photo page, entrance stamp sheet and if we had filled out the immigration office form. We of course didn’t have any of those things, so we purchased the form (only C$5) and went next door to the office supply store to make copies of our passports (each copy only C$1). We jumped back in line and quickly filled out our paperwork.
When we got to the government officer we were informed that it was C$500 ($21) for each additional 30 days we wanted to stay here with a maximum of 90 days. We also had to pay a penalty fee of C$50 ($2.10) for each day that we were over our previous 90 days, so our penalty was C$200 ($8.40) for the four days. We eventually got everything stamped and approved and then jumped on the micro-bus the head back to Masaya.
We were back in Masaya by 2pm. It was much faster, but slightly more expensive than going down to visit Costa Rica for three days. However, if you calculate what we would have spent in those 3 days visiting Costa Rica (hostel, food, transportation), the trip across the boarder would have probably been more expensive. We really recommend that anyone who is considering living abroad for over a month should do as much research as possible on the visa laws and what is involved in getting them renewed or extended. In Nicaragua its pretty straight forward and relatively easy.
Now that we were in Masaya we had to find a place for us to live for the next few months and really get the ball rolling on what we are most passionate about: our business, LOOTB.
The article in photos:
Thanks for the information. It’s always nice to learn from others that have experienced it. Congratulations on all you guys are doing.
Thanks dude. It will definitely help you out when the time comes. Enjoy SJDS
Seems fairly complicated, but much better to go there than further away. I enjoy following along here! Be well.
Thanks John. It was much easier but probably next time we will leave the country. It’s more of an adventure that way.
This is interesting to learn from your experience. Thanks for sharing.
You welcome. We are glad you find it interesting.
Great photos. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Good travels!
Thanks. We are glad you like the photos.
Good to hear about some of the practical issues of life LOOTB!
Yep. Its real life in Nicaragua. This was nothing compared to getting dengue or measles. Thanks.
I had to do the same thing while living in Argentina. That is probably a source of income for the country and is no more complicated (and probably a lot easier) than the United States visa process. It’s one of the cost we pay for living in a world full of borders!
For sure it a great source of income for Nicaragua and much easier then the USA. Definitely worth it to be able to live here though. Thanks for your comment.
Good to know. Hate to find my new blogest inprisined for overstaying their welcome. *note to self= 3 months then renew or they might wanna keep me.
Ha ha. For sure. Don’t go to Jail abroad. That could really be horrible.
Great information about traveling/living abroad for extended periods. I would love to see occasional information on traveling where you are and/or are going for someone who has to use a wheelchair. My husband and I would love to travel outside of the country more, but unfortunately, the rest of the world is not usually as accessible as the US. It takes a lot of pre-planning for us to travel and it’s great when we can get information directly from someone who’s on the road to places we’d like to go.
Yeah for sure. There are some towns (like the town we are living in right now Masaya) that are very dificult to travel around in a wheel chair. But in some parts of Nicaragua like San Juan Del Sur there are more accommodating paths and roads. I will keep an eye out for you. Thanks for the comment.
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Nice post! I like this, real information about places.
Nice photos too.
Thanks. We thought it was an interesting experience that could definitely help others. We are glad you like it.
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This really is the 2nd post, of your website I actually
went through. However , I enjoy this specific 1, “Renewing Our
Visas in Managua, Nicaragua | Life Out of the
Box” the very best. Regards -Sharon
Awesome. We are glad you liked it. We hope it helped.