Nicaragua: Dual Citizenship Taboo Is Not Retroactive
The dictatorship claims the reform will not be retroactive and not affect those who already have “dual or triple nationality” before 2026.
HAVANA TIMES – On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the president of Nicaragua’s National Assembly, Gustavo Porras, defended the constitutional reform proposed by the spouses and self-declared “co-presidents,” Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. The reform would strip Nicaraguans of their nationality if they acquire another citizenship starting in 2026, under the argument that “no one should serve two homelands,” reported Confidencial.
The constitutional amendment, proposed as an urgent matter by Ortega and Murillo, affects Articles 23 and 25, which refer to “Nicaraguan nationality,” and was approved in a first legislative session on May 16, 2025.
Following the reform entering into law, Nicaraguans by birth will lose their nationality upon acquiring another nationality.
It also states that foreigners may be naturalized after renouncing their original nationality; and in the case of Central Americans by origin who reside in Nicaragua, they will have the right to opt for Nicaraguan nationality without having to renounce their own.
The measure will affect Nicaraguans in exile—whether they are opposition members or not—who wish to apply for another nationality in their host country once the reform is approved in a second legislative session, meaning next year, and published in the official newspaper La Gaceta.
Porras said that the constitutional amendment will not affect Nicaraguans who already hold dual or triple nationality, because in Nicaragua, laws are not retroactive unless they benefit a criminal.
The loss of Nicaraguan nationality for those who obtain another “will take effect after the constitutional reform officially enters into force,” he noted, meaning next year.