Q24N — The Ortega-Murillo regime released alleged clarifications regarding the constitutional reforms to Articles 23 and 25, which establish the loss of Nicaraguan nationality upon obtaining another. However, they threaten that it could be retroactive.
The reform is supposedly not retroactive. This means that Nicaraguans with dual nationality obtained prior to the entry into force of this constitutional reform will retain both their Nicaraguan nationality and the foreign nationality they acquired.
Nicaraguans who already hold another nationality and those who are applying for their nationality abroad and obtain a favorable resolution before the constitutional reform comes into effect will retain both their Nicaraguan nationality and the foreign nationality they acquired.
The dictatorship maintains that Nicaraguans who apply for dual nationality once the constitutional reform comes into effect must renounce their Nicaraguan nationality.
The dictatorship’s motives for the leaked clarifications are unknown. The reform to the two constitutional articles was approved in the first legislative session of 2025, but it needs to be approved or ratified in the second legislative session, which will likely be in January 2026.
National Assembly President Gustavo Porras confirmed on Tuesday of this week that “the law is not retroactive” and accused the media of failing to mention this in order to “create instability.”
“This will happen after the constitutional reform takes effect. Anyone who obtains a foreign nationality will lose their Nicaraguan nationality. From then on, and we repeat, those who have dual nationality at this point, or triple nationality, can rest assured.”
But Porras also threatened that “decisions would be made at each moment.” That is, the law could be retroactive and strip the nationality of those who had obtained another nationality before the constitutional reform came into effect.
Translated and adapted from Nicaragua Invetiga. Read the original in Spanish here.