Q24N — A quickly approved reform to Nicaragua’s Constitution states that Nicaraguans lose their nationality upon acquiring another nationality.
In a show of hands from all 91 members of Nicaragua’s legislature during a special session held on the afternoon of May 16, 2025, in the town of Niquinohomo, Masaya, in commemoration of the 130th anniversary of the birth of Nicaraguan national hero Augusto C. Sandino (1895–1934).
During the session, sanctioned lawmaker Gustavo Porras, president of the National Assembly, called the elimination of dual citizenship for Nicaraguans “absolutely democratic.”
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The revised text of Article 23, ordered by Nicaragua’s co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, now states that “foreign nationals may be naturalized, provided they renounce their original nationality,” while “Central Americans by birth, residing in Nicaragua, have the right to opt for Nicaraguan nationality without renouncing their own.”
The reform eliminates the clause that previously read: “In cases of dual nationality, matters shall proceed in accordance with treaties and the principle of reciprocity.”
The “reasons” for removing dual citizenship from Nicaraguans
“Nationality is not an administrative formality, but a sacred pact of loyalty. Anyone who acquires another nationality and swears allegiance to a foreign state severs their legal and moral ties with Nicaragua. Dual loyalty cannot exist: the homeland demands exclusive commitment,” reads the justification for the reform submitted by Ortega and Murillo.
“That is why,” they continue, “some sovereign states do not allow dual nationality. Nicaragua, in exercising its sovereignty, must ensure that its citizenship is not used as a tool by foreign or conflicting interests.”
According to the presidential couple, banning dual citizenship “reaffirms that being Nicaraguan is not a title, but an act of devotion to the defense of independence, sovereignty, and self-determination.”
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“Anyone who chooses another flag voluntarily gives up their place in Sandino’s homeland—one that is unique, indivisible, and revolutionary,” the authoritarian leaders state.
In mid-February 2025, Nicaragua enacted a profound reform to the Political Constitution that transformed the State, dismantled the system of checks and balances, and granted total power to Ortega and Murillo.
The move has drawn strong criticism from the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the United States, the European Parliament, and Nicaraguan opposition groups.
A significant number of Nicaraguans hold dual citizenship, mostly with Costa Rica and the United States.
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The Ortega government has stripped Nicaraguan citizenship and assets in Nicaragua from over 400 individuals, according to opposition group Monitoreo Azul y Blanco, including 222 political and social leaders who Ortega deported to the United States in February 2023.
What will losing their nationality mean for Nicaraguans?
The new reform will leave thousands of Nicaraguans without nationality, but will also restrict access to other rights such as pensions, education, healthcare, and employment, “cross-cuttingly affecting civil, social, and economic rights,” a jurist specializing in constitutional law who requested anonymity told Nicaragua’s leading print media, La Prensa.
Furthermore, those affected will not be able to vote or run for public office, which constitutes “a form of exclusion and civil punishment,” he adds.
In addition, other rights may be affected, such as the right to return to the country, as a denationalized person could be prevented from returning to Nicaragua, even if they still have family in the country.
For his part, lawyer and former employee of the Judiciary, Yader Morazán, explains that people who lose their Nicaraguan nationality could also lose their properties in Nicaragua, and “by becoming foreigners, these people could face administrative restrictions, such as difficulties in registering or accessing justice.”
This reform, approved by the dictatorship-controlled National Assembly, will take effect when it is approved by the second legislature and after being published in La Gaceta, the official newsletter.
The regime has used denationalization as a repressive method against those who oppose Ortega and Murillo. Some governments, such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Colombia, have even offered their nationality so that those affected would not be left stateless.
With this reform, Nicaragua joins an exceptional group of countries that do not allow their citizens to hold more than one citizenship. In Latin America, dual nationality is not permitted, or there are severe restrictions on recognizing it, in Cuba, Guyana, Haiti, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
They could lose assets
Although the reform does not mention anything about the assets, such as properties and bank accounts of those who lose their nationality, these individuals, upon becoming foreigners, are at “risk of arbitrary confiscations, especially in a political context where property rights have been historically violated.”
The jurist, an expert in constitutional law, speaking to La Prensa explains that the new reform implemented by the regime will “seriously” affect a series of fundamental rights of Nicaraguan citizens.
First, “it violates the right to identity, as it eliminates the legal connection a person has with their country of origin, affecting essential elements such as name, cultural affiliation, and personal history. It also violates the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of nationality, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he explains.
On the other hand, the expert indicates that Nicaraguan laws currently allow foreigners to own property; however, “in practice, the Ortega regime has used the loss of nationality as a means to confiscate assets. Therefore, people who lose their nationality could face arbitrary expropriations or restrictions on selling, inheriting, or registering property, as the authorities could consider them foreigners without legal status.”
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