Applying for refugee status in Nicaragua

Law 655 recognises as a refugee a person with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, gender, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, to which Nicaragua acceded in 1980. It also covers people who fled because their life, safety or freedom was threatened by generalised violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive human rights violations or other circumstances seriously disturbing public order, as in the 1984 Cartagena Declaration. Everyone has the right to apply without discrimination. People already receiving protection from another United Nations agency, or recognised by Nicaragua as having the rights of a Nicaraguan national, are excluded.

Political asylum is a separate institution: under article 27 of Law 761 as amended in 2024, it is granted by the Presidency through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and documented by the DGME.

Under article 22, claims are presented directly to the Executive Secretariat of CONAR or to the DGME through any of its offices in Nicaragua. If the claim is made at a land, air or sea border post, the DGME must authorise entry and stay until a final decision. Article 116 of Law 761 states that the ordinary entry requirements do not apply to people seeking asylum or refuge. Migration officers, the National Police and the Army must refer every asylum seeker immediately to CONAR or the DGME.

The Executive Secretariat, or a specialised DGME officer it designates, interviews the applicant, gathers evidence and gives an opinion to CONAR. Applicants are informed of their rights, have an interpreter if needed, can contact UNHCR, and may request legal representation; the authority must make free legal services accessible. A woman applicant is preferably interviewed by a woman, unaccompanied children and vulnerable adults are given a guardian, and all information is confidential and is not shared with the authorities of the country of origin.

CONAR bases its decisions on the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol, UNHCR Executive Committee conclusions and guidelines and the treaties Nicaragua has ratified. Decisions must be written, reasoned, communicated in a language the applicant understands and notified no later than thirty days after the claim; a refusal must state the available remedies. If CONAR does not decide in time, administrative silence operates in the applicant's favour. The procedure is based on simplicity, confidentiality, speed, transparency and gratuity.

The DGME gives applicants, free of charge, a document that identifies them as such and authorises paid work, on their own account or as employees, and access to health, education and other public services; every family member receives one. Applicants are not penalised for irregular entry if they come forward within one year, may not be held for more than seven days when detained for lack of documents, and then report every thirty days. Vulnerable applicants are not detained. No one may be returned to a territory where their life or freedom is at risk.

Recognised refugees receive a temporary residence card free of charge, with the same rights to work and services. Three years after the claim they have the right to permanent residence while keeping refugee status, and they may apply for nationality. The DGME issues a Convention travel document on request, refugees may leave and return without notifying CONAR, and family reunification requests are decided with priority. An applicant who leaves the country without authorisation has the claim suspended.

A refusal by CONAR can be challenged by review (revisión), lodged with the Executive Secretariat within five days of notification and decided by CONAR within fifteen days, and then by appeal (apelación), lodged within five days of the review decision and decided by the Minister within thirty days. Silence after these deadlines operates in the applicant's favour. A refused appeal ends the administrative route and can be taken to the competent courts; all remedies are processed with priority. A pending claim suspends any extradition decision.