Nicaragua Residency Myths & Misconceptions 🇳🇮

[@bernardsebranek1963]

My mother was born and raised in Rivas, Nicaragua. For that reason I was granted immediate citizenship when I moved here in 2014, from the USA. I have dual citizenship between the USA and Nicaragua. I have passports from both countries.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Was it granted? Or did you always have it but just didn't have the passport? Like Italians born in the US, they have citizenship at birth, but you have to file paperwork in Italy to be able to use it. But it's always there.

[@RomilCPatel]

Thanks for going over my comment. I’ve just discovered your channel a few days back and have probably now watched over a dozen videos!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Awesome, thank you! And thanks for the great topic. It's a lot of stuff that people need to think about because people tend not to believe how different Nicaragua works than nearly all the other places that they look at. It's super unique.

[@martinbowen5910]

Thank you Scott,I will be visiting Nicaragua in November. You are by far the best source of information about visiting Nicaragua. I want to buy you a coffee in person to thank you for all your hard work. All the best.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

That would be great! I'm gone much of November, but I'm around for some of it.

[@martinbowen5910]

I believe I will be there from November 9th thru the 21st. I am looking to relocate my family to Nicaragua. I will look you up when I'm there. Thanks again for all your input.

[@newworldmoney8926]

Great conversation.

[@Bonstergirl]

I can't get on a plane now because I used all my vacation for this ear. I got reservations for February. Can't wait!!!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

You can always just... quit!!

[@patriciaflaherty]

I REALLY wish Nicaragua would change the car ownership rules. I love going on road trips with my dogs (we'll be heading to the Blue Ridge Mountains very soon 🥰) and I would love to be able to drive up to Guatemala with my dogs. Trying to find ground transportation for something like that seems daunting.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Really no countries let you do that. Imagine the problems that would arise if tourists could register card in their own name. This isn't a Nica rule. It's a global one. Maybe some exception exists but i've never heard of one.

[@patriciaflaherty]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I'd be okay with that if I was allowed to keep my American car in Nicaragua (without paying crazy import taxes and keeping my American registration and insurance.)

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

@patriciaflaherty no country allows that either. that would be tax free importing on one side and tax free exporting on the other. that's even more dramatically a problem. imagine if you did that the havoc it would cause as everyone started importing cars for free.

[@janetsweeney1574]

So Scott, you're basically saying life is complicated?

[@RebeccaOre]

If you get residency as a retiree, you can import duty free a car under some amount duty free if it’s under ten years old. Scott explained why this is a bad idea, but I’ve seen Nicaraguans driving imported trucks that came down with US plates.

[@HoppingAbout]

Have u made a video about the new pacific coast highway?

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Just last week... kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIKle6qmn7eig5I

[@NATHANS8TH]

Hi Scott, thumbs up on another great video. Can you please provide how Nicaragua takes into account passive income requirements for their Rentista Visa? There is a lot of conflicting information out there. For example will they accept having a CD's and a rental property to meet the income requirements. I thank you in advance and I look forward to seeing more of your fantastic channel.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

It's a discussion. The law says pension, but it's flexible in the real world. You need to show income that definitely does not require you to "work a job" somewhere. But I've seen people do it with things far closer to "working a job" than to a CD. It's not a hard line, it's a "show reasonable income that keeps Nicaragua from taking a financial risk on you" process. As long as you are earning good income and aren't super young, you should have no problem once you have an immigration lawyer talk to people. The law is more of the guideline "this or better", not "only this."

[@RebeccaOre]

Talk to the Nicaraguans on what's required. My understanding is that one rental property won't qualify you, but the example was a man with a London apartment who was turned down. If you have other than government pensions, there's a bigger requirement. No digital nomad residency last time I heard about anyone applying. The rules change often enough that anything on line may be outdated. Residents had a requirement to report to Managua ever three to six months for a cedula update after 50% of the registered foreign residents had not kept up with address changes or paying for the permission to leave the country. (I was one of them). This was 2020 or so. Now, with the huge number of Nicaraguan citizens applying for passports, this was changed to being able to report to a local government Migracion y Gobernacion, send in a form and your passport and cedula within a couple of weeks before expiration. You'll get the new cedula and passport back. Nicaragua has told some people to get residency next time at the border. I know a couple of people who have gotten citizenship. I've asked about the process and was told to improve my Spanish. It's a three year process. Getting residency is helpful for traffic stops, but citizenship is even more helpful. A friend who had citizenship said that people in his town liked this,felt that he'd committed. The Gotcha is that you're required to renounce your prior citizenship in front of a notary. The US only accept renunciation if you do it in front of a consular official. If you're married to a Nicaraguan, you don't have to give up the other, or if you've contributed significantly to Nicaragua, you don't have to surrender earlier citizenships. I haven't heard of anyone having problems, but I am afraid of gotchas in the future from either direction. You CANNOT get residency in Nicaragua without being in country. You get thumbprints taken and a photo and signature are required to have the cedula issued. I had no interest or funds for constant trips to Costa Rica. One person found he couldn't drive his motorcycle without residency and a Nicaraguan motorcycle license. Everyone who could got residency in the Jinotega area. Drunk Bo had a Nicaraguan Migrecion woman tear up his paperwork and toss it. The requirement to go to Managua every six months was due to the behavior of resident aliens. When I found out what a problem this was, I went to Migracion in Managua and profoundly apologized, gave them my renewed passport, had a Nicaraguan (my former landlord) swear to where I was living. Also got photographed in my house when I had the five year renewal in process and was interviewed by a cop and a guy from Migracion. I wasn't charged the $30 fine for not reporting my address change (two blocks south -- my present landlord thought this was hilarious. One residency that's year to year is long term paramour of a Nicaraguan citizen. No requirement to tell the authorities you've broken up, but it is year to year. People have been told to have a residency in progress next time they show up coming back from Costa Rica. This is Nicaragua. The rules can be bent for humanitarian reasons. The rules will change. Nicaragua dislikes bossy gringos and the people in the office that handles pensionado applications has been known to hang up on lawyers. At the point when I was getting internet, I had to be a resident for the wired services in Jinotega, but this wasn't true everywhere. Visit before moving. Be careful about advice given in stone by gringos. Nothing is written in stone here. It is easier to get the paperwork together in your home country than to get it done remotely. The rules changed and you don't have to go to Managua every six months. But this requires cooperation at the local Gobernacion office. (I suspected this wouldn't last and the "show up every three to six months" rule was passed in anger because of half of us didn't really follow the Nicaraguan requirement on keeping addresses current and paying the C$ 300 or whatever to leave the country). Nicaragua in 13 years has found we're not indispensable. I always thought the $30K investment for investment residency was gamed more than anyone ever opened a successful business, and am glad to hear it went up to over $100K. People who've run successful businesses here did things like small scale manufacturing where they knew the market for exported things made here (fishinng lures, quilts) rather than things that were going to fail if Nicaraguans didn't come through the do (need a Nicaraguan spouse to pull off a mixed clientele sports bar or restaurant or hotel). What foreigners sometimes try to tell each other is that the consulate, local FSLN friends, the people processing applications don't know what they're talking about. You need a lawyer for some things, but they can be the kiosk lawyers in front of Migracion in Managua who've been through the process daily. You won't find accurate reviews of the peoplle promoting themselves as immigration lawyers because truth is not a defense against libel here particularly (or so I was told). Everyone will be helpful if you don't start trying to treat them like village fixers. DO NOT EXPECT to pay your way to residency under the table. The people handling pensionado residencies were so straight they wouldn't even recommend a restaurant when I was there in 2010. "Just pay someone to take care of it" may work but probably won't. If you're sympatico y educado, people will hold an office open late, help you get things sent to Managua from the local INTUR office with their courier, and will not fine you for non reporting your address change. If you tell them the only reason you're applying for residency is the trip to Costa Rica isn't comfortable anymore and act like all Anglos are smarter than Nicaraguans, you won't have fun. Just use the kiosk lawyers, not the high priced lawyers unless you're applying as an investor and need a lawyer for other things.

[@omarsmusic4316]

he mentioned Utica!!! My home town!!!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Seriously? My wife is from Utica!

[@omarsmusic4316]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog really??? Small world! I went the MVCC before I moved overseas. I go back home to Utica every few months to vist my relatives.

[@melissaoneill6589]

Hello Scott! Thanks for sharing so much helpful info on this channel! My husband and I are considering moving to Nicaragua soon. We actually want to know more about two different questions. We are both online teachers so part of what we do is teaching ESL online. 1. Do you have a backup power storage bank that works really well when the power goes out in Nicaragua? Is there a certain capacity power bank you would recommend that would last a certain amount of days through a power outage? 2. Does Nicaragua have any special plugs that you need to get that are different from the USA. Like for plugging electric powered devices into an AC outlet. Are we going to have to get any kind of adapter for our MacBook Pro laptop?

[@RebeccaOre]

Power in most places is more stable that it was in Annandale, Virginia. Same plugs as in the US. I run my gear on a UPS. Once the grid was nationalized, we haven’t had days long outages. Union Fenosa was terrible. Power does go out from time. The Internet can go out, but again not for days on in. Urban areas have Tigo, Claro, and Yota for internet. You will want to ask about conditions in whatever city you want to live in. Out in rural areas, it’s satellite only. Remember that if power goes out, the wired cable internet takes a bit more time to come back than the power. Having a phone plan with Internet is backup. I have Claro and my neighbors just got Tigo. Tigo installers working at my neighbors said the prices were comparable. Yota is Russian owned. Different offices have different requirements. I had to get residency before getting Claro in Jinotega. Other cities had their own rules. Some people have landlords that hold the account in their names.

[@melissaoneill6589]

@@RebeccaOre this is very helpful! Thanks so much! Do you also have a battery power backup in addition to the UPS or does the UPS generally have enough battery to keep everything running long enough?

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Video on this topic for you is up in two days, I believe.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

I work from home and do NOT have a generator. I'm in Leon and can always go to a hotel with a generator should that be necessary. It's EXTREMELY rare that good batteries won't last long enough for basic functionality.

[@curiobill]

Thank you for your channel! You may have already covered this in a prior video, but if not, could you please do a video on how banking actually works for someone who is living in Nicaragua on a tourist visa? Thanks

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

There's nothing to put in a video. Just go to the bank and open an account.

[@mj137jm]

I can think of two possible reasons for an older individual who would like to stay in Nicaragua to get residency ASAP. The verifiable income requirement could increase beyond the person's income. Their health could decline and be denied residency for that reason. I didn't check all the comments so please refer me if you've addressed these already otherwise I would appreciate you giving your understanding about these two possibilities. Thanks.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Residency for a retiree is annual. So an increase wouldn't be protected against by getting it early. Racing to do it quickly would be of no benefit. Health has to be verified each year as well. Residency doesn't provide some long term guarantee, that's not implied by the process. If you are a retiree, you have to meet the retiree requirements every year. If you are an investor, you must meet them every five, but the requirements are far higher. Even if you are granted residency, the country has the right to rescind that if they so choose. And even if you don't meet the stated requirements, they can let you stay if they choose. But I think people tend to think that residency provides a lot that it doesn't. It does not provide security or longevity. It's really almost entirely about trading border runs for cedula runs; and being able to register a vehicle.

[@mj137jm]

Thanks. I did not know that the retirement program requirement of income and health had to be met every year, or not, at the discretion of the authorities. Do you know of people being forced to leave when their health declined? By the way, I love you videos. You seem both knowledgeable and sincere. I went to Granada on a visa renewal vacation in the spring of 2001. Thought it was quite nice although Managua was a poverty stricken mess at the time. Flew into Managua from San Jose Costa Rica. Car rental agent took the hub caps and put them in the trunk. Locals trying to sell goods at stop lights.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

@@mj137jm While not technically universal, essentially every country's residency program requires annual or similar recertification including places like the US, Mexico or Honduras. I honestly don't know of any country that doesn't, but I'm sure someone doesn't. But assume when talking residency, that it will always require applying over and over again - and the term residency implies (and this is 100% universal) that your stay is at the government's will. All governments can end your residency anytime that they want. They won't, but all can.

[@shawnstpeter6105]

I’m relatively new to your channel. Great job. We have travelled throughout Central America and Nicaragua is now on our radar. We are considering retiring there and one question that I was wondering about is passport renewal while abroad. Do you have any insight on having to do that?

[@RebeccaOre]

And other thing is with a residency cedula, you don't have to carry your passport as ID, and I'd rather have to replace a residency card than a passport. I pay for groceries and medicines with my US bank's card and my cedula. So the US passport stays secure for when I really need it. For me, getting residency is being respectful of the country. You will need two references and an interview, and the interviewers will also check with your neighbors. The US ambassador in 2010 or 2011 at Jinotega town hall meeting for US citizens was urging people to "get right with the Nicaraguan government" on residency. I had what I realized later was "the interview" at the Nicaraguan consulate in Washington, DC. She didn't think I'd have trouble getting residency. My FSLN friend didn't think I'd have trouble getting residency. A bunch of silly Anglo old men were telling me the Nicaraguans didn't know their own system, that I had only a 50% chance of getting it; I should have used the site owner's pet lawyer, and trim. Not all Nicaraguans, even Nicaraguan lawyers, know how the system works, but anyone stamping paperwork in the DC Consulate will know what she's talking about. My British friend got her updated cedula this month and found out the latest system change hadn't firmed up quite yet. Check with local gobernacion/migracion offices to see what they're saying. I'm still angry over the bad advice I got from the old Anglo guys on Phil Hughes' site. You do appear to be better than that lot.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

I did an episode on this. I don't carry my passport and it's never been a problem. I carry ID, obviously, but carrying a passport is foolish. The ambassador has a weird opinion on that. Migracion determines if you should be a resident or not, the ambassador is just some random guy in the wrong situation. He just made that up, the US has no jurisdiction or opinion on that. That's just some rogue American making things up. If you aren't "right" with Nicaragua, they tell you and/or kick you out. You can't be here without residency if that isn't appropriate, that's Nicaraguan's decision and Nicaragua's only, never the US's. In generally, I'd avoid any US gov't resources on Nicaragua, not only are they generally uninformed, even if they are informed they go dramatically out of their way to misinform Americans. They are a known fake news source (and have admitted so much as they codified in law that the info from the US gov't has no need to be accurate or truthful.) Do you mean Phil Hughes the Linux book author (which I also am...)... www.linuxjournal.com/content/where-phil-hughes The biggest issue for most people looking at residency is that first you need time in the country, you need to establish yourself here, you have to qualify for residency, you should wait for nicaragua to tell you that it is time (but that's optional), and then you have to do Interviews, go through Interpol, have references and the big one... show specific types of income if you are older OR produce a LOT of investment if you are not (latest numbers are $150K per person to file.). That's 500% what it was two years ago when it was $30K per person. So a lot of people struggle with coming up with the necessary funds to just "become a resident" and even if you have that kind of cash, you have to invest it in very specific, pre-approved ways for it to count. So you have to be here for a while and go through a lot of hoops. It's not bad, but it's not like just show up and voila. I've been here nearly three years in total, and have invested heavily, and I've been working on residency since before I did my permanent move 2.5 years ago and while I'm really close at this point, I don't have it yet and it was because I didn't qualify yet. It was Nicaragua holding me off, not me waiting.

[@RebeccaOre]

The ambassador was Phyllis Powers, who was a good ambassador while she was here. I started the process within weeks of arriving in Managua, but then I was a pensionado. I love that they've raised the investment minimum since the average $30K investment was almost always used building a residence with a spare room to rent (maybe). I believe the Nicaraguans and the US people had discussed this. Phil kept pushing a lawyer who wasn't on the up and up. Yeah, Phil Hughes who claimed to have done things that Wikipedia didn't verify. I'm still friends with one of my references. The other one who was the lover of a gringa burglarized my house. On citizenship, you do have to have been a resident first from what I was told by the citizenship person in Migracion. I have Nicaraguan friends who want me to get citizenship. From what I've heard, the US doesn't (at this time) take the renunciation in front of a Nicaraguan notary as real. And Nicaragua doesn't seem to look closely at this (again, at this time). I'm not sure this would continue to be so if the US invades again. Things have changed at times. When Phyllis Powers was ambassador, relationships with the US were less crazy than they were under El Zombie Callahan, or the people who followed. The pensionado residency is the most common. Ecuador stopped allowing perpetual tourism and requires six months in and six months out. I don't know anyone here who refused to get residency who wasn't a drunk or bigoted against Nicaraguans, or sure that getting residency required bribing the right person. It's the only taxes most of us pay.

[@universalsuccess3776]

I have a question, unrelated to the video though. What poisonous or predatory animals are located in the country? The wildlife is expansive and incredible. But having boots on the ground what animals or maybe snakes etc would one have to be aware of. I know about the scorpions😮

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Extremely little. People warn of snakes a lot, but in years here I've never encountered anything but a friendly milk snake and you WANT those around your house (they eat mice and other snakes.). Scorpions are the only common worry in real life. Large spiders exist but aren't really dangerous (just creepy, obviously.) Snakes CAN be dangerous, but dangerous ones are very rare (all snakes are decently rare, not a snake country.) The lizards are all safe (I mean... don't PET one.) In the swamps you can get things like crocs, but it's pretty obvious when you are in mangroves. Normal people never come close to those and MOST of what people see are Caymans... dangerous but like bad bite dangerous, not kill you dangerous.

[@universalsuccess3776]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Sounds like a winner to me. I've always wondered this, and there isnt much solid info I could feel good enough believing. Thanks Scott!

[@davisurdaneta1426]

Hey there. I've visited Nicaragua. I really love the country, I've travelled around a bit. I am considering moving there in the near future. I've read online that even tourists can puchase a property (house/aparment) in Nircagua, and it's the same process as the locals. If that is true, do you still have to leave the country every 90/180 days after you've purchased a property? Thanks a lot!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Yes it is true that anyone, even someone that isn't physically there, can buy property. However, owning property has no bearing on your ability to stay longer than 180 days. In fact, it won't even help you obtain residency. So many people buy houses casually here that it's not considered a factor in getting to stay at all (considering you can build a brand new house for $11K with the land in a desired area... it's no wonder they don't consider it.) If you could use that to stay, people would buy a cheap house to not pay to drive to the border and just abandon it.

[@davisurdaneta1426]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Thank you so much for the info. Really appreciate it. Cheers!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Con gusto.

[@solunaalchemy4623]

Great video! Thanks so much! I have been listening often lately as we are getting ready to make our way there in just a few weeks. I have a unique question that relates to this topic... We recently found out we are expecting our 3rd child. We have been months planning our trip to Nicaragua, and after consulting our midwife here and thinking about all kinds of factors, we have decided to still come to Nicaragua. We are coming with the intention of considering relocation, so exploring the country from that lens. (and possibly other Central American countries or Mexico...but we feel a really strong pull to Nicaragua, so are following that first) From what I understand, if a child is born in Nicaragua to expat parents, the child will have birthright citizenship - is this correct? Would that potentially help our family to obtain residency in a more stream lined way? (should we decide we want to do that in future) . On a whole other topic, not really related to this video...but prevalent in my reality now - Are there any inherent risk factors of travelling (at a slow pace) in Nicaragua while pregnant (besides the obvious - washing veg/fruits well, caution with water). And, how is the healthcare system there in general? Are home births an option within their healthcare system? Would there be any extra benefit to obtaining healthcare insurance for myself now? (we hadn't planned to do that, just set aside a fund for that in case we should need it) Thanks so much for considering these inquiries!!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Making this the topic of tomorrow's video.

[@solunaalchemy4623]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Thanks so much, Scott! Uber grateful that you will dive into this topic!!

[@ripple-rich]

hey scott awesome video!! which brings me to a question: i'm cuban citizen living in the states and was considering acquiring residency through investment program in hopes i can work towards citizenship ...in my situation which is enact plan B and go through the process to renounce my cuban for the Nicaragua one, traveling back and forth with a cuban passport wouldn't be an option for me...and if possible can i have a consultation with you to run down my situation?? thanks in advance for alll you do!!

[@RomilCPatel]

If you are living in the states why don’t you first get US citizenship then come to Nicaragua? If you’re already on a green card then it’s 5 years to US citizenship.

[@ripple-rich]

i have order of supervision and i have a deportation order in the states..its why i need out because i will never be set here and cuba don't accept deportess @@RomilCPatel

[@johndutcher6409]

So is your passport stamped with one hundred eighty days?or is it still ninety requiring me to border run again in ninety?or is it every thirty days visit imagration office in Granada thanks great job on your vids

[@BillBlyleven]

Oh and you can do two 30-day renewals within Nicaragua as per the last few years - Before Covid you did have to physically leave after the first 30 day renewal

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

The STAMP is 90 days. The BORDER RUN is 180 days. This video breaks down the 90+30+30+30 = 180 system... kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-ppWWkd8mqpac

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

@BillBlyleven it's 90 and then three 30 days renewals, but you have to leave before the end of the last period.

[@stephanholland6181]

I'm a steady, subscribed follower of your channel, but I have to say, quite often you take twenty or thirty minutes to explain something that could be explained in five or ten minutes.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

That's how I roll. I'm like that in real life, too.

[@positivetimeline]

I agree. It's so difficult to listen. The content is interesting, but could it have been more focused during the speech?

[@Bonstergirl]

But Managua does have more people than Seattle or Pprtland, pr even San Francisco. But at least it sounds like the downtown area is not as bad as those cities.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

No, that's WAY off. That's why I pointed out "metro area". Only metro area refers to the size of a city and is a universal measurement. In the US "city size" is purely a political term (I don't mean that negatively, it's literally just a straight up voting and legislative jurisdiction and census mechanism) and tells us literally nothing about the actual size of the municipality but rather the area managed by a single mayor. San Francisco has a population in the metro of 7.76 million... that's nearly a million people more than the COUNTRY of Nicaragua, let alone one city in it. Portland is 2.5 million, almost exactly double Managua. Seattle is 4.1 million.

[@janetsweeney1574]

I just looked up Portland again. The metro area in 2022 was 3,285,275. The just downtown area is tiny. I was born in Portland, but grew up in Milwaukie. But we all say we are from Portland.

[@janetsweeney1574]

Oh, and my kids live in downtown Portland. Nothing wrong with it, and good mass transit. Just CLOUDY.

[@Bonstergirl]

Ah, I missed the "metro area" reference. The thing is, the "metro area" for Seattle includes Tacoma, which is a very different city. And the metro area for Portland includes Hillsboro which is, again, a very different city. I think they're cheating when the do that! 🙂

[@Bonstergirl]

LOL!!! The words "I'm from Portland" have never left my lips, nor will they. But if you like it, good for you.

[@antawnjs9147]

Im looking to move to coasta rica but now im interested in nicaragua

[@LynzeeZee]

Why wouldnt you want residency? Not having to cross the boarder eery 90 days seems worth it.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

It's 180 days and crossing the border is completely trivial. We cross almost that often anyway just to travel, get different restaurants, see family on holidays. Residency takes easily 10x the effort of border runs. A border run is so easy.

[@LynzeeZee]

Thank you for explaining.! We are arriving Febuary 4th. to Rivas. We are highly considering moving to Nic from Florida. I am pregnant and due in June. We are having our baby on Big corn island so trying to figure out baorder crossings while pregnant and not over staying is a bit tricky. The delimma we are facing is flying to Big corn at the late stage of pregnancy. Curious if crossing the boarder is the only way or if we can do a visitor visa extension once in Mangua.@@ScottAlanMillerVlog

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

180 days is your absolute limit for normal extensions. If you have a medical emergency, they might extend of course, or if you claim asylum. Residency takes time, so isn't in the cards for you either. It's not a legal requirement, but the assumption is that you would be here quite some time before applying. For most people the residency process is years, not weeks. Doing the border runs is part of your process for heading towards residency. Are you trying for retirement or investor residency?

[@LynzeeZee]

@ScottAlanMillerVlog I've read that residency comes easier if we invest in property (minimum of 35k). We'd also like to start a non-profit of some sort. My husband is a structural engineer, and I'm a foraging /survival teacher.. We'd like to build schools for communities. Since we're birthing our second child there, we're hoping that will help with residency, too. We'd also like to buy an SUV pretty quickly, but that looks tricky without residency. We assume we'll really understand the logistics of everything when we get there in two weeks. Your videos have been really helpful already. Found your channel today.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

No, residency is POSSIBLE if you invest in a fully operating business with employees that pay their taxes. Buying a property has literally no bearing whatsoever on residency. Non-profits are essentially illegal, even if you had one already, it would almost certainly be gone now. Any legit lawyer will tell you that that is out of the question. A for profti, sure, start anything you like. Non-profits while not impossible, might as well be. Having a child here is, to the best of my knowledge, not a factor in residency conversations. Maybe, but I doubt it. It sure won't hurt, but "helping" with residency doesn't mean much. You need to do residency requirements. REsidency doesn't come "pretty quickly", assume buying an SUV quickly is not an option no matter what. Especially residency when you don't meet the standard qualifications. But I can tell you that investment residency, which sounds like what you are needing, generally takes years. I'm on over three years, I know people on over seven. Can it be faster? Of course. But assume that it isn't an option to be fast, especially if you don't already have a business investment in motion.