For those on 30 Day Stays and/or Costa Rica border runs for 90 Day Stays, this post serves as a reminder that you might want to consider the effect that the upcoming busy Easter Week in Nicaragua may have on your plans for either.
Although not as busy as previous years when up to 7,000 people a day crossed the border at Peñas Blancas, Semana Santa and Christmas are still the busiest times of the year for immigration services for nationals as well as the border crossing with Costa Rica at Peñas Blancas.
Dates and Statutory Holidays
Easter Week (or Semana Santa) in Nicaragua starts on Palm Sunday April 10th, 2022. The two Statutory Holidays will be on Thursday the 14th of April and Friday the 15th of April going into the final weekend of the holidays on Saturday and Sunday 16th and 17th of April.
Government Offices Closed
In previous years, most government departments have shut down for Semana Santa from the close of business on the Friday before and have not re-opened until the Monday after.
Essential Services
Although Semana Santa is a National Holiday, the work of the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners (Migración) is such that it’s considered an essential service. As such, offices will be open.
Look for any official announcements or articles regarding special hours and “Guaranteed Service” at the various Migración offices, border posts, Central Migración in Managua and at the almost 30 different departmental offices known as SERTRAMI – Servicios de Trámites Migratorios.
30 Day Extension of Stay
Depending on when you go to your local SERTRAMI to apply for your extension of stay and hand over your passport, there may be a delay by Migración getting it stamped in Managua and returned to the local office. Usually this takes up to a week but could take longer during this holiday period.
90 Day Stay
This requires the co-ordination of obtaining a Covid-19 test here, receiving a negative result (for use on your re-entry to Nicaragua) and then heading to the busy border at Peñas Blancas, then Costa Rica and back to Nicaragua.
Those who are visiting CR longer need to check the availability of Covid-19 testing in Costa Rica for use to re-enter Nicaragua.
NOTE: The April 1st 2022 relaxation of Costa Rica entry rules (elimination of Covid Health Pass and travel insurance policy requirements for all individuals visiting Costa Rica) will be in effect by Semana Santa.
