Remote’s guide to employing in

Nicaragua
nicaragua flag

With localised contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your team in Nicaragua with confidence. Currently, you can hire and manage contractors in Nicaragua through Remote, but our EOR services are not yet live.

Services available in this country:
Contractor Management
  • Capital City

    Managua

  • Currency

    Nicaraguan córdoba (C$, NIO)

  • Languages

    Spanish and English

  • Population size

    6,486,201

Services available in this country:
Contractor Management
An aerial view of a church near the ocean.

Facts & Stats

Nicaragua
  • Capital City

    Managua

  • Currency

    Nicaraguan córdoba (C$, NIO)

  • Languages

    Spanish and English

  • Population size

    6,486,201

  • Ease of doing business

    Medium

  • Cost of living index

    N/A

  • Payroll frequency

    N/A

  • VAT - standard rate

    15%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    10.3% (2021)

Nicaragua is a Central American republic bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, and Costa Rica to the south. It’s affectionately known as the land of volcanoes and lakes.

Outside a sizable tourism industry (roughly 6.4% of GDP) the local economy depends on agriculture, services, and remittances from Nicaraguans based in the United States, Costa Rica, and across Central America and the Carribbeans.

Nicaragua has a strong folk heritage, with music, cuisine, and architecture influenced by European, Caribbean, and Iberian culture.

Grow your team in Nicaragua with Remote

You can pay contractors now in Nicaragua with Remote in some currencies (talk to an expert now for full details).

Note that we are busy building our own entity in Nicaragua to provide you with the best possible employment solutions for your employees, but our employer of record service is not yet live in this country.

To employ in Nicaragua, companies must own a local legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solution. Developing the processes required to manage payroll, benefits, taxes, and onboarding in countries like Nicaragua can get complicated fast, especially without localised expertise.

If you're looking to start hiring in a country like this, partnering with a global employment solution like Remote makes it easy for your company to employ workers quickly, cost-effectively, and in full compliance with all local legislation.

In the countries where we do offer our EOR services, Remote takes on the responsibility and legal risks of international employment so you can focus on hiring great talent and growing your business.

Risks of misclassification

Nicaragua, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Nicaragua may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Employing in Nicaragua

Workers’ rights in Nicaragua are spelled out in several laws, such as:

  • The Nicaraguan Constitution of 1987

  • The Labour Code of 1996

  • The 1904 Civil Code of the Republic of Nicaragua

  • The Law of Equal Rights and Opportunities (i.e. Law 648)

— all of which guarantee equal pay for equal work, safe working environements, job stability, unemployment compensation, regular vacations and protections against discrimination based on age, gender, disability, religion, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off.

10 Public holidays

Jan
Monday, 1 January 20241New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)
Mar
Thursday, 28 March 20242Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo)
Friday, 29 March 20243Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
Sunday, 31 March 20244Easter (Pascua)
May
Wednesday, 1 May 20245Labor Day (Día del Trabajador)
Jul
Friday, 19 July 20246Sandinista Revolution Day (Día de la Revolución Sandinista)
Sept
Saturday, 14 September 20247Battle of San Jacinto (Batalla de San Jacinto)
Sunday, 15 September 20248Independence Day (Día de la Independencia)
Dec
Sunday, 8 December 20249Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Inmaculada Concepción)
Wednesday, 25 December 202410Christmas Day (Navidad)

Competitive benefits package in Nicaragua

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practising “fair equity”, which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

We are still busy building our own entity in Nicaragua, but our benefits packages for all countries are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

Fair Pricing in Nicaragua

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$29

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Global Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$50

per employee/month

Top features

  • Reduce costs by centralising payroll management

  • Ensure local compliance for every country

  • Direct support from in-house local payroll experts

  • Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience

  • Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you

HRIS

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app