Becoming Honduran
This replaces the general rule for you
Costa Rica: 1 year of Residence Instead of Three
Honduras keeps the shortest naturalisation period in this comparison for its immediate neighbours: a Central American by birth may apply after one year of lawful residence, against more than three consecutive years for other nationalities. The fee follows the same line, USD 200 against USD 400. The Constitution sets the period and does not define which states count as Central American, so this applies the numeral to Costa Rica on the ordinary understanding of the term rather than on a published list. Everything else is unchanged, including the renunciation of the existing nationality and the written examination.
The waiting period depends entirely on where you were born: one year for a Central American by birth, two consecutive years for a Spaniard or an Ibero-American by birth, three consecutive years for everyone else, and no period at all stated for the foreign spouse of a Honduran by birth. The price is the same in every case - the Constitution requires the applicant to renounce their existing nationality first, unless a dual-nationality treaty says otherwise. There is a written examination on Honduran history, geography and the Constitution, sat four times a year, with one retake six months later. Naturalisation is granted by the President and can be cancelled; nationality by birth cannot be taken away and survives acquiring another.
At a glance
- Central American by birth
- 1 year of residence
- Spaniard or Ibero-American by birth
- 2 consecutive years
- Any other nationality
- More than 3 consecutive years
- Spouse of a Honduran by birth
- No period stated
- Renouncing your nationality
- Required, before applying
Unless a dual-nationality treaty exists, in which case it is not required.
- Examination
- History, geography, the Constitution, and Spanish
- Examination sittings
- 4 a year
One per quarter, sat collectively; individual sittings outside the calendar cost USD 100.
- Retake
- One, 6 months later
- Fee for a Central American
- USD 200
- Fee for an Ibero-American
- USD 300
- Fee for other nationalities
- USD 400
- Settled residence before it
- 5 consecutive years
The separate inmigrado status, which is not a precondition of naturalisation but is the other five-year milestone in the law.
Requirements
- Lawful residence for the period the Constitution sets for your nationality
- Civil capacity under the law of your own nationality
- Assets, a profession, trade, activity or lawful industry allowing you to live independently, or economic dependence on your spouse or parents
- Good conduct, and no sentence for an offence before or during your stay, nor being wanted by another State for an ordinary crime
- Passing a written examination on general knowledge of Honduran history, geography and the Constitution, and being able to read, write and speak Spanish
- A sworn renunciation of allegiance to any other State, and a promise of loyalty to Honduras
- Current certificates of municipal tax and income tax compliance, and of social security and vocational training compliance if you own a business
In detail
Where you were born sets the clock
Article 24 of the Constitution sorts applicants into three tiers and the difference between them is large. A Central American by birth needs one year of residence; a Spaniard or an Ibero-American by birth needs two consecutive years; everybody else needs more than three consecutive years. A foreign person married to a Honduran by birth is listed as a separate ground with no residence period attached at all. The same three-way split runs through the money: the ministry's schedule charges a Central American USD 200 to naturalise, an Ibero-American USD 300 and anyone else USD 400, and charges the settled-resident status at USD 300, USD 400 and USD 500 on the same lines.
The price is your other passport
Honduras is one of the countries in this region that still asks for renunciation. The Constitution requires an applicant under any of the ordinary grounds - including marriage - to renounce their nationality beforehand and to declare their wish to be Honduran before the competent authority, and the migration law repeats it as a sworn declaration renouncing all submission, obedience and loyalty to any other State. The exception is treaty-based: where a dual-nationality treaty exists, a Honduran taking a foreign nationality keeps the Honduran one, and in the same circumstances a foreigner is not asked to renounce. We have not read which treaties are in force, so anyone whose plan depends on keeping a passport should establish that before anything else.
Two nationalities, two different securities
The Constitution treats nationality by birth and nationality by naturalisation very differently. A Honduran by birth cannot be deprived of their nationality and keeps it even on acquiring another. A naturalised Honduran loses the status by naturalising in a foreign country, by cancellation of the certificate, by becoming unworthy of the nationality on serious and duly justified grounds, or where it was obtained by false declaration. A naturalised Honduran also may not hold official office representing Honduras in their country of origin. These are not administrative details: they are the difference between a status that is settled and one that remains revocable.
Country-level policy
Every procedure in the Honduran migration law and its regulation is addressed to the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, under the Secretaría de Gobernación y Justicia. Neither name is current: migration control is now exercised through the Instituto Nacional de Migración under the Secretaría de Gobernación, Justicia y Descentralización, as a 2025 ministerial instrument recites. That would be a cosmetic problem if the new institute published requirement sheets. It does not. Its site was relaunched on 30 September 2026 and its alien affairs page lists the kinds of procedure it handles without stating a single requirement for any of them. The 2003 law and its 2004 regulation are therefore the only public statement of what Honduras asks.
The currency of Honduras is the lempira, and almost nothing in its migration law is stated in lempiras. The income thresholds are in United States dollars, the investment threshold is in dollars, the guarantee deposit is in dollars, and the whole fee schedule of the regulation - residences, naturalisations, permits, passports, extensions, the land entry fee - is in dollars with a single lempira line at the end for certificates. The law allows payment in the equivalent in national currency, so the dollar is the unit of account rather than the means of payment. The practical effect is that these figures do not quietly erode with the exchange rate, which is why thresholds set in 2003 are still the thresholds today.
Whatever route you take, the same file is assembled. Thirteen general requirements apply to every residence application and eleven to every special permanence permit, and the heaviest of them are the criminal-record certificate from your country of origin and of last residence, a Honduran criminal investigation certificate, and a medical certificate no more than six months old. Everything from abroad must be legalised and anything in another language officially translated. After the decision you have thirty days to register in the National Registry of Foreigners, and the ministry will not release the certified decision until you have. The card runs for up to five years, nobody may hold two statuses at once, and the status dies after twelve consecutive months out of the country - six, if what you hold is a permit rather than a residence.
Article 21 of the migration law ends with a numeral that lets the ministry authorise residence in duly justified cases, without saying what a justification is. On 29 July 2025 the ministry published what it now asks for, and the reasoning it gives is candid: the open numeral had attracted an excessive pattern of distortion, and leaving it without requirements put the properly specified categories at a disadvantage. Four routes are now written down. Someone who falls short of the rentista, pensioner or investor figures may apply with at least half of them. Someone who has used up five years of permits, or broken their continuity, may apply. Someone who works in Honduras may apply after two years of continuous lawful residence with a work authorisation and the employer's labour-quota certificate. And anyone else may apply after a hundred and twenty days on humanitarian, public-interest or special family grounds, including being the child of Honduran parents born abroad. None of it is a right: the instrument says the ministry may accept, refuse or shelve the application without liability and without creating any acquired right.
What applies to you
Costa Rica: 1 year of Residence Instead of Three
Honduras keeps the shortest naturalisation period in this comparison for its immediate neighbours: a Central American by birth may apply after one year of lawful residence, against more than three consecutive years for other nationalities. The fee follows the same line, USD 200 against USD 400. The Constitution sets the period and does not define which states count as Central American, so this applies the numeral to Costa Rica on the ordinary understanding of the term rather than on a published list. Everything else is unchanged, including the renunciation of the existing nationality and the written examination.
- 1 year of lawful residence instead of more than three consecutive years
- The fee is USD 200 instead of USD 400
- Renunciation of the existing nationality is still required, unless a dual-nationality treaty provides otherwise
- The written examination on Honduran history, geography and the Constitution still applies
What the law says
«1) Los centroamericanos por nacimiento que tengan un año de residencia en el país;»Our translation - not official
1) Central Americans by birth who have one year of residence in the country;
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«2) Los españoles e iberoamericanos por nacimiento que tengan dos años consecutivos de residencia en el país.»Our translation - not official
2) Spaniards and Ibero-Americans by birth who have two consecutive years of residence in the country.
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«3) Los demás extranjeros que hayan residido en el país más de tres años consecutivos;»Our translation - not official
3) Other foreigners who have resided in the country for more than three consecutive years;
"More than three", not "three": the wording of numeral 3 differs from numerals 1 and 2, which say "that have" a period.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«En los casos a que se refieren los numerales 1, 2, 3, 5 y 6 el solicitante debe renunciar previamente a su nacionalidad y manifestar su deseo de optar la nacionalidad hondureña ante la autoridad competente.»Our translation - not official
In the cases referred to in numerals 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 the applicant must previously renounce their nationality and declare their wish to take Honduran nationality before the competent authority.
The renunciation covers every ordinary route, including marriage. Numeral 4, a grant by Congress for extraordinary services, is the one it does not cover.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«Cuando exista tratado de doble nacionalidad, el hondureño que optare por nacionalidad extranjera, no perderá la hondureña.»Our translation - not official
Where a dual-nationality treaty exists, a Honduran who takes a foreign nationality shall not lose Honduran nationality.
The next numeral states the mirror: in the same circumstances a foreigner is not required to renounce their nationality of origin. We have not read which treaties are in force, so we do not list them.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«Aprobar el examen escrito de conocimientos generales de historia, geografía y de la Constitución de la República de Honduras y saber escribir, leer y hablar el idioma español.»Our translation - not official
To pass the written examination of general knowledge of the history, geography and Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, and to be able to write, read and speak Spanish.
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«La Secretaría de Gobernación y Justicia programará el examen de conocimientos al que se refiere el numeral 4 de este artículo, el cual se aplicará cuatro veces al año a razón de un examen por trimestre y se hará de manera colectiva.»Our translation - not official
The Ministry shall schedule the knowledge examination referred to in numeral 4 of this article, which shall be held four times a year at a rate of one examination per quarter and shall be sat collectively.
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«En caso de que el extranjero no apruebe el examen de conocimientos tendrá una segunda y última oportunidad seis (6) meses después de realizado el primer examen.»Our translation - not official
If the foreigner does not pass the knowledge examination they shall have a second and final opportunity six (6) months after the first examination was taken.
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«En la solicitud el interesado deberá renunciar a toda sumisión, obediencia y fidelidad a otro Estado y Gobierno, lo mismo que a toda protección extranjera; y a todo derecho que los tratados vigentes conceden a los extranjeros; y hará, además, promesa de adhesión y fidelidad al Estado de Honduras, y obediencia a las leyes y autoridades hondureñas.»Our translation - not official
In the application the applicant must renounce all submission, obedience and loyalty to any other State and Government, as well as all foreign protection and every right that treaties in force grant to foreigners; and shall further promise adherence and loyalty to the State of Honduras and obedience to Honduran laws and authorities.
The regulation makes this a sworn declaration with the signature notarised.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
An academic observatory at the national public university, which hosts facsimiles of La Gaceta and of regional migration instruments - including the CA-4 unified manual, which is held at no other address we have reached.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It hosts, it does not publish. What is held here are facsimiles of La Gaceta and of a regional instrument that carries Guatemalan migration-institute letterhead, so the documents are primary and the body offering them is not their publisher: it must never be cited as the publisher of what it holds, nor as evidence that any text is current, complete or still in force. It is typed government-primary because the taxonomy classifies the document rather than the host, and these documents are official text; the fact that a public university's observatory is the only address we reached for the CA-4 manual is a reason to look for a government one, not a reason to doubt the text.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«8. Naturalizaciones para centroamericanos. $ 200.00»Our translation - not official
8. Naturalisations for Central Americans. USD 200.00
Numerals 9 and 10 charge USD 300 for Ibero-Americans and USD 400 for the remaining nationalities.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«7) Extranjeros que adquieren derecho de radicación definitiva en el país, después de haber permanecido como residentes legales o con permiso especial de permanencia por un período mínimo de cinco (5) años y han cumplido con las leyes de Honduras; y,»Our translation - not official
7) Foreigners who acquire the right of definitive settlement in the country, after having remained as lawful residents or with a special permanence permit for a minimum period of five (5) years and having complied with the laws of Honduras; and,
The settled status is a separate milestone from naturalisation and sits five years out, which is longer than any of the constitutional naturalisation periods.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
An academic observatory at the national public university, which hosts facsimiles of La Gaceta and of regional migration instruments - including the CA-4 unified manual, which is held at no other address we have reached.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It hosts, it does not publish. What is held here are facsimiles of La Gaceta and of a regional instrument that carries Guatemalan migration-institute letterhead, so the documents are primary and the body offering them is not their publisher: it must never be cited as the publisher of what it holds, nor as evidence that any text is current, complete or still in force. It is typed government-primary because the taxonomy classifies the document rather than the host, and these documents are official text; the fact that a public university's observatory is the only address we reached for the CA-4 manual is a reason to look for a government one, not a reason to doubt the text.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«9. Naturalizaciones para iberoamericanos. $ 300.00»Our translation - not official
9. Naturalisations for Ibero-Americans. USD 300.00
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«10. Naturalizaciones para nacionalidades restantes. $ 400.00»Our translation - not official
10. Naturalisations for the remaining nationalities. USD 400.00
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The Constitution does not define "centroamericano" or "iberoamericano", and neither the migration law nor its regulation supplies a list. We do not publish one.
We did not read the Ley de Nacionalidad that article 28 of the Constitution says shall regulate political rights and related matters, and state nothing about it.
The requirement list in article 90 of the regulation is printed with gaps in its numbering - it runs 1 to 8 and then 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and on. The gaps are in the published text, so the list is reproduced here only in substance.
- reportsConstitución de la República de Honduras
Tribunal Superior de Cuentas de Honduras - biblioteca de leyes
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
- reportsReglamento de la Ley de Migración y Extranjería
Tribunal Superior de Cuentas de Honduras - biblioteca de leyes
About this source
The state audit body's reference shelf, which carries the Constitution, the migration regulation, the tax code and the traffic law as PDFs. It is where several Honduran instruments are reachable at all.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for currency. It is an audit body's shelf, not a gazette and not a consolidator: no document on it carries a consolidation date or an amendment history, so it cannot establish that a text is the text in force, and it is not the issuing authority for anything it holds. Its directory index returns 403, so what it holds cannot be enumerated.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
- reportsLey de Migración y Extranjería, Decreto No. 208-2003, La Gaceta
Observatorio de las Migraciones Internacionales en Honduras (OMIH), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
About this source
An academic observatory at the national public university, which hosts facsimiles of La Gaceta and of regional migration instruments - including the CA-4 unified manual, which is held at no other address we have reached.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: It hosts, it does not publish. What is held here are facsimiles of La Gaceta and of a regional instrument that carries Guatemalan migration-institute letterhead, so the documents are primary and the body offering them is not their publisher: it must never be cited as the publisher of what it holds, nor as evidence that any text is current, complete or still in force. It is typed government-primary because the taxonomy classifies the document rather than the host, and these documents are official text; the fact that a public university's observatory is the only address we reached for the CA-4 manual is a reason to look for a government one, not a reason to doubt the text.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source