Foreigners applying for residency in Paraguay now have to register online with the Policía Nacional before they can obtain the Certificado de Antecedentes para Extranjeros, the local police certificate that every applicant aged 14 or over must file. The Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) flagged the change on 23 October 2026. Once the online step is done, you still appear in person at the police's Departamento de Informática, which issues the certificate.
Photo: “Patrullera de la Policía Nacional de la República del Paraguay (en Encarnación, Departamento de Itapúa)” by Horacio Cambeiro, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped to 16:9 and scaled to 1600x900 (WebP)
Three questions stay open. The notice does not say from which date the pre-registration is enforced, whether it carries a fee, or how long issuance takes once you reach the counter. Migraciones speaks only of novedades, new developments, in how the certificate is issued. A check of official and press sources on 25 October found no later statement from the DNM or the Policía Nacional on any of the three.
How the Police Certificate for Foreigners Works Now
The procedure now runs in two stages:
- ▹Online pre-registration on the Policía Nacional's "Registro de Personas" form at certificados.pn.gov.py.
- ▹An in-person visit to the Departamento de Informática of the Policía Nacional, where the certificate is issued.
The form wants far more than a name and a passport number. It asks for:
- ▹the identity document you use (foreign ID card, passport or Paraguayan cédula), with issuing country and number
- ▹date and place of birth, sex, current nationality and nationality at birth
- ▹marital status, occupation (chosen from a fixed list), phone number, neighborhood and street address, or a hotel and room number instead
- ▹details of your mother, your father and, where applicable, your spouse
- ▹references in Paraguay and the date you entered the country
- ▹a selfie plus photos of the front and back of your identity document
Newcomers without a lease can name the hotel where they are staying. That option says a lot about the design: the registration assumes you are already in the country.
Where the Certificate Sits in a Paraguay Residency File
Migraciones lists the certificate as point 8 of the requirements for temporary residency under Ley 6984/2022: "Certificado de Antecedentes para Extranjeros, expedido por el Departamento de Informática de la Policía Nacional", required from age 14. In its 23 October notice the directorate describes it as a legal requirement for both temporary and permanent residency.
A first application carries three background checks. Point 6 is the police clearance certificate from your home country, apostilled or legalized. Point 7 is the certificate from Interpol Paraguay, and point 8 is this one. The last two can only be obtained in Paraguay, one reason the process cannot be completed from abroad. Our residency and cédula guide sets out the full document set, and the permanent residency guide covers what the later change of category asks for.
Why Migraciones Raised It: A Meeting on Borders and Data
The notice came out of a working meeting between the DNM and the Policía Nacional's IT side. For Migraciones, national director Jorge Kronawetter and Leila Olavarrieta, director general of foreigners, took part. The police sent Comisario Principal Francisco Escobar, who heads DITIC, the force's information technology directorate.
The certificate was one item on a wider agenda. Both sides discussed border management and data sharing for API/PNR, the system through which airlines pass passenger data to the authorities in advance. They also covered the technical modernization of Paraguay's airports, which Migraciones is pursuing with the civil aviation authority DINAC.
What the Pre-Registration Means for Your Residency Timeline
The route stays the same: the certificate is still issued in Paraguay, after you have entered the country. One more step now sits in front of the police counter, though, and three practical points follow from it.
Register in your first days. The form asks for your entry date and a Paraguayan address or hotel, so it cannot be completed before you fly. If you plan to handle residency on a single trip, slot the registration in right after landing so the police visit does not become the bottleneck. Our first 30 days checklist shows where the local certificates fall in that window.
Each family member aged 14 or over registers separately. The age line is the same for all three background checks, so a teenager files a full set and a younger child none. The family relocation guide covers the rest of a child's paperwork.
Keep your entries consistent. Names, birth details and marital status from the form end up alongside your birth certificate and passport, so a spelling that differs from those documents only invites questions. Whether a file is complete is decided by Migraciones.
The mobile offices are a loose end. At the MigraMóvil operation in Ciudad del Este we reported on in September, the Departamento de Informática issued this certificate on the spot. Whether those operations now expect a prior online registration as well, the notice does not say.
Frequently Asked Questions About Paraguay's Police Certificate for Foreigners
Who needs the Certificado de Antecedentes para Extranjeros in Paraguay?
Every foreigner aged 14 or over who applies for temporary or permanent residency. Migraciones lists it as point 8 of the temporary residency requirements and, in its notice of 23 October 2026, calls it a legal requirement for both categories.
Can the Paraguayan police certificate for foreigners be obtained fully online?
No. Only the registration happens online, at certificados.pn.gov.py. According to Migraciones, you then appear in person at the Policía Nacional's Departamento de Informática, which issues the certificate.
What does the Policía Nacional online registration for foreigners ask for?
Identity document details, birth and nationality data, marital status, occupation, a phone number and an address in Paraguay (or a hotel and room number), information on your parents and spouse, references in the country, your entry date, a selfie and photos of your identity document.
Has Paraguay announced a fee or processing time for the new pre-registration?
No. The DNM notice of 23 October 2026 gives no start date for the pre-registration, no fee and no processing time, and no later official statement had appeared by 25 October 2026.
Planning the residency trip itself? We schedule the appointments at Migraciones, the Policía Nacional and Interpol Paraguay and accompany you to each one; formal and legal review of the file stays with Migraciones and our partner lawyer. See the residency and cédula service or send us a message.
As of 25 October 2026: this report is not legal or immigration advice. Which documents your own case requires is decided by Migraciones, so check the registration form and the requirement list again shortly before you travel.
Sources
- ▹Migraciones: Migraciones y Policía Nacional abordan temas de gestión de fronteras y documentación de extranjeros (23 October 2026)
- ▹Policía Nacional: Registro de Personas, online registration form (accessed 25 October 2026)
- ▹Migraciones: Residencia Temporal under Ley 6984/2022, requirement points 6 to 8
About the author
Yannick Schroth
Founder · Paraguay relocation support
Spends regular time in Paraguay and, with his team on the ground in Asunción, guides international nomads, entrepreneurs and investors through residency, the cédula and the RUC paperwork.
