The head of Paraguay's tax authority has put a number on something this site writes about constantly. On 10 August 2026, DNIT director Óscar Orué said the agency is receiving a significant volume of foreigners applying for fiscal residency, and that the count tripled last year against what the previous three years had produced. Brazilians lead by a wide margin.
Update, 13 September 2026: we have corrected the order of steps in this item. The RUC, the DNIT registration, needs the cédula and an in-person appointment at a DNIT office, not the temporary residency document alone.
Fiscal Residency Is a Second Step, Not the Same Thing
Orué set out the principle, and the mechanics are worth spelling out because they are the single most misunderstood part of moving here. Migraciones has to authorize you first. After temporary residency come the carnet and the cédula, and only with the cédula can you complete a RUC registration, with a personal appearance at a DNIT office of your choosing anywhere in the country. Whether and from when you are a Paraguayan tax resident is governed by Ley 6380/2019, and a local contador clarifies it for your case.
Two different authorities, two different statuses, in a fixed order. The distinction is set out in our guide to immigration status versus tax residency, and Orué's comments are a useful confirmation from the authority that handles the second one.
The scale gap between them tells the real story. Migraciones director Jorge Kronawetter reported 33,243 residency applications in the first half of 2026, up 62% year on year, split into 27,024 temporary and 6,219 permanent. Brazilians accounted for 19,518, or 59% of the total. That follows a record 47,687 applications in 2025, itself up from about 29,000 in 2024, and Kronawetter expects another record this year.
Set against tens of thousands of immigration applications, a tripling of fiscal registrations is growth from a much smaller base. Most people who obtain residency in Paraguay never take the second step, whether by choice, because they do not need it, or because nobody told them the two are separate.
The Caveat the Tax Authority Itself Made
Orué did not stop at the good news, and the part he added is the part the marketing usually drops.
He noted that many foreigners settle in Paraguay for real-estate investment or for digital service activity, and that digital services carried out from Paraguay generate VAT and income tax.
Read that slowly if you are planning to work online from Asunción. Paraguay's system is territorial: it does not tax foreign-source income.
It is the source of the income that matters, not the currency it arrives in or the nationality of the client, and work physically performed inside Paraguay is Paraguayan-source, taxed under the IRP at 8% to 10% or the IRE at 10%, whether the customer sits in Paraguay or abroad and whether or not a US LLC sends the invoice. How your own activity is classified turns on the facts; let a local adviser settle it before you count on 0%.
Our guides to how the 0% territorial rule actually works, online business taxation and economic substance walk through where that line sits.
Nothing here is a rule change. It is the tax authority's own director describing how the existing rule applies, which is a more reliable guide than a sales page.
Who Is Actually Arriving
The composition is not what an English-language reader might assume. Brazilians dominate and Argentinians come second, both driven substantially by proximity and by the contrast with their own tax systems.
Behind them sits a more varied group: Germany, Spain, Venezuela, the United States, the Netherlands, France, Bolivia and Russia. Most applicants are classified as entrepreneurs, a category that spans large-scale investors alongside people opening a shop or a restaurant, plus a student contingent.
What This Means If You Are Planning the Same Move
Three practical things follow.
First, get the order right. Residency and the cédula come before the RUC, and the RUC comes before the tax residency certificate your home country may eventually ask to see. DNIT issues that certificate to taxpayers with a RUC who are up to date with their obligations and show a valid ID, under Resolución General 65/2020, and no day count appears in it. Our residency and cédula guide covers the first half and the timeline article covers how long each stage realistically takes.
Second, expect queues. Volumes at these levels press on the same offices and appointment slots you will be using, and the growth is still accelerating rather than levelling off.
Third, decide deliberately whether you need the tax step at all. If your plan genuinely depends on Paraguayan tax residency, have a contador confirm your status, register the RUC and keep its filings current. If you are relocating for other reasons, skipping it is a legitimate choice, but do not assume a cédula alone did the job.
US citizens and green-card holders: none of this changes your position. The United States taxes worldwide income on the basis of citizenship, so Paraguayan fiscal residency does not end your US filing obligation, however carefully you register it. Take advice from a US-qualified professional before assuming otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is fiscal residency in Paraguay automatic once I have a cédula?
No. They are separate steps handled by separate authorities. Migraciones grants residency and the cédula; tax residency is governed by Paraguayan tax law, and the RUC registered with DNIT needs the cédula and an in-person appointment. Holding a cédula alone does not settle your tax status.
Does working online from Paraguay stay untaxed?
Not necessarily. The DNIT director stated that digital services carried out from Paraguay generate VAT and income tax. The territorial rule exempts foreign-source income, and services performed inside the country count as locally sourced whoever the client is, taxed at between 8% and 10%, so the physical location of the work matters.
Why are Brazilians such a large share of residency applicants in Paraguay?
Proximity, a shared border and differences between the two countries' tax and compliance rules, according to local reporting. Brazilians filed 19,518 of the 33,243 residency applications in the first half of 2026, about 59% of the total.
Not sure whether your plan needs the RUC step? We handle residency and RUC paperwork. Whether registering suits your tax position falls to a Paraguayan tax adviser to assess, and an introduction can be arranged. Get in touch.
Disclaimer: This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Registration figures and administrative practice change. Confirm the current requirements with DNIT, Migraciones or a qualified adviser before acting.
Sources
- ▹Radio Monumental: DNIT triplicó registros de extranjeros en 2025
- ▹Última Hora: Migraciones proyecta nuevo récord anual de residencias tras 33.000 solicitudes en primer semestre
- ▹La Nación: Más de 33.200 extranjeros solicitaron residencia en el país en el primer semestre
- ▹ABC Color: Solicitudes de residencia de extranjeros en Paraguay aumentaron más del 60%
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.
