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Residency & stay

Paraguay residency and cédula

The complete path to a Paraguayan residence permit, personally supported: temporary residency, the cédula, the RUC inscription (Inscripción) included in Premium, and from month 21 the change into permanent residency.

Price
from $600
Duration
3 to 4 months (one trip), 5 to 7 months (two trips)
For whom
Anyone who wants a residence permit
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Residency is the foundation for everything else in Paraguay: first the Carnet de Residencia Temporal, then the cédula (the Paraguayan ID card), then the RUC tax number. Whether you are tax-resident is governed by Paraguayan law and clarified by a contador, and only then, with a life that has moved here, can the territorial system leave genuinely foreign-source income untaxed in principle; work you perform from Paraguay is Paraguayan-source income.

We handle the coordination and the personal support on the ground: certified translations, appointments at Migraciones, biometrics and the office visits through to the cédula. You communicate with us in English; our partners on the ground speak Spanish and English and accompany you to the appointments your package covers.

From month 21 the second stage follows: the change into permanent residency, a status without an end date whose card is renewed every ten years. Migraciones tightened exactly that stage during 2026. Resolución DNM 407/2026 governs every application filed from 6 July 2026 and asks for more than income on paper — it wants evidence of the ejercicio efectivo, the actual carrying-on of the activity you claim. For readers outside Mercosur that is the change that bites, because a bank balance alone no longer answers the question. Investors have a second door: the Paraguay Investor Pass skips the temporary stage and starts you as a permanent resident.

What's included

  • Temporary-residency application including biometrics at Migraciones
  • Cédula application and the associated office visits
  • Sworn translations by a traductor público in Paraguay and forwarding of your documents to the gestor and Migraciones (Standard and Premium; on the Light package we coordinate the translations)
  • Personal support at the appointments within your package (on Light, a gestor accompanies you at Migraciones)
  • In the Premium package, also the cédula fast-track and the RUC inscription (Inscripción)

Process

  1. 1Free intro call and choosing the package that fits
  2. 2Document gathering: you obtain your birth certificate and police record and have them apostilled at home (or legalized at a consulate where your country is not in the Apostille Convention); the sworn translations are done in Paraguay
  3. 3Arrival in Paraguay and the temporary-residency application (biometrics)
  4. 4Cédula and, depending on the package, the RUC inscription (Inscripción)
  5. 5After-care as needed: add-ons such as the tax subscription, referrals for health insurance, and from month 21 the change into permanent residency (a separate application, bookable on its own)

Without a fast-track the Carnet de Residencia Temporal takes around 3 to 4 months. On the Premium package the cédula is done within that same 3 to 4 months, because the biometrics are taken on the first trip and the cédula fast-track is included. On the Light and Standard packages the second trip and the scheduling around it are added, realistically 5 to 7 months. The carnet fast-track is bookable separately for a surcharge.

Who is this for?

For anyone who wants a durable legal residence permit and the basis for tax residency in Paraguay. Families and anyone with a tight police-clearance window are safest with the Premium package (one trip).

Pricing

  • Light package$600
  • Standard package$1,400
  • Premium package$2,400

The official fees of the residency process (Migraciones, cédula) are included in the Standard and Premium packages. In the Light package you pay those government fees (tasas gubernamentales) and the sworn translations directly yourself; together with the local document package and notarial certifications that currently comes to about $1,020 (Migraciones fees about $590, provisional). Apostilles or consular legalization in your home country are never part of a package. Payment is 50% on order, 50% when you receive your Residencia Precaria.

Prices in USD; no VAT is charged.

I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE. I AM NOT ACCREDITED TO REPRESENT YOU IN IMMIGRATION MATTERS.

We work with accredited partners in Paraguay, including our partner lawyer Patricia Cardozo (Corte Suprema de Justicia, Matrícula C.S.J. N° 18.119), who handle the legal side of these matters. Our own role is to coordinate and accompany.

Important note: Our work is administrative: we coordinate translations, gestor and appointments and accompany you. Whether your documents and your case meet the requirements is reviewed by Migraciones and our Paraguayan partner lawyer, not by us. Residency alone does not automatically make you tax-free. On the Paraguayan side, tax residency is a question of law for a contador; leaving your home country cleanly is a separate question under its own rules. The tax assessment itself comes from licensed tax advisers, whom we introduce; we coordinate the residency. US citizens and green-card holders remain taxed by the IRS on worldwide income regardless of residency. Which evidence your solvency category calls for is set by Migraciones and changes without notice; what counts is the position on the day your application is filed.

More on this topic

In-depth guide: the residency and cédula guidePermanent residency: the second stage in detailMoving to Paraguay, step by step

FAQ

How long does it take to get the Paraguayan cédula?
Without a fast-track, around 3 to 4 months for the Carnet de Residencia Temporal. With one trip (Premium package) the cédula is issued inside that window, since the biometrics happen on the first visit and the cédula fast-track is part of the package; with two trips (Light and Standard) it is realistically 5 to 7 months. The carnet fast-track shortens the first stage to about 30 to 45 days as a paid add-on. We do not give a hard guarantee on government processing times.
Do I have to live in Paraguay full time for residency?
Not for the permit itself. The limits come from the migration law, not from any resolution: under Ley 6984/2022 a temporary residency is cancelled after more than one year of continuous absence, and a permanent one once the absence reaches three years. Continuous is the operative word — the clock runs from your last departure without a re-entry, and any re-entry resets it, so the common shorthand "one entry a year" understates what the rule actually permits. What changed in 2026 is enforcement. Resolución DNM 376/2026, signed on 13 May 2026 and published on the Migraciones portal on 10 August 2026, replaced the earlier rules 018/2023 and 120/2023: the Dirección de Control de Permanencia now reconciles entry and exit records twice a year, and a lapsed status is cancelled by administrative decision rather than quietly ignored. Paraguayan tax residency still follows its own law, with no day count, while your home country applies its own tests.
Why does a cancelled Paraguay residency matter for my taxes?
Because the cancellation is not kept inside Migraciones. Under Resolución DNM 376/2026 the outcome is reported to the National Police, the Supreme Court and the DNIT, the tax authority. A status you assumed was dormant can therefore surface on the tax side, which matters if your RUC and your Paraguayan tax position rest on it. If a long absence is unavoidable, Article 6 lets you ask for it to be authorized in advance, and it covers temporary residents too, not only permanent ones. A permanent resident can obtain up to one further year counted from the registered departure. Apply in good time: at the latest three months before the legal limit falls due, or one month for temporary residents, since a late request is refused. US citizens and green-card holders should note that none of this changes their IRS position: they are taxed on worldwide income regardless of residency anywhere.
What does a Paraguay residency absence authorization involve, and what happens after a cancellation?
Article 8 of Resolución DNM 376/2026 asks for a written note to the Director Nacional, copies of your residency carnet, cédula and passport, proof of arraigo (your ties to Paraguay) and a fee of two jornales. Article 9 lists what counts as ties: a property title or lease, a certificate for an account with a bank or finance company, a certificate for an EAS or another company, your RUC, a relative with residency here, or other evidence the Dirección de Control de Permanencia accepts. That office reports within ten business days, and an approval states the exact date by which you have to re-enter. If Migraciones issues no resolution within 60 calendar days, the request counts as rejected. A cancelled resident is treated as a tourist with 30 days to leave or file again; a cancelled temporary residency cannot be extended, while a cancelled permanent one can be recovered through an application made within three years of the cancellation.
When can I move from temporary to permanent residency in Paraguay?
In a window that opens in month 21 of your temporary residency and closes when the 24 months run out. Migraciones calls the step cambio de categoría, and it is a separate application rather than anything automatic; if you are not ready, extending the temporary residency by two years (ampliación) is the alternative. Permanent residency has no end date, and its card is renewed every ten years. Two groups go straight to the permanent stage instead: spouses and children of Paraguayan nationals (Ley 2193/2003), and investors using the Paraguay Investor Pass under Resolución MIC 0283/2026. For everyone else the temporary stage comes first.
What did Resolución DNM 407/2026 change about proving solvency?
It reorganised the solvency test for every application filed from 6 July 2026. For the first time the requirements under the migration law Ley 6984/2022 and under the Mercosur residency agreement are unified, so there is no longer one document list for each. It sets out twelve solvency categories — among them employees, freelancers, technicians, self-employed people in trade and services, remote workers and digital nomads, property owners, shareholders, farmers, clergy, pensioners, dependants and students. The substantive tightening is that it asks for verifiable income and evidence of the ejercicio efectivo, the actual exercise of the activity. One further practical change: the occupation is no longer printed on the Carnet de Admisión and stays in the Migraciones system only.
What does the Paraguay permanent residency application cost in official fees?
The government fee is 25 jornales mínimos. Under the schedule in force since 1 July 2026 (Decreto 6225/2026, Resolución DNM 478/2026) that is 2,926,925 PYG in cash, 2,991,317 PYG by debit card and 3,023,514 PYG by credit card. Renewing the permanent resident card is 4 jornales, 468,308 PYG in cash. Paraguay sets official fees in daily units of the minimum wage, so the guaraní figure moves whenever the minimum wage does. When we handle the change into permanent residency, that government fee and the sworn translations are included in our price; only the apostilles of your home-country documents come on top. We do not publish minimum income figures per solvency category: the resolution itself is a scan without a text layer, and the amounts circulating online are not sourced.
Is the RUC tax number included in the residency packages?
In the Premium package the RUC inscription (Inscripción) is included (in the Light and Standard packages it is available as an add-on). Important: that does not complete the RUC. After the cédula is issued you still need one in-person visit to the DNIT tax office. You can keep that appointment at any DNIT office in the country, not only in Asunción.

Related services

Fast-Track: expedited residency and cédulaRUC / tax number in ParaguayPermanent residency: the change from month 21Paraguay Investor Pass: permanent residency through an investment

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