Residency4 min read
What Paraguay residency costs, and how long it takes
The migration authority's fee is public and small. Everything else you'll be quoted — apostilles, sworn translations, notarisation, travel, professional work — is separate. Keeping the three apart is the only way to tell whether a quote is good.
Paraguayan residency is cheap by the standards of its alternatives, which is exactly why quotes for it vary so wildly. Two providers quoting very different totals are usually quoting different scopes — one trip or two, translations in or out, cédula included or not, follow-up included or not.
There are three separate buckets. A quote that doesn't let you separate them is a quote you can't check.
Bucket one: government fees
These are published by the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, set in guaraníes, and identical whoever files for you — including if you file yourself.
| Item | Fee (Gs.) | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary residency | 2,926,925 | General route under Ley N° 6984/2022 |
| Permanent residency | 2,926,925 | Including change of category from temporary |
| MERCOSUR temporary residency | 2,341,540 | Nationals of the eight listed countries |
| Certificado de radicación | 234,154 | Where a certificate of settlement is needed |
| Change of information | 234,154 | Amending details on a permanent file |
| Multa (overstay fine) | 702,462 | Late filing, including a late conversion |
The MERCOSUR route is roughly a fifth cheaper at the counter. It is also two years and non-renewable, so the saving comes with a harder deadline.
Bucket two: the costs nobody budgets for
Individually small, collectively not. These are paid to third parties, not to the migration authority and not to your provider.
| Cost | Paid to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Birth certificate, civil-status certificate | Your own civil registry | Varies widely by country |
| Criminal-record certificate | Your own police or justice ministry | Usually the slowest item |
| Apostille or consular legalisation | Your own foreign ministry, or a Paraguayan consulate | Per document |
| Sworn translation into Spanish | A licensed translator | Per page |
| Notarised copies | A Paraguayan notary | The authority asks for original plus authenticated copy |
| INTERPOL and Paraguayan police certificates | Paraguayan authorities | Required from age 14 |
| Travel and accommodation | — | The application is filed in person |
Bucket three: the professional fee
What a provider charges for their own work. It is optional in the strict sense — using an agent is not a legal requirement — and it is the only number that is genuinely comparable between providers, once you have stripped the government fees out and written the scope down.
Ours is a single all-inclusive fee of USD 1,600, covering document validation, the temporary residency application, the cédula application, additional processing requirements, and two short trips or one long one. Add-ons are billed once, on top, and only if you pick them:
| Add-on | Price (USD) | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Priority Processing | 675 | Fast-track for urgent cases — residency in about 2 months |
| One-Trip Fast Track | 600 | Complete the residency in a single visit instead of two |
| 12-Month Lease Contract + Bills | 450 | A unique address, with the bills processing |
| Driver's License | 150 | Paraguayan licence processing |
| RUC (National Tax ID) | 40 | The national tax identification number |
| Fiscal Residency Certificate | 115 | Requires a RUC |
| Simple Accounting | 300 / year | Requires a RUC |
| Complex Accounting | 750 / year | Dedicated accountant. Requires a RUC |
The dependency matters: the fiscal residency certificate and both accounting tiers require a RUC, and registering for a RUC is what can move you into the wider business-tax source rule. Read what Paraguay's 0% actually covers before you add them by default.
Price your own combination
Start at the base package and add only what your situation calls for. The total updates as you select — no bundle, no quote to wait for.
Build your packageThe timeline, honestly
There is no published processing-time commitment from the migration authority. Any timeline you are given — including this one — is an estimate from experience, not an official figure, and it depends on your documents and on the authority.
| Stage | Typical elapsed time | Who is the bottleneck |
|---|---|---|
| Gathering and apostilling documents | 2–8 weeks | You and your home country's registries — the criminal-record certificate is usually slowest |
| Translation, notarisation, pre-approval | 1–2 weeks | Handled for you |
| Filing and follow-up at Migraciones | Most of the wait | The authority |
| Temporary residency granted | 3–4 months from filing, typically | The authority |
| With Priority Processing | About 2 months | The authority |
| Cédula issued | After the residency grant, on a trip | Requires you to be present |
| Change of category to permanent | In the 3 months before the temporary card expires | You — this is a deadline, not a reminder |
Start the criminal-record certificate first. It is the item most likely to add a month, and it is the one thing nobody else can accelerate for you.
What no fee buys
A result. The migration authority states plainly that submitting documents does not presume approval, and that further documentation may be requested. Nobody can guarantee an outcome, and a provider who does is telling you something they cannot know.
What a good provider can do is pre-check the file before it is filed, deal with whatever the authority queries, and reapply where that is possible. That is the honest version of the offer.
And after the card: residency is a status, not a tax position. Whether your old country still claims you is a separate question with a separate answer — see becoming tax resident somewhere new.
Paraguay residency, filed end to end
$1,600 all in for the residency and the cédula, with translations and pre-approval included and government fees passed through at cost.
See what's includedResidency information is general and for orientation only. Eligibility, timelines and outcomes are determined by the relevant authorities, and applications are handled by licensed local partners.