Documents & eligibility · every route
A qualifying investment from USD 40,000, a complete document file, and two sequential approvals — the Foreign Investor Certificate and permanent residency itself. Here is the full checklist, stage by stage, with the caveats most guides leave out.
The single most useful thing to know
Guides that treat “Paraguay residency requirements” as a single checklist are doing applicants a disservice. There are three distinct credentials, issued by two different authorities, on two different timelines — and every document in this checklist exists to support one of them.
Citizenship is a fourth, later step — by naturalisation, after the constitutional residence period, not conferred by the investment. It has its own requirements and sits outside this checklist.
| Foreign Investor Certificate (CIE) | Issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC), via SUACE. Confirms the investment qualifies — it is not residency. Typically 5 business days from a complete file. |
|---|---|
| Permanent residency | Granted by the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. The actual legal-residency status, granted directly — no two-year temporary stage. Runs on a separate timeline, typically several months. |
| Cédula (national ID) | Issued by Policía Nacional / Identificaciones. The physical ID card that lets a resident open accounts, obtain a RUC and function locally. Registered after residency is approved. |
Who can apply
Applicants must be adults; dependent children are included on the main applicant's file, not assessed independently.
Open to foreign nationals generally. A small number of visa-restricted nationalities require an additional letter from Paraguay's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) before travel.
A standard medical certificate is required; there is no health-based exclusion beyond that.
A clean criminal record from the country of origin, and from any country of recent residence, is required and assessed — not merely requested.
The qualifying investment must be traceable to a legitimate source. Expect to document the paper trail behind the capital, not just proof it exists today.
Spouses and dependent children can generally be included in the same application; specifics depend on the route and are confirmed before anything is filed.
Regardless of route
These documents apply no matter which of the five investment routes is chosen. Route-specific investment evidence is covered separately below.
Valid passport with at least six months' remaining validity and legible copies of the biographical page.
Passport-sized photographs to Migraciones' format.
Birth certificate, apostilled and translated.
Marriage certificate, if a spouse is included.
Birth certificates for any dependent children.
Criminal record certificate from the country of origin, apostilled and dated recently.
Criminal record certificate from any country of recent residence.
MRE letter, for the small number of visa-restricted nationalities.
A medical certificate confirming general fitness, issued to the standard the file requires.
Documentation proving the qualifying investment — the specific form varies by route — plus, where applicable, evidence of the source of the invested funds.
Completed migration application forms.
Power of attorney, where the file is progressed by counsel on the applicant's behalf.
| Apostille | Required for foreign-issued documents from Hague signatories; consular legalisation otherwise |
|---|---|
| Translation | Certified Spanish translation by a Paraguay-registered traductor público, done in Asunción |
| Recency window | ~180 days for criminal records & route-specific investment evidence |
The two rules that trip people up
Apostille. Any document issued outside Paraguay and destined for a Paraguayan file — birth certificate, marriage certificate, criminal record — must carry an apostille under the Hague Apostille Convention if the issuing country is a signatory. Non-signatory countries require consular legalisation instead, which takes longer and should be started early. Apostilles can only be applied to originals, not photocopies.
Translation. Once apostilled, foreign-language documents need a certified Spanish translation. Only a traductor público — a sworn translator registered in Paraguay — is reliably accepted; translations completed abroad are frequently rejected on review. In practice, translation is done on the ground in Asunción, as part of file preparation.
What changes route to route
The personal document set above is constant across every route. What changes is the evidence of the qualifying investment itself.
| Real estate — USD 200,000 | A registered transfer deed, or a notarised purchase contract with at least 30% of the declared value paid, for qualifying income-generating property. See the Paraguay real estate residency route. |
|---|---|
| Financial instruments — USD 200,000 | A certificate from a Central Bank–authorised entity confirming the value and the required two-year holding term. See Paraguay financial instruments residency. |
| Approved tourism projects — USD 150,000 | Evidence of the investment into a MIC-approved tourism development, with the project's business plan and reporting schedule. See Paraguay tourism investment residency. |
| SUACE company — USD 70,000 | Evidence the company has been formed and capitalised to threshold through the SUACE system, with supporting corporate documentation. See the SUACE Paraguay company residency route. |
| Film & audiovisual — USD 40,000 | Evidence of the contribution to an approved production, plus a separate demonstration of at least USD 80,000 in available funds. See the Paraguay film residency route. |
Confirm which of the five routes fits your objectives and budget — see the full route comparison for how they differ in capital, control and ongoing obligations.
Apostille and translate the civil-status and background documents in parallel with structuring the investment — usually the longest single stretch of the process.
The investment is made and documented to the standard the route requires — purchase, capitalisation, deployment, or contribution.
With a complete file, the MIC issues the CIE within five business days — the fastest, most predictable step in the process.
The file is progressed with the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, typically over several months, on a separate clock from the CIE.
Once residency is approved, the applicant registers for the Paraguayan national ID card — unlocking bank accounts, a RUC and daily proof of identity.
Permanent residency is maintained with at least one visit to Paraguay every three years — a low bar by regional standards, but a real one.
After three years of permanent residence, and subject to language, civics and physical-presence requirements, a resident may apply for citizenship by naturalisation — a separate application, not an automatic outcome.
Start to finish
Because Investor Pass applicants bypass the standard two-year temporary-residency stage, the overall file looks different from Paraguay's ordinary immigration process — shorter in structure, but not instant.
Where files actually stall
The documents above are all obtainable by any applicant; what causes real delay is almost always sequencing and detail, not eligibility.
Apostilled criminal records and investment-evidencing certificates have a practical shelf life. Ordering them too early means re-doing them.
A translation completed abroad, however well-intentioned, is frequently not accepted. Budget for translation in Asunción, as part of the process.
Even minor, resolved matters should be disclosed and explained rather than omitted — omissions surface in checks and cost far more time.
An investment that is real but poorly documented at origin slows both the bank side and the residency file.
The certificate is a real milestone, but it is not residency. Plan around the several-months residency figure, not the five-day CIE figure.
Requirements & documents
No. There is no language test at the residency stage. Language ability becomes relevant only later, if and when a resident applies for citizenship by naturalisation, which does carry civics and language expectations.
Any document issued outside Paraguay and used in the file — birth certificate, marriage certificate, criminal record — needs an apostille if the issuing country is a Hague Convention signatory, or consular legalisation if it is not. Documents obtained inside Paraguay during the process do not need an apostille.
It is not reliably accepted. Paraguayan authorities generally require translation by a traductor público registered in Paraguay, so this step is normally completed in Asunción as part of file preparation, even if the underlying documents were apostilled abroad.
The CIE is issued within five business days of a complete file. Permanent residency is a separate process, typically running several months. The cédula is then registered once residency is approved. Treat these as three sequential clocks, not one.
No. The CIE confirms the investment qualifies; it is issued by the MIC. Permanent residency is a separate status granted afterward by the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. They are commonly confused, including by other guides — on this site they are always kept apart.
Generally yes, with route-specific and case-specific detail confirmed before filing. Under the film route specifically, dependants typically receive two-year temporary residency initially rather than the direct permanent residency the main applicant receives, with a standard conversion pathway afterward — an example of why the fine print varies by route.
The financial instruments route is the most administratively contained: no company to form, no property title to diligence, and no business plan — just the personal document set plus a single certificate from a Central Bank–authorised entity. Real estate and SUACE carry additional route-specific paperwork (title, or corporate formation documents) on top of the core file.
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Request guidance on the documents your route requires and the realistic timeline for your circumstances.
Last reviewed against Resolution N° 0283/2026 and current official fee schedules.
Investment routes
Qualify through an income-generating property investment.
Explore this route → from $200,000Invest in regulated Paraguayan financial instruments.
Explore this route → from $150,000Back an approved tourism-sector project.
Explore this route → from $70,000Form a Paraguayan company via the SUACE one-stop window.
Explore this route → from $40,000Contribute to audiovisual production under Ley 6106/2018.
Explore this route →From our insights
The realistic Paraguay residency timeline, stage by stage — investment, CIE, permanent residency and the cédula — and what actually takes time.
Read the guide →How strong is the Paraguayan passport? Henley Index rank, visa-free destinations, Mercosur access, and the real path to citizenship by naturalisation.
Read the guide →Paraguay's constitution allows dual citizenship only via treaty or reciprocity. Who qualifies, who doesn't, and what to check before naturalising.
Read the guide →