Move to Paraguay. Zero tax on foreign income.

Standard residency: 2–6 months. With a complete document set and no errors, 2–4 months. Through the MigraMóvil mobile sessions, residency and ID can issue in under 5 days. Investor Pass delivers permanent residency in 10–15 working days.

No physical-presence rule applies. Under Ley 6984/2022 (Article 55 et seq.), temporary residents can lose status after 12 consecutive months of unjustified absence; permanent residents after 3 consecutive years. A short visit before each threshold preserves status.

Yes. Paraguay's tax system is territorial — only income earned inside Paraguay is taxed (8–10% max). Salary from foreign employers, online business, dividends, and crypto are not taxed by Paraguay.

Passport, birth certificate, foreign criminal record from your country of origin and every country where you had a residence in the past 3 years (apostilled), medical certificate, and two Paraguayan clearances issued on arrival — National Police antecedentes and Interpol Asunción. All foreign documents must be apostilled and translated by a sworn Paraguayan translator.

Yes. Spouse and minor children can be included in the same application. Adult children can apply on their own and be sponsored later.

After 3 years of permanent residency. Naturalization requires basic Spanish, demonstration of ties to Paraguay, and presence at the swearing-in.

Yes. A temporary residency (residencia temporaria) granted under Ley 6984/2022 carries the right to work as an employee or self-employed person for its two-year validity. You receive a cédula de identidad and RUC tax ID, allowing you to invoice, sign labor contracts, and enroll in IPS social security. The only restrictions are professions requiring an MEC-validated diploma (medicine, law, engineering). Diplomatic, student, and tourist statuses do not confer work rights. Permanent residency, available after the temporary period, removes any remaining limitations.

Spanish is essential for daily life: banks, Migraciones, hospitals, and SET tax filings operate exclusively in Spanish. Most professionals in Asunción speak passable English, but functional Spanish (CEFR A2-B1) eliminates 90% of friction within six months. Guaraní, co-official under Constitution Art. 140, dominates rural areas and informal conversation, but is not required for residency or business. The citizenship integration test introduced under Resolution 0283/2026 evaluates Spanish proficiency and basic Guaraní phrases, civics, and history.

Yes. The US taxes citizens and green-card holders on worldwide income regardless of residence. Becoming a Paraguay tax resident does not release you from US obligations: you continue filing Form 1040, FBAR (FinCEN 114) for accounts exceeding US$10,000 aggregate, and FATCA Form 8938 above the relevant thresholds. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (US$126,500 for 2025) and Foreign Tax Credit may reduce US liability, but Paraguay's 0% IRP on foreign income means no offsetting credit exists. Only formal expatriation under IRC 877A ends the obligation.

Crypto is not specifically regulated, and Ley 6380/2019 taxes only Paraguay-sourced income under the IRP. Gains realized on foreign exchanges (Binance, Kraken, Coinbase) by a Paraguay tax resident fall outside the taxable base, mirroring the treatment of foreign dividends and capital gains. Local peer-to-peer sales or services invoiced in crypto are taxable as ordinary income. The BCP issued a 2024 advisory warning that crypto is not legal tender, but no prohibition exists on holding or trading. Mining operations face separate scrutiny over electricity subsidies.

Yes. SENACSA, the national animal health service, requires an international veterinary health certificate issued within 10 days of travel, endorsed by the origin country's official authority (USDA-APHIS for the US, CFIA for Canada). Rabies vaccination must be at least 30 days and no more than 12 months old; cats and dogs over three months need it mandatorily. No quarantine applies for compliant arrivals. Snub-nosed breeds face airline embargoes between October and March due to heat. Silvio Pettirossi (ASU) is the primary entry point.

The cédula de identidad issued by the Departamento de Identificaciones is valid for ten years for adults and must be renewed in person at any Identificaciones office or authorized REDAC kiosk. Bring the expiring cédula, a current utility bill, and pay the Gs. 89,000 fee (~US$12). Biometric capture takes 15 minutes; the new card is issued same-day or within 72 hours. Permanent residents whose carnet expires must also renew with Migraciones every ten years; failing to do so within 90 days of expiry triggers an abandonment review.

Yes. Under Ley 6984/2022 and its 2024 reglamento, holders of permanent residency may sponsor ascendants (parents, grandparents) and descendants without applying the standard investment or income criteria. The sponsor signs a notarized commitment of economic responsibility (carta de manutención) and proves housing capacity. Required documents include apostilled birth certificates establishing the relationship and a clean police record from each country of residence over the past five years. Processing runs parallel to standard applications: typically 90-120 days. Family members receive the same residency category as the sponsor.

Paraguay signed the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in 2023 and committed to first CRS exchanges in 2026, with the SET as competent authority. Banks including Itaú, Continental, Sudameris, and ueno already collect tax residency self-certifications at account opening. Accounts held by Paraguay tax residents are not reported externally; accounts held by tax residents of partner jurisdictions (most EU, UK, Canada, Australia) will be reported annually. The US is not a CRS signatory and instead receives data through FATCA's IGA framework, signed with Paraguay in 2018.

Yes. Permanent residency lapses if you remain outside Paraguay for more than three consecutive years without notifying Migraciones, under Article 41 of Ley 6984/2022. Temporary residents lose status by exceeding 12 consecutive months abroad. Criminal convictions carrying sentences above two years trigger automatic cancellation, as does proven fraud in the original application. To preserve status during long absences, file a constancia de ausencia justificada with supporting documentation (employment, study, medical). Citizenship, once granted under Constitution Art. 148, cannot be revoked except by voluntary renunciation.

Personal effects accompanying a new resident benefit from a one-time exemption under Decreto 4672/2005: laptops, monitors, cameras, and household items in reasonable quantities enter without import duties or 10% IVA, provided the cédula was issued within the prior six months and the goods are declared on arrival. Beyond this window, electronics face 10% IVA plus 0-20% import duty depending on Mercosur classification. Ciudad del Este's free zone offers retail pricing 30-50% below regional markets, making local purchase often cheaper than shipping. Couriers (DHL, FedEx) collect duties at delivery.

There is no MERCOSUR-wide entry fee for tourists from member or associate states. What travelers encounter at land crossings (Puente de la Amistad with Brazil, Puente San Roque with Argentina) is the tasa de migración, a Gs. 35,000 (~US$5) administrative charge processed by DGM, plus optional vehicle insurance (Carta Verde Mercosur) for cross-border driving. Asunción's Silvio Pettirossi airport charges no arrival fee. US, EU, and most South American passport holders enter visa-free for 90 days; the 2024 reciprocity reform eliminated the prior US$160 US-citizen visa fee.

Yes. Resolution 0283/2026, which launched the Investor Pass on 17 April 2026, defines qualifying investment broadly: US$70,000 in real estate, a productive business, government bonds, or a fixed-term deposit at a BCP-supervised bank. Retirees demonstrating US$1,300 monthly pension income qualify under the rentista track without the lump-sum requirement. Writers, artists, and independent professionals satisfy the investment threshold via a sole-proprietor RUC and proof of equipment or working capital. The pass grants two-year residency convertible to permanent status, accelerated cédula issuance in seven days, and SET tax registration in a single appointment.