Paraguay Residency: The Document Checklist
What Migraciones actually requires, the official 2026 fees, and the two translation and apostille mistakes that stall most applications before they start.
Much of the frustration people hit when filing a Paraguayan residency application on their own does not come from the law itself — it comes from documents rejected over a point of form: a translation done by the wrong translator, an apostille obtained in the wrong country, a certificate that expired between issue and filing.
This is the real checklist, with the source of each requirement and the two documentary errors that come up most often.
The Temporary Residency checklist
Based on the requirements published by the National Directorate of Migration (DNM) for the general regime under Law No. 6,984/2022:
- Valid identity document (national ID or passport) — with enough validity to cover the whole process, not just the filing date.
- Criminal record certificate, issued by the competent authority in your country of origin — and, where applicable, from any other country you have lived in over recent years.
- Foreign nationals’ record certificate, issued by the IT Department of the Paraguayan National Police, obtained once in Paraguay.
- Certificate of life and residence (certificado de vida y residencia), issued by the police station nearest the address declared in Paraguay.
- Sworn declaration of respect for the Paraguayan Constitution and laws.
- Declaration of the professional or economic activity you intend to carry out in the country — no minimum income evidence is required under the Mercosur/general route, but the activity must be declared.
What changes under the Mercosur route
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are Mercosur member states, which places nationals of those countries on the bloc’s residency route rather than the general route applicable to nationals of other continents — with its own procedure, though the documentary base overlaps substantially with the list above.
Translation and legalisation: where most applications stall
The translation rule. Every document in a foreign language requires a Spanish translation by a public translator registered in Paraguay, or by a foreign public translator authorised by the competent authority of the country where they practise — and in that second case, the translation itself must also be apostilled or legalised.
The apostille rule. The apostille is the mechanism of the countries party to the Hague Convention, and it is issued by the designated authority in the document’s country of origin. It must be obtained before travelling — it is not a step you resolve later, once in Paraguay.
The alternative to an apostille: consular legalisation — the document is legalised at the Paraguayan Consulate in the country of origin and then at the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is the route for anyone who, for whatever reason, cannot obtain an apostille.
The two most common documentary errors
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Translating at home, with a local sworn translator, assuming that is enough. An ordinary foreign sworn translation does not satisfy the Paraguayan requirement of a public translator registered in Paraguay (or an authorised foreign translator, with the document duly apostilled). A document translated only at origin, outside that framework, is frequently rejected or requires a fresh translation once in Paraguay — costing time and money.
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Leaving the apostille until after arrival. The apostille is an act of the authority in the document’s country of origin — it cannot be produced remotely while you are already in Paraguay. Travelling without that step completed stalls the filing until the gap is resolved at a distance, which is usually slower and more expensive than dealing with it before departure.
The official cost in 2026
It is worth separating precisely what is an official fee (arancel, paid to Migraciones) from what is a professional fee (charged by whoever runs the process for you) — the two are routinely blended together in commercial content.
| Item | Official amount (2026) | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary Residency fee, general regime | Gs. 2,787,550 in cash (Gs. 2,864,208 by card) | Decree No. 4,122/2025, DNM Resolution No. 513/2025 |
| Permanent Residency fee, Mercosur regime | Gs. 2,230,040 | Differentiated tariff for the Mercosur regime |
(Gs. is the Paraguayan guaraní.) These amounts exclude professional fees, translation, the apostille in your country of origin, and any travel to Asunción — each is charged separately and varies by provider.
Note on scope. Amounts in guaraníes are revised periodically by decree and DNM resolution — the fee in force until 30 June 2025 was different. Always confirm the amount in force on your filing date directly with Migraciones, or with whoever is running your process, rather than relying on the figure in this article indefinitely.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to evidence a minimum income for residency under the Mercosur route?
No. The requirement to evidence means of subsistence belongs to the permanent residency route applicable to nationals from outside the bloc — it is not part of the official requirement list for the Mercosur route.
Does a document issued abroad need both a local sworn translation and a Paraguayan one?
It needs the translation that meets the Paraguayan standard: by a public translator registered in Paraguay, or by an authorised foreign translator with the translation duly apostilled. A foreign sworn translation on its own does not normally satisfy that requirement.
Can I sort out the apostille once I am already in Paraguay?
No. The apostille is an act of the document’s country of origin. Resolving it remotely from Paraguay is possible but slower — the sensible course is to complete it before travelling.
The starting point
Documentation for Paraguayan residency is not complex in itself — but it is rigid on form: the right translator, the apostille at the right moment, certificates whose validity matches the schedule of the process. That is precisely where applications run without guidance lose months.
If you are assembling documentation for residency in Paraguay, it is worth building the checklist specific to your case before issuing any certificate — the order in which you obtain them matters too.
One conversation is enough to review your documentary position.
Informational content. It does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Requirements and amounts were verified against official sources of the National Directorate of Migration in July 2026 and are subject to updating by subsequent rules. Individual situations should be analysed case by case.