The first weeks in Paraguay: the residencia before your 90 days are up, the rest follows
You enter Paraguay as a visitor, for at most 90 days. Within that period you apply for the residencia temporal; after that you are a residente precario and may work. With the residencia you get the cédula, with the cédula the RUC. Clocks are also running for your driving licence, your household goods and your AOW insurance.
4 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
In your first weeks in Paraguay one deadline counts: you enter as a visitor, and that status lasts at most 90 days. Within that time you apply to the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones for the residencia temporal. The law calls the deadlines for visitors strict: an extension or a switch to another status must be applied for before they expire. Anyone who is late pays a fine of 702,462 guaraní. As soon as your application is running, you are a residente precario, and after that the rest follows in a fixed order.
| What | Deadline | More |
|---|---|---|
| Entry stamp in your passport | on arrival; you need it for your application | the residence routes |
| Declaring cash through the eDAV | on arrival, from 10,000 dollars | banking and payments |
| Dog or cat to SENACSA | on arrival, with a certificate at most 60 days old | pets to Paraguay |
| Applying for the residencia temporal | within your 90 days as a visitor | the residence routes |
| Carnet de residencia precaria | valid for 90 days, once | registration and numbers |
| Cédula from the police | after the residencia temporal | registration and numbers |
| RUC at the DNIT | with your cédula, if you have income in Paraguay | working in Paraguay |
| Dutch driving licence | 3 months after arrival | car and driving licence |
| Voluntary AOW insurance | within one year after you stop being insured | SVB |
What do you do at the airport?
Have the entry stamp put in your passport, or keep the stamped entry card. The migration service asks for a copy with your application. If you bring 10,000 dollars or more, in cash or in cheques, you fill in the DNIT's eDAV and show the QR code. With a dog or cat you go to the SENACSA veterinary inspector, with the original certificate.
What do you arrange in the first weeks?
The residencia temporal. You apply in person at the DNM, with your apostilled and translated documents from the Netherlands. Two certificates can be requested in Paraguay from the police: the Interpol one and the one for foreigners. Plan those in your first days.
Do not wait until day 89. If a document is missing, you need time to have it sent from the Netherlands, with an apostille. If you cannot make it within 90 days, apply in time for an extension of your visit; that can also be done online, for 585,385 guaraní, but for no longer than the first period.
While your application is running, you hold a carnet de residencia precaria. It allows you to leave and re-enter the country, to study and to work. You can enrol children at school straight away; see school in Paraguay.
And then?
With the carnet of the residencia temporal you go to the police's Identificaciones department for your cédula. With that cédula you register with the DNIT for a RUC, if you have income in Paraguay: your cédula number becomes your tax number. And with your documents you open a bank account; see banking and payments.
You preferably rent a home once you know the area; the rules are in renting in Paraguay. You give your address under oath to the migration service. If you have moved by the time you later switch to the residencia permanente, you pay 234,154 guaraní for changing your details.
Which other clocks are running?
The driving licence. Your Dutch driving licence is valid for three months after arrival. After that you drive with a Paraguayan licence, or a licence in the Extranjero category that is valid for one year.
The household goods. As long as you do not hold a residencia permanente, your household goods come in under temporary admission. See household goods to Paraguay.
Absence. With the residencia temporal the DNM can cancel your residence if you are away for more than a year without permission.
Building up AOW. If you have not yet reached AOW age, you have one year after you stop being insured to take out voluntary insurance with the SVB; see AOW on emigration.
Your Dutch tax return. For the year of departure you file an M return; see the M form.
The order of all these steps, with the deadlines monitored, is in the route to Paraguay. Healthcare after arrival is covered in healthcare in Paraguay.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.8: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Paraguay or go straight to step 2.8 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Ley 6984/2022 de Migraciones, articles 42 and 57 — the 90 days, the strict deadlines and the residencia precaria (BACN) — bacn.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the residencia temporal, the entry stamp and the fine for being late — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — extending a visit, also online — migraciones.gov.py
- DNIT — the eDAV and declaring cash from 10,000 dollars, February 2026 — dnit.gov.py
- SENACSA — a dog or cat to the veterinary inspection on arrival — senacsa.gov.py
- Ley 5016/14 Nacional de Tránsito y Seguridad Vial, article 27 — a foreign driving licence valid for three months (BACN) — bacn.gov.py
- DNIT — foreigners with a residencia get their cédula number as RUC — dnit.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the fee for changing your details when switching to permanent — migraciones.gov.py
- SVB — voluntary AOW insurance, to be applied for within one year — svb.nl
Read on
- ParaguayAankomst in Paraguay4 min
Registration and numbers in Paraguay: carnet, cédula and RUC, in that order
In Paraguay your paperwork revolves around three documents. First the carnet de residencia from the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. With it you get the cédula, the Paraguayan identity card, from the police. And only with that cédula can you register with the DNIT tax authority for a RUC, because your cédula number becomes your tax number.
Updated 15 October 2026
- ParaguayAankomst in Paraguay4 min
Banking and payments in Paraguay: AOW in euros, interest untaxed, declare cash from 10,000 dollars
The SVB transfers your AOW to Paraguay in euros, through Citibank, for at most € 0.48 per payment. A Paraguayan bank must check your identity and ask what you will use the account for. Interest on a savings account with a bank in Paraguay is exempt from income tax. Cash from 10,000 dollars is declared on arrival.
Updated 15 October 2026
- ParaguayAankomst in Paraguay5 min
Buying a house in Paraguay: free for Dutch buyers, with the notary as gatekeeper
As a Dutch citizen you may buy a house or land in Paraguay. The only restriction on foreigners, a strip of 50 kilometres along the border, applies to nationals of the neighbouring countries and only to land outside town. The purchase goes through a notary, who withholds the seller's tax. After that you pay 1 % property tax on the fiscal value every year.
Updated 15 October 2026