Residence routes to Paraguay: temporary first, permanent after two years
As a Dutch citizen you need no visa for Paraguay, not even to apply for a residence permit. You apply for the residencia temporal at the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones in Paraguay itself. It is valid for up to two years. After that you move on to the residencia permanente. Only then do you show what you live on, and the agency names no fixed minimum amount.
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You move to Paraguay without a visa. The Netherlands and Paraguay concluded an agreement in 1960, and the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) adds that a Dutch citizen also needs no visa to extend a stay or to apply for a residence permit. So you enter as a visitor and apply in Paraguay for the residencia temporal. It is valid for up to two years. Then comes the residencia permanente. The DNM names no fixed minimum income for either.
| Step | Valid | Fee since 1 July 2026 (cash) |
|---|---|---|
| Visit without a visa | up to 90 days | |
| Extension of the visit | once, no longer than the first period | 585,385 guaraní |
| Residencia temporal | up to 2 years, extendable by the same period | 2,926,925 guaraní |
| Residencia permanente | indefinite; you renew the card every 10 years | 2,926,925 guaraní |
| Certificado de radicación, proof of your residence | 234,154 guaraní | |
| Fine for overstaying | 702,462 guaraní |
The fees are expressed in jornales, the minimum daily wage of 117,077 guaraní: 25 jornales for a residencia. If you pay by debit or credit card, 2 to 3 % plus VAT is added.
What do you hand in for the residencia temporal?
The application is personal and made at the counter. You bring your passport with the entry stamp, and a birth certificate. If you are married or divorced, that certificate too. In addition a certificate of good conduct from the Netherlands, or from the country where you lived in recent years, a certificate from Interpol, and a certificate from the Paraguayan police for foreigners. You can apply for the last two at the police in Paraguay.
Everything issued in the Netherlands gets an apostille. A document in a language other than Spanish is translated by a sworn translator, in Paraguay or in the Netherlands. A translation made in the Netherlands then needs its own apostille too. At the DNM you declare under oath what profession or occupation you will have in Paraguay, and at which address you live.
As soon as your application is running, you are a residente precario. That allows you to leave and re-enter the country, to study and to work. With the residencia temporal you also get a Paraguayan identity card, the cédula, with the same validity; see registration and numbers.
Have your documents apostilled in the Netherlands before you leave. The apostille comes from an authority in the country where the document was issued, not from Paraguay. And the Dutch embassy for Paraguay is in Buenos Aires.
Do you have to show what you live on?
Yes, but only when you switch to the residencia permanente. The DNM lists twelve categories for that. For a retiree a statement from your pension provider will do, showing the amount and the bank it is paid into, with an apostille. No minimum amount is given. Someone who works shows a registration with the IPS or an employment contract endorsed by the Ministry of Labour. A self-employed person shows his registration with the tax authority and his returns. A remote worker shows a statement from his employer with the income. A partner who depends on the other shows the marriage certificate and the other's residence document. Children up to 17 do not have to show anything.
A homeowner can qualify too: with a title deed entered in the register, according to the DNM with a registration from the last two years. The DNM may then ask what the house earns. See buying a house in Paraguay.
When do you switch to permanent?
In the three months before your residencia temporal card expires. If you are late, it is still possible up to one month after the expiry date, with a fine. After that you can only extend the residencia temporal, up to six months after it expired.
The residencia permanente is valid indefinitely. You renew the card every ten years, just like your cédula.
Is there a faster route?
For investors. Anyone who opens a business through SUACE, the one-stop shop for new companies, can get the residencia permanente straight away, without the temporary one first. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade you must be able to show that you can invest at least 70,000 dollars within two years, and commit to at least five jobs for Paraguayans. Working and running a business are covered in working in Paraguay.
How long may you be away?
Paraguay counts your absence. With the residencia temporal the DNM can cancel your residence if you are away for more than one year without permission. With the residencia permanente that is three years in a row. If you often spend long periods in the Netherlands, ask for that permission in advance.
How these steps fit with your departure from the Netherlands is set out in the route to Paraguay. What happens to your AOW and your tax is covered in AOW, pension and tax in Paraguay.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: 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 1.1 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.
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the residencia temporal, requirements and fees — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — switching to the residencia permanente, with the annex on means of support — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the fees, valid since 1 July 2026 — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — visa rules per country, the Netherlands visa-free — migraciones.gov.py
- Ley 6984/2022 de Migraciones — deadlines, absence and the cédula (BACN) — bacn.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — extending a visit by up to 90 more days — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — straight to permanent as an investor through SUACE — migraciones.gov.py
- Ministerio de Industria y Comercio — guide for foreign investors, the investment of 70,000 dollars — mic.gov.py
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