Those who apply for a temporary residence permit in Paraguay usually do so with the goal of transitioning to permanent residency later. This is the easiest way to become permanent residents of the country without having to invest capital or demonstrate any minimum income level. It’s important to know how to complete this process so you can prepare all the necessary documentation and appropriately plan your transition to permanent residency. If you need assistance, you can contact us at any time and we will be happy to help you.
When to Transition from Temporary to Permanent Residency
According to law 6984 of 2022, the reform that covered all residency practices in Paraguay, the change of residency type must be done within the 90 days before the expiration of the temporary residency card (carnet de extranjero). Since temporary residency is valid for 24 months, the time to apply for permanent residency is between the 21st and the 24th month. The important thing is not to let the temporary residency expire, not even for a day, otherwise, you risk having to start all over again.
Let’s start with the documents you need to obtain before applying. These are:
- Passport
- Paraguayan ID card
- Residency card
- Background check for foreigners, which is issued by the IT Department of the police in Paraguay
- Good conduct certificate, issued by the Department of Identifications of the police
- Criminal record certificate, issued by the Department of Justice
- Life and residency certificate, which you would be familiar with since it’s also needed for temporary residency
- Interpol certificate, issued by the Interpol Station of Paraguay
- A document that can prove the applicant’s economic solvency
How to Prove Economic Solvency
To convert temporary residency into permanent residency, it is necessary to present a document proving your economic solvency. The accepted proofs of economic solvency are:
- Professional certificate or University degree, which is the most common choice as it requires minimal effort
- Being a self-employed worker in Paraguay, demonstrable with the constancia de RUC
- Having an employee job in Paraguay, demonstrable with your employment contract
- Founding a company based in the country, demonstrable with the company’s statute
- Being enrolled in a Paraguayan university
- Working as a priest, clergyman, or other religious profession
- Owning shares in a Paraguayan company, with no minimum amount of shares required
- Being retired
- In the case of minors, being enrolled in a school either in Paraguay or abroad
- Marriage certificate with a person who meets any of the previous requirements
It is important to remember that if you present a document from abroad, it must be apostilled in the country of origin. It must also be translated into Spanish, either in the country of origin – remembering to apostille the translation as well – or directly in Paraguay.
Special Cases
Additional documents are required if, during the period between the start of temporary residency and the time when permanent residency is requested, a person has changed:
- Civil status
- Legal name
- Nationality
- Passport
In these cases, you will need to simply present the documents that prove this change, again with apostille and translation if the document is not Paraguayan.
How to Apply for Permanent Residency
Once you have gathered all the documents, the next step is to go to a notary and get two notarized copies of each document. Then you need to go to the Department of Migrations and submit all your documentation. This is how you apply for the permanent residency card, but you still need to apply for the new ID card.
The new ID card can be obtained after the new residency card is issued. In this case, you need to go to the Department of Identifications of the Paraguayan police and present the documentation along with the new residency card to obtain the new ID card.
Currently, the change of residency card usually takes 15-30 days, while it takes two weeks to issue the ID card. Once you have both, the change of residency is complete.
Can Paraguay Reject My Application?
Permanent residency by category change can be denied in three cases:
- Documentation – The most common case. If a document, apostille, translation, or notarized copy is missing, the residency change is denied;
- Criminal record – If a person has committed a crime in Paraguay after obtaining temporary residency, the Department of Migrations may decide to deny the residency change. In the case of minor crimes, you can go to the legal advisory office to get approval for your case;
- Unjustified absence – Law 6984 states that a temporary resident of Paraguay loses their residency if they have an unjustified absence of 12 consecutive months from the country. If you cannot or do not want to make this visit, it is still possible to justify your absence before the Department of Migrations; however, this must be done before the 12-month deadline and not after.