Why This Under-rated South American Country May be the Perfect Place to Get a Second Residency

It’s relatively easy to get residency in Paraguay, a little-known, land-locked country in South America. Paraguay borders Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia.

Paraguay is welcoming to foreigners looking to move thee and invest. It’s an underrated country that offers many opportunities. Particularly in the agricultural sector where land is much cheaper than neighbouring Argentina and Brazil.

It’s interesting to get residency in Paraguay as they, somewhat unusually offer instant permanent residency. Normally countries will offer a temporary residency first which becomes permanent after a few years. Paraguay offers permanent residency immediately. To get residency in Paraguay you’ll need to visit the country twice for a few days each time

Documents Required to Get Residency in Paraguay

When you travel to the South American country in order to get Paraguay residence you’ll need the following documents.

  1. Your passport
  2. Your original birth certificate
  3. Marriage certificate (if necessary)
  4. A medical certificate which you must get from a doctor in Paraguay
  5. Proof of no criminal record from your home country
  6. An affidavit which will be prepared by your lawyer in Paraguay
  7. Documents from the national police in Paraguay which you can arrange on your trip
  8. Proof of bank deposit of around $5,000 to prove financial stablity

All foreign documents must be translated to Spanish and Apostilled.

After your first trip to Paraguay, which should take a few days, you should be able to return in around 90 days to collect your permanent resident’s card.

After I Get Residency in Paraguay, How Long do I Have to Stay to Maintain My Permanent Residency?

When you get Paraguay residency you only have to turn up once every three years to renew your residence permit and maintain your Paraguay residency. This can be ideal for Europeans who have to prove residency in another country to exit the tax system in their home country. Global nomads who need to prove residency somewhere could find that getting Paraguay residency is very useful for them. Most other residence programs require some kind of minimum stay to maintain them.

That being said you’ll almost definitely want to spend more time in Paraguay after your visit and take advantage of the many opportunities, the peaceful lifestyle, and the very low cost of living.

Citizenship in Paraguay

There is much incorrect information on the internet about citizenship in Paraguay. Contrary to some reports it’s not possible to get residency in Paraguay and then show up three years later and claim a Paraguayan passport. Stay well clear of anybody offering instant citizenship in Paraguay or anywhere else.

Yes, it’s possible to apply for Paraguayan citizenship after 3 years of residency in the country but only if you’ve actually spent at least 6 months there every year. You’ll have to prove ties to the country such as family ties, business ties, or property ownership. We discuss other citizenship opportunities here.

Assuming your application for Paraguay citizenship is successful it’s actually a pretty good passport. It offers visa-free travel to most of Europe and Asia including the United Kingdom. Only the usual suspects of the USA, Canada, and Australia are missing from the visa-free travel list of countries you might actually want to visit.

How Long Does it Take to Get Residency in Paraguay?

It will take around 90 days to get permanent residency in Paraguay. This will involve 2 trips to the country. The first to present your documents, open a local bank account and undergo a medical examination. The second trip will be to collect your permanent residency card. After that, there’s no obligation to spend any time in the country to maintain your permanent residency. You’ll have to visit again in 3 years to renew it though.

What are The Advantages of Residency in Paraguay?

One of the biggest advantages of Paraguay is that as a territorial tax country there are no income or capital gains taxes for anyone whose source of income is outside Paraguay. Indeed, Paraguay had no income taxes at all until 2004. Nowadays the maximum tax rate for Paraguayan income is only 10%. This is the lowest tax rate in Latin America.

Living costs in Paraguay are extremely cheap. According to numbeo.com the cost of living in Asuncion, Paraguay is 75% less than the cost of living in London and almost 80% lower than in New York. You could have the same lifestyle for $1,000 per month in Asuncion that would cost $8,000 per month in New York.

Paraguay is a member of MERCOSUR, the rapidly growing trade block in South America. You can use your Paraguay residence card to travel to other countries in MERCOSUR including Argentina and Brazil.

Conclusion: A Good Option for The Adventurous

Paraguay can be a great option for disgruntled westerners. Either to use as a base and live part of the year there or take advantage of the many opportunities available in South America and make a permanent base there. Either way, you’re likely to experience greater levels of personal freedom than we currently have in the English-speaking world.

For more information on what residency and citizenship opportunities are right for you get in touch with Liberty Mundo here.

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