Before you start

A consular visa where your nationality needs one for residence — check Migraciones' third column, not the tourist one
Legal entry recorded by a stamped boleta migratoria or a passport stamp
Birth certificate, and marriage or divorce documents where relevant, apostilled or legalised
Police certificate from your country of origin or of the last three years' residence, apostilled
Sworn Spanish translations of everything not in Spanish — except Brazilian documents in Portuguese, which are exempt

Step-by-step

1
Check the visa column that actually applies to you
Migraciones' visa table separates tourism from 'prórroga de permanencia, residencia o realización de actividades lucrativas'. US, German, Spanish and French nationals are visa-free as tourists and need a visa for the second. Get it at a Paraguayan consulate before travelling.
In personWho: YouBefore departure
2
Apostille and legalise abroad, not here
Birth, marriage and police certificates must be apostilled in the issuing country, or legalised through the Paraguayan consulate and then the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Doing this after you arrive is the single biggest source of delay.
In personWho: YouBefore departure
3
Collect the Paraguayan certificates once you land
The Certificado de Antecedentes para Extranjeros comes from the Policía Nacional's Departamento de Informática and the INTERPOL certificate from its INTERPOL department, whose fee was reset by Resolución N° 688/2022. Both are required from age 14.
In personWho: YouFirst fortnightModest per-certificate fees
4
File at the Sede Central, in person, by order of arrival
Caballero N° 201 esquina Eligio Ayala, weekdays 07:00–14:30, no appointments. Bring originals plus notarised copies — Migraciones keeps the copies and returns the originals only against them. The system generates your two sworn declarations at the counter.
In personWho: YouOne morningGs 2,926,925 in cash; Gs 2,991,317 by debit card, Gs 3,023,514 by credit
5
Live on 'residente precario' status while it is decided
Migraciones states this status lets you exit and re-enter the country, study and work for the duration. Collect the carnet itself from the separate expedition office at Azara N° 304 esquina Iturbe, not from the Sede Central.
In personWho: You
6
Get the cédula from the Policía Nacional
Temporary residence entitles you to a Paraguayan cédula de identidad from the Departamento de Identificaciones, valid for the same period as your residence. This card, not the carnet, is what banks, landlords, the municipality and phone companies will ask for.
In personWho: You
7
Diarise the conversion window the day the carnet is issued
File the change of category in the three months before expiry. One month late costs the Art. 87 fine of Gs 702,462; beyond that you lose the conversion and can only extend, up to six months past expiry.
In personWho: YouMonth 21–24Gs 2,926,925 plus Gs 234,154 for the certificado de radicación

Documents you’ll need

Passport or national identity document, valid
Consular visa and its MRE verification, where required
Stamped boleta migratoria or entry stamp
Apostilled birth certificate; marriage, divorce or death certificate as your civil status requires
Apostilled police certificate from origin or last three years' residence
INTERPOL certificate and Certificado de Antecedentes para Extranjeros from the Policía Nacional
At the permanent stage: proof of economic solvency under one of the twelve annex categories

Things most newcomers don’t know

The temporary residence application contains no financial test at all — no income floor, no bank statement, no deposit.

The 'USD 5,000 in a Paraguayan bank' figure that dominates search results describes the repealed SOLVE certificate. Budgeting for it, or believing you cannot move without it, is the commonest single error about Paraguay.

Source: DNM — Residencia Temporal requirement list

Solvency at the permanent stage has twelve routes, and remote work is explicitly one of them.

Category 5 of the annex is 'trabajadores a distancia o nómadas digitales' and asks only for a work certificate stating your income and how you are paid. Paraguay has no nomad visa because it put nomads inside the ordinary route that ends in permanent residence.

Source: DNM — solvency annex

A professional qualification is not proof of solvency on its own, and neither is being a student.

The DNM says so in terms on its own page. Both categories require separate evidence that you actually practise or are actually supported — and it is the most common reason a conversion stalls.

Source: DNM — solvency annex, categories 1, 2 and 12

Carnets are issued at one address and collected at another.

Filing happens at Caballero 201; collection happens at Azara 304. People turn up at the wrong one, having queued from seven in the morning.

Source: DNM — Oficinas de Admisión de Extranjeros

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a visa-free tourist stamp lets you file for residence. For most Western nationalities it does not.
Bringing originals without notarised copies — Migraciones will not hand the originals back.
Treating the three-month conversion window as advisory. Past one month after expiry the permanent route closes entirely.
Declaring 'Ama de Casa' as your profession on the temporary file; Migraciones reclassifies it to 'Dependiente' and you must then produce the dependant documents.
Buying property shortly before filing and expecting it to count — the title must have been registered at least two years earlier.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.