Before you start

Paraguayan cédula de identidad
A clear answer to whether your income is Paraguayan-source or foreign-source
DNIT registration (RUC) if you will invoice or trade

Step-by-step

1
Register with DNIT if you will invoice or import
The constancia de persona física is named in Migraciones' solvency annex for independent traders and service providers, alongside three months of IVA returns or a year's IRP and a tax-compliance certificate.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get professional advice before touching any import regime
Paraguay operates several special regimes for imports and re-exports, and Ciudad del Este is where they are used. The rules, thresholds and paperwork are DNIT's and they change; this is not a domain to learn from a forum.
In personWho: You
3
Keep filings that show movement
The solvency annex expects your returns to demonstrate real activity across the temporary-residence period. Nil returns for two years leave you with nothing to present at the conversion.
OnlineWho: You
4
Treat personal cross-border purchases as a customs matter
Bringing goods back from Brazil is governed by allowances and duties, and this is the border where they are actually enforced. Ask DNIT rather than the seller.
In personWho: You
5
Get the source of your income characterised, not assumed
Territorial taxation is not the same as no taxation, and your home country's rules run independently of Paraguay's.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Cédula de identidad
Proof of address
DNIT registration and constancia de persona física
IVA or IRP declarations and a constancia de cumplimiento tributario

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your tax file is your immigration file.

Four of Migraciones' twelve solvency categories are satisfied with DNIT documents, so deferring tax registration means arriving at the permanent conversion empty-handed.

Source: DNM — solvency annex, categories 1, 2, 4 and 8

DNIT wears two hats here and you will meet both.

It is the tax authority and the customs authority. In Asunción most residents only ever meet the first; in Ciudad del Este the second is part of daily commercial life.

The low-tax reputation rests on territoriality.

Foreign-source income falling outside the net is the structural feature, not the headline rate — and it is also the part most easily misapplied by someone working remotely from Paraguay.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming that living in Paraguay makes foreign income untaxed everywhere.
Registering a RUC and filing nothing, which damages the compliance certificate you will later need.
Learning the import regimes from a market seller rather than from DNIT.
Relying on a tax rate quoted on a relocation blog rather than confirming with DNIT.

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

Make it your personal checklist

Globe Quest turns this into a tracked, AI-personalized plan for Ciudad del Este — timed to your move date, with reminders so nothing slips. Free to start.