1. Document preparation in your home country (2–4 weeks)

Before you travel, you need your birth certificate, criminal record certificate and, if applicable, marriage certificate, all issued recently and apostilled under the Hague Convention. Countries that are not part of the Convention require consular legalization instead, which adds time. Our full document checklist explains exactly what is required for each nationality.

2. Sworn translation (3–7 days)

Any document not issued in Spanish must be translated by a public translator registered with the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay. Standard certificates are usually delivered within a few business days. See our sworn translation service.

3. Local procedures in Paraguay (3–7 days)

Once in Asunción, you obtain the Interpol certificate, the Paraguayan criminal record certificate, the health certificate and the proof of address. With an organized schedule this is done in under a week; without one it can stretch to several weeks of queues and repeat visits.

4. Filing and review by Migraciones (60–90 days)

The application is filed at the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, which reviews the file, verifies documents and issues the residency resolution. This is the part you cannot accelerate, but you can avoid it restarting: a single missing stamp or an expired certificate means a new filing and a new clock.

5. Cédula de identidad (2–4 weeks)

After approval, the Paraguayan identity card is requested at the Departamento de Identificaciones. Once you hold the cédula you can open bank accounts, register for tax residency and operate normally.