Paraguay Retirement Visa | An Incomplete Guide

What is retirement visa?

Retirement visas are a type of passive income visa that has been popular worldwide since the 1980s. Typically, they are issued to retirees who have sufficient retirement funds or stable income.

In general, global retirement visas have the following characteristics:

1. Applicant Qualifications: Typically, retirement visas require applicants to be retirees, reach a certain age, or have retirement funds.

2. Restrictions on Employment: Visa holders are usually not allowed to work locally.

3. Path to Permanent Residency: After residing in the destination country for a certain period, retirement visa holders can often apply for permanent residency or even citizenship.

If you’re interested in retirement visas or passive income visas, you might want to read our informative article: ‘Global Passive Income Visa | An Incomplete Guide‘.

Paraguay Retirement Visa:

The Paraguayan retirement visa is issued to retirees or financially independent individuals with sufficient passive income, but it does not strictly limit the applicant’s pension income or retirement status.

Regarding specific economic requirements, the Paraguayan retirement visa requires applicants to demonstrate a stable passive income that is 100 times the local minimum wage. In 2024, this standard is a monthly income of no less than 7,015,600 Guaraníes, which is approximately $926.

Application Process:

The application process for a Paraguayan retirement visa can be divided into the following steps:

1. Apply for an Entry Visa: You need to be in Paraguay to apply for a retirement visa. Therefore, the first step of this process, if you cannot enter Paraguay visa-free, is to apply for an entry visa.

2. Enter Paraguay and Apply for the Retirement Visa: After entering Paraguay, you need to visit a series of government institutions, including the local police station, post office, and information department, within six working days to complete fingerprinting, photography, and various residency application forms.Finally, after preparing all the necessary documents, you can submit the retirement visa application to the Paraguayan immigration department either in person or through a lawyer.

Required documents for this process include:

• Applicant’s personal identification documents: including passports with a validity of more than six months for all main and secondary applicants; passport-sized photos; birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other relationship proof documents for main and secondary applicants.

• Proof of income: you need to provide proof of passive income meeting the minimum requirement.

• Medical examination report.

• Criminal record certificate: all adult main and secondary applicants must provide a criminal record certificate issued by the local law enforcement agency.

All documents from outside Paraguay must be notarized; all non-Spanish documents need to be translated into Spanish.

3. Issuance of Visa: Generally, within 10 to 14 working days after submitting the application, you can obtain the Paraguayan residency card.

Visa Validity:

Paraguayan retirement visa is valid for one year and can be renewed under the same conditions up to five times. This means you can stay in Paraguay for a maximum of six years with just a retirement visa.

Foreigners who have legally resided in Paraguay for two years, and can prove they have a university degree or equivalent technical qualification, or have been paying taxes in Paraguay for two years, are eligible to apply for permanent residency in Paraguay.

Permanent residents of Paraguay who have resided in the country continuously for three years, spending at least 183 days each year, are at least 18 years old, have no criminal record, engage in legitimate professional activities (such as business, work, research, etc.), can sing the Paraguayan national anthem, and pass a Spanish or Guarani language test and a test on Paraguayan politics and history, are eligible to apply for citizenship.