Home/Paraguay Rentista Visa

Paraguay Rentista Visa 2026: Retirement and Independent Means Residency

Paraguay has no separate rentista, retirement or "independent means" visa in 2026. Retirees and people living on their own income apply for ordinary temporary residency, which asks for no proof of income, and then for permanent residency, where since 6 July 2026 they must prove their income. No minimum amount is published.

Last updated: 4 October 2026

No separate rentista categoryNo published income minimumPension proof at the permanent stage

None

Separate rentista or retirement visa

₲2,926,925

Temporary residency fee (about US$500)

Not published

Minimum income

6 July 2026

Proof of income required for permanent residency

In short

No rentista visa: the word was dropped from the Migraciones (DNM) requirement sheets dated 1 July 2026, and the law has no such category.
Step 1, temporary residency: up to 2 years, no proof of income, ₲2,926,925 (about US$500), filed in person in Paraguay.
Step 2, permanent residency: applied for in the 3 months before the temporary card expires. Pensioners prove solvency with a pension certificate that states the amount and how it is paid.
No minimum income: no amount appears in any current official source.
No deposit: the Paraguayan bank-account certificate option was removed in July 2026, and no current source sets a deposit amount.

What Happened to the Rentista Visa?

Paraguay's migration law, Ley 6984/2022, replaced the old law (Ley 978/1996) in October 2022. It has one temporary residency for any foreigner who comes "to settle and carry out a lawful activity", with no list of qualifying activities. The law has no rentista, pensioner or independent means category.

Until mid-2026 the word still appeared on the Migraciones requirement sheet for permanent residency, which accepted a "constancia de jubilación, pensión o rentista" (a certificate of retirement, pension or rentista income) as proof of means. Resolution DNM 407/2026 replaced the old proof-of-means rules. The sheet in force from 1 July 2026 mentions only "jubilación o pensión" (retirement or pension).

If you live on a pension

You have a clear category at the permanent stage: "jubilados o pensionados" (retirees or pensioners). You prove it with a pension certificate. See proving a pension.

If you live on investment income

Dividends, interest or rent from property abroad no longer have a category written for them. See investment income for the categories that may fit.

How Retirees Get Residency in 2026: Two Steps

Unless you use the investor or Mercosur routes, you follow these two steps. Being retired only matters at step 2.

Step 1

Temporary residency (up to 2 years)

No proof of income or savings. Migraciones' own legal opinion, recorded in Res. DNM 407/2026, says solvency applies only to permanent residency.
Valid up to 2 years, extendable once for the same period (extension fee ₲1,287,847, about US$220).
You must be in Paraguay. The application needs proof of entry and is made in person at a Migraciones office.
Consular visa for some nationalities. Since 1 July 2023, nationals of countries without a visa-waiver agreement with Paraguay must include a consular visa.
While you wait: you receive a residencia precaria card, issued once and valid 90 calendar days, which lets you stay, leave and re-enter, work and study.
Cédula: once approved you can get a Paraguayan identity card valid for the same period as your residency, from the Policía Nacional (₲8,500, about US$1.50, issued in 30 business days).
Fee: ₲2,926,925 (about US$500) in cash.

Documents for temporary residency (Ley 6984, Art. 50)

1Passport or national identity document
2Consular visa, if your nationality has no visa-waiver agreement with Paraguay
3Proof of entry into Paraguay (entry stamp in your passport or the stamped entry slip)
4Birth certificate
5Civil-status certificate (for example a marriage or divorce certificate)
6National or federal criminal record certificate from your country of origin, or from the country where you lived in the last 3 years (from age 14)
7Interpol certificate (from age 14)
8Certificado de Antecedentes para Extranjeros from the Policía Nacional (from age 14)
9Sworn statement that you will respect the Constitution and laws of Paraguay
10Sworn statement of your profession or activity and your address in Paraguay
11Payment of the fee

Apostille and translation

Foreign documents must be apostilled in the country that issued them. If that country is not in the Hague Apostille Convention, they are legalised by the Paraguayan consulate there and then by the Foreign Ministry in Asunción. Documents not in Spanish must be translated, either by a public translator registered in Paraguay or by a sworn translator abroad, in which case the translation must also be apostilled or legalised. Portuguese documents issued in Brazil need no translation. No health certificate is required. Apostille guide

Declare your activity with step 2 in mind

Res. DNM 407/2026 says the income you prove for permanent residency must be consistent with the profession, activity or trade you declared in your temporary application. If you plan to prove a pension later, the activity you declare now should match that.

How recent your criminal record must be

A 2024 Migraciones resolution (Res. DNM 754/2024) treats a home-country certificate that shows no expiry date as valid for 6 months from the date it was issued. We could not confirm that this rule is still applied in 2026, so the safe plan is to file within 6 months of the certificate's issue date.

Step 2

Permanent residency (indefinite)

When: in the 3 months before your temporary card expires. You can still apply up to 1 month after it expires, with a fine. After that, you can only extend temporary residency.
Time abroad: you include a migration-movement report. If it shows you were out of Paraguay for more than 1 year, you cannot switch: you must extend temporary residency for the same period (Res. DNM 081/2026).
Documents: home-country identity document; Paraguayan cédula; temporary residency card; proof of any change in your personal details; Policía Nacional certificates ("Antecedentes para Extranjeros" and "Buena Conducta"); judicial record certificate; Interpol certificate (all from age 14); proof of solvency. No new foreign criminal record is required.
Proof of solvency: required for applications filed from 6 July 2026. You choose one of 12 categories. Pensioners use "jubilados o pensionados".
Fee: ₲2,926,925 (about US$500), plus ₲234,154 (about US$40) for the certificado de radicación.
Validity: indefinite. The card must be renewed every 10 years (₲468,308, about US$80) and the cédula is valid for 10 years.
In person: the sheet says the procedure is "personal y presencial".

Proving a Pension: the "Jubilados o Pensionados" Category

What to bring

A constancia de jubilación o pensión: a certificate from the body that pays your pension, stating the amount you receive and the financial channel it is paid through (for example, the bank account it goes into). It must be apostilled or legalised, and translated into Spanish like any other foreign document.

The category does not mention an age. It asks for the pension certificate.

No minimum amount is published

Res. DNM 407/2026 says solvency must be shown with "suitable, sufficient and verifiable" documents and "cannot be presumed in any case". It does not say what amount is sufficient. No minimum appears in the law, the resolution or the DNM sheets, either as a multiple of the minimum wage (₲3,044,000 a month since 1 July 2026, about US$520) or in US dollars.

In practice this means you cannot know in advance what amount Migraciones will accept. If a website quotes a fixed monthly figure for Paraguayan retirement residency, it is not from a current official source.

A spouse you support

The "dependientes" (dependants) category covers spouses, parents or grandparents, and people with disabilities who are supported by a resident or a Paraguayan. It is the category to look at for a spouse who has no pension or income of their own.

Investment Income: No Category Written for It

The July 2025 sheet accepted a "rentista" certificate. The July 2026 list has no equivalent for people who live on dividends, interest or rent. Reading the list, the two closest categories are:

Property owners

A property title registered in Paraguay's property registry (now the Registro Unificado Nacional) for at least 2 years. The wording is about property registered in Paraguay, so rent from property abroad does not meet it on its own.

Shareholders

A separate category exists for shareholders. Check the documents it asks for on the current DNM permanent residency sheet before you rely on it.

This is our reading of the annex, not a Migraciones statement. Ask Migraciones which category fits your income before you file, and keep the activity you declare at the temporary stage consistent with it. If your income is a salary or fees from abroad, the remote-worker category may fit better: see our digital nomad guide.

If you have capital to invest

The SUACE investor route (the "Paraguay Investor Pass") gives permanent residency without the temporary stage. Its minimums are set in US dollars by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC Res. 0283/2026): US$70,000 for a productive investment with at least 5 formal jobs and a business plan; US$200,000 in financial instruments held for at least 2 years; US$200,000 in real estate used for an economic activity, not personal or family use; or US$150,000 in tourism with a business plan. The Migraciones fee is the same ₲2,926,925.

SUACE residency guide

Figures You May Have Seen Elsewhere

Older guides to the rentista route quote income minimums, deposits and other requirements. None of these appear in a current official source:

A monthly income minimum (for example US$1,300 or US$1,500 a month): no amount is set in the law, Res. DNM 407/2026 or the DNM sheets.
A bank deposit (for example US$5,000 or US$15,000): no current source sets one. The July 2025 permanent residency sheet listed a certificate from a bank operating in Paraguay as one way to prove means. The 1 July 2026 list does not include it.
A medical certificate: not required. The law's document list does not include one.
"Visit Paraguay once a year": not how the rule is written. The rules count how long you are away, as set out under absences below.

Fees in Force from 1 July 2026

Migraciones fees are set in daily minimum wages (jornales) and change every 1 July when the minimum wage changes. These are the cash fees in force from 1 July 2026, when one jornal is ₲117,077 (about US$20). Paying by card adds 2 to 3% plus VAT.

Procedure	Fee (cash)
Temporary residency, Ley 6984 (includes the precaria card)	₲2,926,925 (about US$500)
Extension of temporary residency	₲1,287,847 (about US$220)
Permanent residency (change of category)	₲2,926,925 (about US$500)
Certificado de radicación	₲234,154 (about US$40)
Typical permanent total (permanent residency + certificado)	₲3,161,079 (about US$540)
Temporary residency, Mercosur nationals	₲2,341,540 (about US$400)
Permanent card renewal (every 10 years)	₲468,308 (about US$80)
Authorisation for a longer absence	₲234,154 (about US$40)
Fine: overstay or no entry record	₲702,462 (about US$120)
Cédula, first issue (Policía Nacional, 30 business days)	₲8,500 (about US$1.50)
Police record certificate (Policía Nacional, Identificaciones)	₲24,500 (about US$4)
Judicial record certificate (Poder Judicial)	₲43,051 (about US$7)

US dollar amounts use the Central Bank of Paraguay reference rate of ₲5,851 per US$ on 1 October 2026.

Both steps together

Temporary plus permanent residency come to ₲5,853,850 (about US$1,000) in Migraciones fees at the current table, plus the certificado de radicación. You pay the permanent fee about 2 years after the temporary one, at whatever the table says on that date.

Costs not in the table

Home-country certificates and apostilles, translations and any lawyer. These fees are not regulated and vary, so ask for a written, itemised quote. Notary fees are the exception: they are set by law (Ley 1307/1987), as our notary guide explains.

Processing Time and Filing in Person

No official processing time

Migraciones does not publish a processing time for temporary or permanent residency. For context, it received 18,071 residency applications in January to March 2026, 85% more than in the same months of 2025, and granted 14,275 residencies in that period.

No online filing

Residency applications are made in person at a Migraciones office (Asunción and regional offices). Follow-up can be done by you or by a legal representative. Hiring a lawyer is optional. DIY or lawyer?

Absences: How Long You Can Be Away

Status	Rule
Temporary resident	Residency can be cancelled after more than 1 year of unjustified absence. If you were abroad for more than 1 year, you must extend temporary residency instead of switching to permanent.
Permanent resident	Residency can be cancelled after more than 3 consecutive years abroad without justification. Migraciones checks entry and exit records every six months.
Longer absence	A permanent resident can be authorised to stay away up to 1 extra year, applying at least 3 months before the limit (temporary residents: 1 month before), with proof of ties such as a property title, lease, bank account, company, RUC or family. Fee ₲234,154. Late requests are refused and the residency is cancelled.

After a cancellation, Migraciones treats you as a tourist, and you must leave within 30 days or apply for residency again (Res. DNM 376/2026).

Retirees from Mercosur Countries

Nationals of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador can use the Mercosur Residence Agreement instead. Mercosur temporary residency costs ₲2,341,540 (about US$400), lasts 2 years and cannot be extended. You apply for Mercosur permanent residency from 90 days before the temporary card expires; miss that window and you lose the right to use the agreement. The July 2026 proof-of-solvency rules apply to Mercosur permanent residency too.

Uruguayans can get permanent residency directly under Ley 6774/2021, without temporary residency and without the residency fee.

Citizenship, Tax and Health Cover

Citizenship

Naturalisation needs 3 years of permanent residency, counted from the date of the permanent residency resolution, plus an exam (Spanish or Guaraní, history, geography) and a petition to the Supreme Court signed by a lawyer. It is refused if you were away more than 3 months a year in each of the 3 years before applying. For most people that means about 5 years from arrival.

Citizenship guide

Tax

How Paraguay taxes a foreign pension is a separate question from residency, and this page does not cover it. Our pension and tax guides do.

Pensions in Paraguay Tax guide

Health cover

Neither stage's document list includes a health certificate or health insurance. How to arrange care and cover is in our healthcare guide.

Healthcare guide

The Downsides

You must file in person in Paraguay

There is no online application, and you need proof that you entered the country.

Paperwork is in Spanish

Every foreign document needs an apostille or legalisation and a Spanish translation.

No published income minimum

Since July 2026 you must prove solvency for permanent residency, but you cannot know in advance what amount is enough.

Two applications, two fees

About 2 years apart, and the fees change every 1 July.

Absence limits

More than 1 year away as a temporary resident blocks the switch to permanent.

Investment income has no clear category

People who lived on rentista income must now fit one of the 12 categories.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Paraguay still have a rentista visa?

No. Paraguay has no separate rentista, pensioner or independent means residency in 2026. Ley 6984/2022 has one temporary residency for any foreigner who comes to settle and carry out a lawful activity, and the word "rentista" was dropped from the Migraciones (DNM) requirement sheets dated 1 July 2026. Retirees and people living on their own income apply for ordinary temporary residency, then for permanent residency.

Is there a Paraguay retirement visa?

Not as a separate category. Retirees go through the same two steps as everyone else: temporary residency for up to 2 years, then permanent residency. Being retired matters at the permanent stage: since 6 July 2026 applicants must prove solvency, and pensioners can do it under the "jubilados o pensionados" (retirees or pensioners) category.

What are the Paraguay retirement visa requirements in 2026?

For temporary residency: passport, proof of entry into Paraguay, birth certificate, civil-status certificate, a criminal record from your country of origin or residence in the last 3 years, an Interpol certificate, a Policía Nacional certificate for foreigners, two sworn statements and the fee of ₲2,926,925 (about US$500). Foreign documents must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish. No proof of income is needed at this stage. For permanent residency, pensioners add a pension certificate that states the amount and how it is paid, apostilled or legalised.

How much income do I need for the Paraguay independent means visa?

No minimum is published. Since 6 July 2026, permanent residency applicants must prove solvency with suitable, sufficient and verifiable documents (Res. DNM 407/2026), but no amount appears in the law, the resolution or the DNM requirement sheets, either as a multiple of the minimum wage or in US dollars. Temporary residency asks for no proof of income at all.

Does Paraguay residency require a $15,000 bank deposit?

No current rule sets a deposit amount, whether US$15,000 or any other figure. Until July 2026 the permanent residency sheet listed a certificate from a bank operating in Paraguay as one way to prove means. The sheet in force from 1 July 2026 no longer includes that option.

Can I qualify with passive income such as dividends or rent?

There is no longer a category written for investment income. The July 2025 sheet accepted a "rentista" certificate; the July 2026 list does not. The closest categories in the new list are property owners (a title registered in Paraguay for at least 2 years) and shareholders. That is our reading of the list, not a Migraciones statement, so confirm with Migraciones before you file.

How much does residency cost for a retiree?

Migraciones charges ₲2,926,925 (about US$500) for temporary residency and the same for permanent residency, plus ₲234,154 (about US$40) for the certificado de radicación. These are the cash fees in force from 1 July 2026. They are set in daily minimum wages and change every 1 July. Home-country documents, apostilles, translations and any lawyer are extra.

How long does the process take?

Migraciones does not publish a processing time. Temporary residency lasts up to 2 years, and you apply for permanent residency in the 3 months before the temporary card expires, so for most people the two steps take about 2 years.

How long can I live outside Paraguay as a resident?

Temporary residency can be cancelled after more than 1 year of unjustified absence, and a temporary resident who was abroad for more than 1 year must extend temporary residency instead of switching to permanent. Permanent residency can be cancelled after more than 3 consecutive years abroad without justification. Migraciones checks permanent residents' absences every six months.

Estimate Your Residency Costs

Add up government fees and document costs for your situation with the free calculator.

Open the calculator

Sources

Official sources, checked 4 October 2026.

This page explains published rules. It is not legal advice. Migraciones requirements change, so check the current requirement sheet before you file.