Residency by investment in a Paraguayan business
The productive route has the lowest published minimum of the Investor Pass routes. In return it asks for the most work: a real operating company, a business plan and formal local jobs.
Minimum, as currently publishedfrom USD 70,000 invested in a productive business, with a business plan and at least 5 formal jobs
What the productive route requires
Under Resolution 0283/2026 the investment needs a business plan in industry, commerce or services that creates at least 5 formal jobs, with an execution schedule and progress reports every six months; rent, salaries, utilities and recurring admin costs do not count as investment, and each co-investor must meet the minimum individually. The business can be new or an existing Paraguayan company you buy into or expand, as long as the money is visibly deployed into the operation. The route continues the older SUACE investor route: still open as the productive route inside the Investor Pass: from USD 70,000, at least 5 formal jobs.
What does not count towards the minimum
Rent, salaries, utilities and recurring administrative costs are excluded from the investment figure. A plan that spends the required amount mostly on running costs will not meet the threshold, however much money goes out. The money has to go into the productive base: equipment, premises, stock or capital, as the plan sets out.
The plan, in three parts
- The activity. Industry, commerce or services, as a real operation, not a holding company with nothing under it.
- The jobs. Formal, registered local jobs, not contractors abroad.
- The reports. Progress reports every six months are part of the deal, so build a bookkeeping habit before you file.
Who it suits
- Founders and operators who would invest in the region anyway and want residency to follow.
- Companies opening a Paraguayan branch, factory or distribution base for Mercosur.
- Investors with a smaller budget who are prepared to run, or hire someone to run, a real business.
It does not suit someone who wants a passive holding. Payroll, social security (IPS) registration, accounting and progress reporting continue after the residency is granted.
Documents
On top of the business plan and the company's records, you show the capital arriving in the company and its execution schedule. In practice the order is: draft the plan with an honest headcount, check that the spend excludes running costs, gather the documents (see the document checklist), then file the certificate application and move to residency.
For every route, the certificate application itself needs an online application form that counts as a sworn statement; your passport or national ID; proof of entry to Paraguay (entry card, passport stamp or DNM movement certificate, plus a consular visa if your nationality needs one); an apostilled or legalised criminal record certificate from your country of origin, and from any country you lived in for more than a year in the last 3 years; a Paraguayan Interpol certificate; and a sworn statement on the origin of the funds. Documents issued abroad need apostilled (or legalised by the Paraguayan consulate and then the Foreign Ministry) and translated into Spanish by a Paraguayan registered public translator or an authorised foreign one, with the translation itself apostilled or legalised; Brazilian documents in Portuguese need no translation.
Risks and exit
The money is spent on equipment, premises and staff, so what you get back depends on how the business performs. Closing it or cutting the jobs early can affect your status while reporting is still due. Your written brief sets out the reporting period and what an exit would mean before you commit.
Other routes to residency by investment
Tourism project
from USD 150,000 invested in a tourism project, with a business plan
Build, buy, expand or run a hotel, lodge or other tourism asset in Paraguay under an approved business plan.
Semi-active: project plan and progress reports
Financial instruments
from USD 200,000 in qualifying financial instruments, held for at least 2 years
Hold qualifying Paraguayan financial instruments through an entity authorised by the securities regulator.
Passive: placed through an authorised broker
Real estate
from USD 200,000 in real estate used for an economic activity (not your own home)
Buy property in Paraguay that is used for an economic activity, such as rental or commercial premises.
Passive: the property must earn, not house you
Film production
about USD 40,000 contributed to an INAP-endorsed Paraguayan film production
Back an INAP-endorsed Paraguayan film production: the lowest ticket, and the highest risk of not getting the money back.
Passive: backing a production, high risk
Further reading
Your case, step by step
Prepare your case
You provide identity and source-of-funds documents. We review the investment structure and confirm the scope before funds move or anything is filed.
Timing: Depends on document collection, legalisation and translation; we agree the sequence with you.
File and attend appointments
We prepare and handle the filing in Asunción. You attend the appointments required for your case.
Timing: Appointment availability and document readiness determine the schedule; confirmed before you travel.
Authority review
The authority reviews and decides your application. We follow the case and tell you if further documents or appointments are needed.
Timing: a case-specific window confirmed in writing before filing; investment structuring, source-of-funds documents and authority review affect the timing
Cédula after residency approval
Once residency is approved, we prepare the cédula application and you attend the required appointment.
Timing: an official 60 working days for a first-time foreign-resident cédula, often longer in 2026
Frequently asked
- Do the jobs have to be held by Paraguayans?
- The jobs must be formal local jobs, registered with the social security institute (IPS). We confirm in writing how the current rule treats foreign staff before you hire.
- Can I buy into an existing company?
- Often yes, as long as the investment goes into the operation and the business plan shows the activity and jobs. We check the structure against the resolution before you sign anything.
- Is this the old SUACE investor route?
- It continues it. The productive route was folded into the same SUACE certificate as the newer passive routes when the 2026 resolution was issued.
What happens next
You write to us
On WhatsApp or the form: your nationality, where you live now and what you want to do.
We answer in writing
The route that fits, the documents you need and the fee, before you commit to anything.
You decide
Nothing starts until you say yes in writing. If it is not a fit, we say so.
- Who replies
- A person on our team reads your message and answers it, not a bot.
- How fast
- We answer in writing as soon as we can, and tell you if it will take longer.
Tell us what you are working with
Capital, timeline, and what you want the residency to do for you. Nothing is filed until you have seen the full cost, timeline and exit options in writing.
Your case is handled by Anton Marklund, Yanina Alvarez and Diana Davalos, the team that files residency, cédula and tax cases in Asunción. You attend the appointments; we handle the filing.