
Paraguay
The most affordable, most flexible Plan B location: 0% tax on foreign income, residence with minimal presence and, so far, no automatic exchange of account data.
Sources for these facts
- Naturalisation: pj.gov.py, checked on 24 October 2026.
- Presence required: migraciones.gov.py, checked on 24 October 2026.
- CRS status: oecd.org, checked on 24 October 2026.
- Tax system: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked on 24 October 2026.
Why Paraguay?
The cheapest, most flexible Plan B location: 0% tax on foreign income, a residency that requires hardly any presence and, so far, no automatic exchange of account data.
The cheapest, most flexible Plan B location: 0% tax on foreign income and a residency you can keep with a few entries. The cheapest and most flexible of our twelve countries, with genuine rule of law. On information exchange, Paraguay does not exchange account data automatically today; on the OECD commitment list it appears with a first exchange by 2028. Low fixed costs, a stable currency, minimal bureaucracy.
- ✓Strict territorial principle: 0% tax on foreign income (10% flat locally)
- ✓No automatic exchange of account data yet: the multilateral CRS agreement is not signed, and the OECD lists Paraguay with a first exchange by 2028
- ✓Residency with minimal presence: temporary at least one entry a year, permanent one entry within 3 years (applies only to keeping the residency, not to naturalisation)
- ✓Low cost of living for the region
- ✓Mercosur freedom of movement and E-2 investor access to the US
Residence permits and residency options
Direct permanent residency through the investor certificate (CIE), since April 2026. Four options: productive from USD 70,000 (business plan plus at least 5 formal jobs), tourism from USD 150,000 (business plan), property from USD 200,000 (no job requirement) or financial instruments from USD 200,000 (held for 2 years). CIE in around 5 working days, residence card in 3 to 6 months.
One entry a year; convertible into permanent residence after 2 years. The classic, cheapest entry without a large investment.
Keeping your residency takes little: temporary residence requires at least one entry a year, permanent residence one entry within 3 years. There is no 183-day rule. That way Paraguay can be kept as a backup without living there. For naturalisation, the opposite applies: in each of the 3 years before applying you may spend at most 3 months abroad, and you need a real home in the country.
Tax in Paraguay
Paraguay taxes only income from Paraguayan sources, locally at a flat rate of around 10% (IRP). Foreign income, dividends, interest, capital gains and remote work stay tax-free. There is no wealth tax and no inheritance tax.
CRS and crypto: the honest 2026 picture
Paraguay does not exchange financial account data automatically today and has not signed the multilateral CRS agreement (MCAA). On the OECD commitment list the country appears with a first exchange by 2028. The date 2027 that is often quoted comes from Switzerland: the Federal Council wants to introduce automatic exchange with Paraguay from 2027 and deliver data for the first time from 2028, provided Paraguay meets the conditions.
But honestly: since March 2026 (Resolution DNIT 47) there have been reporting obligations for crypto activity from a cumulative total of around USD 5,000 a year, including transaction hashes and wallet addresses. The first report is due in early 2027 for the 2026 tax year. That does not change territoriality (foreign income stays tax-free), and the data stays national for now.
So the transitional advantage is real but time-limited and no free pass, and Paraguay is professionalising. That is exactly the structure we build cleanly for you.
Citizenship: the route to a second passport
The Constitution requires three years of radicación (Article 148), and the Supreme Court only counts them from the grant of permanent residence (Acordada 464/07, Article 42). On the standard route that means 2 years of temporary plus 3 years of permanent residence, so 5 years. If you receive permanent residence directly, for example through the Investor Pass, 3 years are enough. Presence is decisive: anyone who spent more than 3 months abroad in any of the 3 years before applying will not be naturalised (Article 42 (c)), and a real home in the country is mandatory. The minimal presence that keeps your residency is therefore not enough for the passport. You are tested on Spanish and Guaraní and on basic knowledge of the Constitution; the procedure before the Supreme Court adds further time. The Paraguayan passport brings Mercosur freedom of movement and E-2 investor access to the US.
Our Paraguay insider tip: Encarnación
Encarnación is the insider tip for value for money: comfortable flats from USD 300 to 500 a month, a modern riverside promenade along the Costanera and good private clinics make the city one of the most liveable places in the country. The climate is mild, the beaches on the Río Paraná invite you to swim in summer, and the Argentine border at Posadas opens up further options. Asunción, the capital, offers more infrastructure, international schools and banking; Ciudad del Este the border dynamics and trade free zone with Brazil. For a backup location, what counts in the end is three things: low fixed costs, easy access via Asunción airport and little, predictable bureaucracy.
Banking outside Paraguay
Your banking and your operating company belong outside Paraguay. Paraguay has committed to automatic exchange by 2028, and you build on that from the start: a clean, foreign-source structure without local substance. You open a local everyday account on the ground once your residency is granted. We build the international architecture for you.
Flag theory: why bank outside the country?
For your foreign income to stay genuinely foreign-source and the territorial exemption to apply, banking and company formation have to take place outside Latin America. We structure this for you. More about our services →
Who is Paraguay right for, and who not?
✓ A good fit for
- ✓Anyone looking for the cheapest, most flexible Plan B location
- ✓Anyone who wants to combine 0% foreign tax with genuine rule of law
- ✓Anyone who needs residency with a minimal presence requirement
✗ Less suited to
- ✗Anyone who expects the first-class infrastructure of a major city
- ✗Anyone who wants the passport without a real home there (5 years, at most 3 months of absence a year)
- ✗Anyone who wants to keep crypto entirely free of reporting (Resolution 47 since 2026)
Frequently asked questions about Paraguay
Is my foreign income really tax-free in Paraguay?
Yes. Paraguay only taxes income from Paraguayan sources (around 10% flat), as long as the source is genuinely foreign.
Is Paraguay still non-CRS in 2026?
Yes. Paraguay does not exchange account data automatically today and has not signed the multilateral CRS agreement; the OECD lists the country with a first exchange by 2028. Since March 2026 there has also been a crypto reporting obligation (Resolution 47) from around USD 5,000 a year, at national level.
How much time do I have to spend there?
Little to keep your residency: at least one entry a year for temporary, one entry within 3 years for permanent. For naturalisation, however, at most 3 months of absence in each of the 3 years before applying and a real home in the country.
How quickly can I get a passport?
On the standard route after 5 years: 2 years of temporary, then 3 years of permanent residence, which only count from permanent residence. With permanent residence granted directly (for example the Investor Pass), after 3 years. The procedure before the Supreme Court adds time.
What does investor residency cost?
From USD 70,000 (productive, with a business plan and 5 jobs), USD 150,000 (tourism), USD 200,000 (property) or USD 200,000 (financial instruments). (Resolution 0283/2026)
Next steps
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