What Does Paraguay Residency Really Cost? Official Fees, Incidental Costs, DIY vs. Agency

Which fees does the state really charge? The official table

All the key amounts are published on the pages of the immigration authority DNM and the national police. They apply per person. Here are the official fees in Guaraníes with a rough euro conversion (rounded, as of July 2026; the Guaraní exchange rate fluctuates):

Which incidental costs honestly come on top?

The state fees are only part of the bill. These items come on top in every case, whether you apply yourself or book a package:

• →Documents from your country of origin: criminal record certificate, birth certificate and the apostilles. The pure administrative fees in Germany, Austria and Switzerland usually run somewhere between 50 and 100 EUR, depending on the number of documents.
• →Translations: all foreign-language documents need a translation into Spanish. The cost depends on the number of your documents; it arises in Paraguay.
• →National police certificate for foreigners without a Cédula: roughly 63,000 Gs. (about 8 EUR) according to real-world reports, issued in about 24 hours.
• →The trip: flight to Asunción plus about a week of accommodation. According to the DNM, filing the application is an in-person procedure ("trámite personal y presencial"), and the Interpol certificate is only available on site. In many cases this item is the largest of the whole bill, and it applies to DIY just as it does to any agency.
• →Optional, the Prórroga: anyone who wants to stay as a tourist for more than 90 days pays 557,510 Gs. (roughly 65 EUR) for the one-time extension.

What does the do-it-yourself route (DIY) really cost?

Calculated fairly: for temporary residency including the Cédula, the fees in Paraguay add up to just under 3.35 million Gs., that is roughly 400 EUR (residency 2,926,925 + Radicación 234,154 + Interpol 117,077 + police certificate approx. 63,000 + Cédula 8,500). With the document and apostille fees from your country of origin and the translations, experience shows you land at roughly 500 EUR in pure fees and incidental costs, plus the trip.

The do-it-yourself route is legal, foreseen and it works. You need neither a lawyer nor an agency for it: it is an administrative procedure, not a court case, and the authority treats self-applicants completely normally. But honestly: all dealings with the authorities run in Spanish, and there are several stations in Asunción to visit in the right order: the Interpol department of the national police, the national police certificate, the translator, then filing with the DNM. The certificates issued in Paraguay are only valid for about 3 months according to real-world reports; expired proofs are among the most common reasons for rejection at the counter, and then the whole run starts over.

Anyone who speaks Spanish, brings time and enjoys organizing things themselves saves four figures with DIY compared to any package. Anyone who meets none of the three requirements pays for the saving with failed attempts, extra errands and, in the worst case, a second trip.

What do agencies charge and why do the prices vary so much?

The documented range on the market runs from under 1,000 to over 5,000 USD per person, often for a core service that sounds similar. In German-language forums, prices between 600 and 1,500 EUR were being discussed years ago, while guide sites at the same time describe packages around 5,000 EUR. Both exist side by side, and that is exactly why comparing prices alone, without comparing the service, gets you nowhere.

The differences almost never lie in the state fee, which is the same for everyone, but in what happens around it: is the Cédula included or only the residency card? Are the administrative fees of together roughly 400 EUR per person part of the price, or do they come "plus" on top? Are the translations included? Is there a written contract with a verifiable company, a reachable contact person and accompaniment to the appointments on site, or does the service end with a checklist by email?

So a low entry price can be entirely reputable if it honestly states what is not included. It becomes a problem when the missing items only surface after the deposit.

How do you spot bait prices and hidden costs?

These check questions expose most bait offers in a few minutes:

• →Is the Cédula expressly included in the price? Packages that only cover the residency card and then charge dearly for the Paraguayan ID card later are the most commonly documented annoyance of the industry. Without the Cédula you can do practically nothing in Paraguay.
• →Are the administrative fees included? "From 990 USD plus fees" really means at least roughly 400 EUR more per person.
• →Are translations and certifications included, or a separate item that only gets a number on site?
• →Is a residency promised "completely without a trip"? That contradicts the DNM's official procedure description, which requires personal presence.
• →How do you pay? Cash payment or 100 percent prepayment without a verifiable company and without an invoice are the classic warning signs of this market.
• →Are the time figures honest? Anyone who guarantees fixed authority deadlines is guaranteeing something they do not control.

DIY or agency: the fair comparison

The honest comparison looks like this: with the do-it-yourself route you pay roughly 500 EUR in fees and incidental costs plus the trip, and in return you invest Spanish skills, preparation and several errands to the authorities in Asunción, with the risk of having to sort out mistakes yourself. A guided package costs, depending on the provider, two to ten times as much and in return takes the preparation, the sequence, the language and the errands off your hands; the trip itself remains mandatory in both cases.

For context, because this page would otherwise be incomplete: our packages cost 1,890 to 2,690 EUR per person as an all-in price, including all administrative fees, translations and the Cédula, with a 30 percent deposit at booking; you pay the balance either in advance or at your residency appointment on site in Paraguay. All the services and the payment details are on the pricing page; this article is meant above all to let you check any offer, including ours.

The sober decision rule: for every offer, work out the real final price (package price plus everything that is "extra") and compare it with the roughly 500 EUR of the do-it-yourself route. The difference is the price for predictability, language and accompaniment. Whether it is worth it to you depends on your Spanish, your time and your tolerance for mistakes.

How do the costs scale for families?

The state fees apply per person, including for children: every person in the application pays the residency fee of 2,926,925 Gs. and the Radicación of 234,154 Gs. A family of four therefore lands at roughly 12.6 million Gs. in DNM fees for the temporary stage alone, that is roughly 1,500 EUR.

Two points relieve families: children under 14 need neither a criminal record certificate nor an Interpol or police certificate, which saves fees, apostilles and translations. And minors are exempt from any proof of solvency; the financial responsibility is taken on by the legal guardian. In return, the presence requirement applies to everyone: the procedure is in person for each person, so the whole family travels together, usually within a single week in Asunción.

For the travel costs, that honestly means: flights and accommodation multiply with the number of people and quickly become the largest single item for families, ahead of all the fees combined.