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Documents from Switzerland for the Paraguay Residency: Criminal Record Certificate, Birth Certificate, Apostille
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From Switzerland you essentially need two documents for the Paraguay residency: a criminal record certificate (CHF 17, online via e-service.admin.ch or at the post office counter) and your birth certificate (CHF 30 from the civil registry office of your place of birth). Both need an apostille: for the criminal record certificate you order the certification from the Federal Chancellery for CHF 20 directly along with it, and for the birth certificate the state chancellery of your canton is responsible (roughly CHF 20 to 40 depending on the canton).
That puts you as a Swiss citizen clearly ahead: unlike in Germany, where since the end of 2024 the apostille even has to be requested before the criminal record certificate, the Swiss route is short and logical. You do not have to get anything translated in Switzerland; the translation into Spanish only happens in Paraguay, done by a translator registered there.
Here you will find the complete roadmap: which documents the Paraguayan immigration authority requires, where you order them, who issues which apostille, what the 6-month window is all about, and what your timeline up to the appointment in Asunción looks like.
Which documents do you need from Switzerland?
The official document list of the immigration authority (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, DNM) for the temporary residency under Ley 6984/2022 requires from your country of origin: a valid passport, the birth certificate with apostille, a criminal record certificate with apostille (only required from age 14), plus, depending on marital status, an apostilled marriage certificate, a divorce decree or a death certificate of the spouse.
Everything else is only created in Paraguay: the Interpol certificate, the certificate of the Paraguayan police and two sworn declarations in the immigration authority's system. You cannot prepare these on-site documents from Switzerland; they are part of the trip to Asunción.
| Document | Issuing body | Cost | Apostille |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal record certificate (private extract) | Federal Office of Justice, online or at the post office counter | CHF 17 | Federal Chancellery, orderable directly with it (+CHF 20) |
| Birth certificate | Civil registry office of the place of birth | CHF 30 plus postage | State chancellery of your canton (approx. CHF 20 to 40) |
| If applicable: marriage certificate or divorce decree | Civil registry office or court | depending on the document | State chancellery of the issuing canton |
Children under 14
According to the official list, the criminal record certificate is only required from age 14. For younger children the apostilled birth certificate plus passport is enough, together with the parents' declarations of consent.
Ordering the criminal record certificate: CHF 17, order the apostille along with it
You order the private extract from the Swiss criminal record online via the official portal of the Federal Office of Justice (e-service.admin.ch or strafregister.admin.ch) or at the post office counter. It costs CHF 17. Online it runs in three steps: enter your data, print and sign the form, and send it in with a copy of your ID.
The decisive trick for Paraguay: order the certification for CHF 20 directly along with it. Then the Federal Office of Justice takes care of the Federal Chancellery apostille, and you receive the fully certified extract by post. If you do not order it along with it, you have to obtain the apostille afterwards yourself at the Federal Chancellery, which only works by post and costs you time.
Also important: the extract must come from the country where you have lived for the last three years, or from your country of origin. So anyone who has only recently moved to Switzerland may additionally need the extract from their previous country of residence.
Paper instead of PDF
According to the ordering portal, digitally signed criminal record certificates cannot be certified. For Paraguay you need the paper version with a physical apostille. And: order only through the official channels (Federal Office of Justice or post office counter). There are third-party websites that charge unnecessary extra fees for the same order.
Birth certificate at the civil registry office: CHF 30, then to the state chancellery
You order the birth certificate at the civil registry office of your place of birth, either directly via its website or in person. It costs CHF 30 plus postage. You can order all civil status documents that concern your own person; for family members, separate rules apply depending on the document.
Experience value from practice: depending on the civil registry office and the ordering route, delivery usually takes 4 to 14 working days. There is no official delivery deadline, so it is better to plan generously.
The apostille for the birth certificate is not issued by the civil registry office but by the state chancellery of the canton in which the document was issued. The fee is roughly CHF 20 to 40 depending on the canton. At some state chancelleries this can be done at the counter, at others by post; the details are on the website of your canton.
Who issues which apostille: Federal Chancellery or state chancellery?
Responsibility follows a simple rule: documents from federal authorities are apostilled by the Swiss Federal Chancellery in Bern, and documents from cantonal bodies are apostilled by the state chancellery of the respective canton.
Paraguay is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. Under the official requirements of the immigration authority, apostilled documents are accepted without further legalization, so an additional consular certification via the Paraguayan embassy is not necessary.
| Document type | Apostille body | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Federal documents (e.g. criminal record certificate) | Swiss Federal Chancellery, Bern | Orderable directly with the online order; separately only by post |
| Cantonal documents (e.g. birth certificate, marriage certificate) | State chancellery of the issuing canton | Fee roughly CHF 20 to 40 depending on the canton |
How old may the documents be? The 6-month window
Rule of thumb: at the time of filing in Asunción, the criminal record certificate and birth certificate should be less than 6 months old. What counts is the filing date at the authority, not the date of your order. So count backwards from your planned appointment in Asunción.
In practice this means: only order the documents once your travel window is roughly set. Anyone who obtains the criminal record certificate half a year before the trip risks having to reorder everything shortly before the appointment.
Official rule vs. real-world experience
The official document list of the immigration authority does not state an explicit maximum validity for foreign documents. The 6-month limit is the consensus in practice that agencies and lawyers on site work with, and the safe basis for planning. For the certificates issued in Paraguay (Interpol, police), an even shorter window of about 3 months applies in practice, which is why they are only obtained on site shortly before filing.
Do you have to get the documents translated? No, not in Switzerland
All foreign-language documents need a Spanish translation for the application; that is stated in the official requirements of the immigration authority. But: the translation is done by a translator registered in Paraguay, not by a translation agency in Switzerland.
So you do not need a translation prepared in Switzerland; it would be wasted money. From Switzerland you bring the apostilled originals with you, and the translation happens on site before the application is filed. Depending on the workflow, plan a few days of lead time before your filing appointment, or clarify in advance that your provider organizes the translation.
Do Swiss citizens need a visa for the residency application?
No, and here Swiss citizens are even formally better positioned than Germans and Austrians. The official visa table of the immigration authority (as of January 2026) grants Swiss citizens visa-free entry not only for tourist stays up to 90 days but expressly also for stays for residence or gainful purposes ("NO REQUIERE VISA").
For Germans and Austrians, the same table formally lists a visa requirement for the residence purpose, which, however, plays hardly any role in administrative practice. As a Swiss citizen this gray area does not concern you in the first place: you enter with your passport and file the application.
Checklist and timeline: from the order to the appointment in Asunción
On the overall duration: for the DACH countries we generally reckon with 4 to 8 weeks for documents and apostilles. From experience, Switzerland sits at the fast end of this range, because both routes run in parallel and the Federal Chancellery apostille is integrated into the order. After that comes the trip to Asunción: there the Interpol and police certificates are added within a few days, and the application is filed in person. The state fee for the temporary residency is Gs. 2.926.925, roughly 350 EUR.
If you do not want to handle the procurement yourself: we offer document procurement including the apostille in Switzerland as an add-on (from 290 EUR); the translations in Paraguay are included in our packages anyway.
- Step 1: Order the criminal record certificate online (CHF 17) and order the certification with the Federal Chancellery apostille directly along with it (CHF 20). Choose the paper version.
- Step 2: In parallel, order the birth certificate at the civil registry office of your place of birth (CHF 30). Married or divorced? Then order the marriage certificate or divorce decree along with it right away.
- Step 3: Have the birth certificate (and, if applicable, further civil status documents) apostilled at the state chancellery of your canton (approx. CHF 20 to 40 per document).
- Step 4: Check completeness: is the passport still valid for long enough? Every document with an apostille? Do not prepare any translations, that happens in Paraguay.
- Step 5: Plan the trip so that filing in Asunción falls within 6 months of the documents being issued.
Ready for the next step?
You can book your package directly online: all-in price, 30% deposit, document roadmap included. If you want certainty first, book the optional consultation call (45 minutes, 300 EUR) with a written roadmap and the process PDF.
Common questions about this
Which documents do I need to immigrate to Paraguay?
From Switzerland: a valid passport, an apostilled birth certificate and an apostilled criminal record certificate (from age 14), plus, depending on marital status, an apostilled marriage certificate or divorce decree. The Interpol certificate, the Paraguayan police certificate and two sworn declarations are only created on site in Paraguay.
Does the criminal record certificate have to carry an apostille?
Yes. The Swiss equivalent of the criminal record certificate is the private extract from the criminal record, and Paraguay requires it with an apostille. The easiest way is to order the certification for CHF 20 directly with the extract order, so the Federal Chancellery apostille runs automatically. Important: choose the paper version, digitally signed extracts cannot be certified.
Do I need a visa to enter Paraguay?
As a Swiss citizen, no. You enter visa-free (up to 90 days), and the official visa table of the immigration authority from January 2026 grants Swiss citizens visa-free entry expressly also for residence and gainful purposes. So you can enter with your passport and file the residency application directly.
Do I have to appear in person in Asunción, or can it be done remotely?
In person, yes. The procedure is officially defined as an in-person procedure: fingerprints, the Interpol certificate and the police certificate are only available on site. Reckon with about one week in Asunción. You should be suspicious of providers who promise a fully remote residency.
How long does it take until I receive the residence permit and Cédula?
Honest experience values: after filing, the temporary residency takes about 45 days to 4 months, and the Cédula afterwards about 1 to 3 months. The officially stated deadlines are shorter; in practice it varies. You usually have the Swiss documents themselves together in a few weeks beforehand.
Sources
- Federal Office of Justice: private extract from the criminal record (e-service.admin.ch)
- ch.ch: ordering the criminal record certificate
- ch.ch: ordering civil status documents (birth certificate)
- Swiss Federal Chancellery: legalizations and apostilles
- Migraciones Paraguay: Residencia Temporal (official document list)
- Migraciones Paraguay: visa table (Acuerdos de Supresión de Visas, January 2026)
- BACN: Ley 6984/2022 de Migraciones (full text)
Changelog
- : First published