Paraguay Residency 📜 My Experience & Impressions of Asuncion 🧉 Oct'24
Paraguay Residency 📜 My Experience & Impressions of Asuncion 🧉 Oct'24
A low-hanging fruit residency; the first step in international diversification and starting my slow divorce with Australia 🦘 Documenting the process.
Skip to parts 4 & 5 below to avoid my waffling… 👇
Click the 💟 if you actually have a read.
NOT selling anything here - Not a ‘Pumper’; just documenting my experience!
1- Why a Paraguay Residency? 🤔
2 - First Impressions of Asuncion 💒
3 - Weighing Up The Plethora of Residency Agents 😒 Brief Summaries
4 - My Residency Experience📜 How It Works
5 - Paraguayan Government Changed the Rules🤦♂️
6 - Final Thoughts 🏁
I visited Asuncion with my mate Jordo, who writes Geólogo Trader 🇦🇺. He just put an article out on his Paraguay experience 👇 So be sure to check it out as well.
1- Why a Paraguayan Residency? 🤔
To avoid summarising what has already been said 100x before on this topic - I have pulled some of the info from an article by DenationaliseMe, link is in the title above 👆.
Paraguay is a great ‘flag’ to have as part of ‘5 Flags Internationalisation’; a model that I am going to try to implement into my life (somewhat) over the next five-ish years. It is both a great Plan A and an even better Plan B residency to have.
Advantages of a Paraguayan Residency - Summary
Can act as a refuge from international crises, such as pandemics, wars or government overreach.
Income from abroad is tax-free, once you are a Paraguayan tax resident.
Very low-cost of living for a high quality of life; at least in a few select barrios in Asuncion (yes, this is a bubble, and yes, Paraguay is a developing nation).
These particular barrios have:
Great gyms, cafes & restaurants.
Fast internet speeds.
Insanely cheap Uber (easy to get around).
The best cuts of beef in the world for the price - (Yes Argentina/Uruguay are on par, but not as cheap!).
Can offer greater financial privacy, with the right corporate structures.
Friendly local people.
Growing economy.
Low levels of currency inflation for South America (close to 0).
Potential for future Paraguayan citizenship.
Allows access to investment opportunities in the country.
I’m happy that I’ll now always have the right to live, work and pay (little) taxes in Paraguay, should I choose. If you want to go down the rabbit-hole, which a lot of foreigners in Paraguay do, you can also add:
Paraguay is a net food exporter (the fruit and meat quality are incredible).
Almost the whole electricity grid is powered by hydro-electric power - energy security is not an issue (electricity is exported 👇).
It sits on a massive aquifer - water security is not an issue.
Gun ownership is allowed for residents, and it's very easy to buy guns and ammo.
Far from potential world wars.
A Tin-Foil Thought Experiment on Paraguay... 🤔
What would happen to Paraguay if shit really hit the fan in the global ‘West’; for example an extreme 1929 style depression and/or hyperinflation event in The USA/Canada/Europe?
Paraguayan exports; to North America and Western Europe/Germany would drop to close to zero. While this would be a problem, it would not impact the local economy too significantly. Paraguay’s biggest export partners are, in order of exports; Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Russia, a diverse mix (non reliance on The USA).
Paraguay’s currency; the Guarani, is not pegged to the USD, so it would be less likely dragged down in the event of an extreme depression (there would obviously still be some currency instability and inflation).
Paraguay’s debt to GDP; ratio is a low 35%, compared to the USA’s 123%.
This small amount of debt combined with low inflation, a strong agricultural sector, an electricity grid that provides a net gain from hydroelectric power, and one of the highest birth rates in Latin America - the odds of long-term currency problems would be lower.
And to get really extreme - It would be hard to see many countries wanting to target Paraguay/Asuncion in the event of a nuclear war. Along with my original home of Tasmania, Paraguay (and Patagonia) would probably be one of the safest places on the planet in such an event.
Tax Optimisation
Paraguay offers great opportunities for those who are tired of paying so many taxes and want to live a freer life.
Th country has territorial taxation, which allows you to only pay taxes on income earned in the country (10%), i.e. in Paraguay you do not pay taxes on foreign income.
This is particularly interesting for any entrepreneur or investor who does not have their business or investments in Paraguay, which is what many people do via operating a US LLC or similar corporate structure.
More on the residency and the process of the residency in Part 5 below 👇
2 - First Impressions of Asuncion 💒
I’ll try be brief - and save more for the ‘monthly update’.
Complete honesty here.
I spent a few months in Peru earlier in the year, and while I absolutely love that country (food, trekking, surfing), for some reason I thought Asuncion would resemble the (rather ugly) Peruvian city of Huaraz in the Andes, where I spent a few weeks doing some trekking. Why did I think this?
No Idea. Gringo naivety?
I could not have been more pleasantly surprised by Asuncion. It is a small hidden gem of a city, in the SudAmerican jungle in the middle of nowhere!
A Developing Country
Yes Paraguay is a poor, developing nation, and yes, you do not have to go far to find favela/’villa’ style slums. Paraguay, while free-market capitalist (unlike its large neighbor, Argentina) also has high levels of corruption (even by LatAm standards).
What I saw in terms of wealth disparity was not really much different from any other of the ‘main’ Latin American countries. There are rich areas and poor areas. Poorer infrastructure outside of wealthy areas. But, it is absolutely nowhere near as bad as some people say.
My mate
copped a bunch of flack from morons on Twitter/X suggesting we didn’t understand that Paraguay is a developing country. When I lived in Bali, Indonesia before covid, I did not live in a bamboo hut and work on rice paddies (crazy I know).The whole point of travelling to these nations (for me at least) is capitalising on the Geo-Arbitrage opportunities, enhancing your quality of life while accelerating the ability to grow your net-worth/wealth (your dollar goes further and you can pay less taxes).
A whole other topic I won’t wade into here, but foreign dollars and encouraging wealthy foreigners to move to your developing nation absolutely benefits the local economy and people.
Does every dollar trickle down? Of course not, but it is still a net benefit overall.
The Wealthy Area
I’ll talk about this more in my monthly summary in a week or so; but to summarise:
Asuncion has an epic cluster of wealthy ‘bubble barrios’ that are safe, walkable (ubers cost about $3), have western shopping malls, great restaurants (as I said, best meat in the world), as well as the best gyms I have seen in Latin America.
These include the areas around; Villa Morra, Recoleta, San Cristobal, Ycua Sati & Jose Felix Estigarribia (and others).
Interestingly, many Paraguayans are also very european looking too. Tall (for LatAm), brown hair, light eyes and skin - not at all what I expected!
Now, I am an easy man to please, & there are a select few things in life I require to make me truly happy, but some of these things are;
Eating top quality red meat x4+ per week, for a low cost ✔️
Fast internet speeds ✔️ (I am a millennial, sorry)
Good quality gyms ✔️ (I am a skinny bastard, always battling against catabolism..)
Good quality cafes/coffee ✔️ (I think it is an Australian thing..)
Sauna session 2/3x per week ✔️ (a luxury but it helps with my insomnia💤)
This is how my daily routine ended up looking in Asuncion 👇
1 - Cafe/laptop session ☕
There is a franchise of cafes here called El Cafe de Aca. They’re awesome, and cheap. Reminds me of Bali cafes in 2013.
2 - Gym 💪
I’ve said before, gyms and gym culture in most of Latin America is awful. Gyms are packed, with little respect shown for fellow gym goers. I went to 3 gyms in Asuncion, all were near new, with plenty of space, & not overly packed outside peak hours. Not ‘super’ cheap, but worth it for the quality of machines 👇
3 - Sauna 🥵
Found the below sauna (has a steam room and plunge pool too). Daily pass means you can chill there all day, with good wifi. Also one of the hottest saunas I’ve even been in.
4 - Steak time 🥩
Finish the day with a big cut of the best meat in the world, for a fraction you would pay in Australia/Western Country… The history of German immigration (German is the third most common language in Paraguay!) means the local beer is epic too.
Negatives.. 🙅♂️
Finally; I’d had better mention some negative points on Asuncion, just to keep the Twitter guys happy 🙂 (interestingly a lot of the push-back on Twitter was from guys who actually lived in Asuncion..).
Heat & Humidity during the summer months. You could easily set your life up to avoid this heat, by living in other parts of the Southern Cone during these months (Patagonia for example) but using Asuncion as your ‘base’.
I have spent a lot of time in South East Asia & worked in far Northern Australia, so the heat in October was fine. But it would get pretty awful in December/January.
Smoke from forest fires in Bolivia and Brazil. Can be a problem, but the air quality index overall is much better than the typical LatAm megacity, and certainly much better than CDMX, where I am currently based.
Infrastructure - Again, within the bubble area of Asuncion, the quality of the roads were not too bad by LatAm standards, and are superior to that of the nice areas of Mexico City (which is full of potholes).
It is really not that bad at all for a developing nation (within the nice areas).
Not for ‘travellers’ - Anyone doing the typical backpacker type trip through South America would get really bored here. This is actually a positive (for me), as it keeps these type of tourists away while encouraging more of an expat vibe.
No ocean - Personal one for me, I love the ocean and miss it after a few months, somewhere that I can have a surf and a freedive (like Baja California).
Honestly that’s about all I can think of right now, I had such a good experience overall!
3 - Weighing Up The Plethora of Residency Agents 😒 Brief Summaries
I’ll stress here that the below spreadsheet was compiled (by me) ad-hoc, back in cerca May 2024. It is not an accurate reflection of what the said agents are charging now, i.e almost all of them are more expensive now.
However, still gives you a good idea, but don’t take anything I say too seriously ..😂
Jerz and Work Wealth & Travel were the best priced and best to deal with. I only went with Nicole from WW&T because I was sitting on my hands for ages and wanted to make a decision (no affiliation), and sometimes it is nice to have the female touch to things.
If you want a premium service with guys who actually live in Paraguay, I’d recommend fellow Aussies from Plan B Paraguay (higher price point though).
Experience with other agents on the list:
At the end of the day all of these guys are just middlemen, and have set up deals with lawyers/companies on the ground in Asuncion (smart business), where they collect a large commission for providing the lawyer a client.
I just wanted the residency for the best value, at the end of the day.
1) Work, Wealth & Travel - Who I went with. More below 👇.
2) Caleb Jones - Way too expensive.
I enjoy Caleb’s business/5 Flags content and advice for men, although a lot of it is very extreme!
Caleb actually lives in Asuncion for a few months of the year too, so walks his talk.
He markets mostly to an audience of North Americans who have typically done little to no travelling, and therefore get sucked into paying top dollar, although I think his package includes accommodation and a business mastermind of some sort.
Might be a good option for an entrepreneur with more cash who wants their hand held and less fuss.
3) Wandering Investor (Aleksandr) - More Expensive than Jerz or WWT, less on offer.
I enjoy Ladislas’s content, and will probably use his services in the future. His agent was slightly higher priced at the time however, and the email communication was not great, so I decided to skip.
4) Plan B Paraguay - A Boots on ground ‘premium’ experience, but a little more pricey
This is run by fellow Aussies, who I tee’d up a free consultation call with back in April. Initially I was thinking I would go with them, but their price (at the time) of $4000 USD was a bit high for me, with the only extra services offered being a steak dinner and airport pickup.
The good thing about these guys however, is that they actually live in Paraguay, so have boots on the ground (not like all the other hustlers in the list), and you will meet them in person.
I’d recommend these guys if you want a premium experience with guys that have lived in Paraguay for years.
Personally, this is not important to me.
I would have liked to go with these guys, as I have heard on the grapevine they are good blokes, and have lots of experience given they have lived there for a number of years.
Just could not justify the price - I am still a poor bloke, living off my portfolio for the next 6 to 12 months, unfortunately 🫠.
5) Miquel Girones - Poor communication/sales - extreme ‘hustle’ vibes.
I have followed Miquel on Twitter for a while. He is a young guy from Spain, so might be a good option if you are de Espana.
I get weird vibes from his content - it seems like a lot of it is fake and/or very show boaty. As someone in my mid-30s, I prefer to go with someone around my own age or older. Also a bit off-put by young guys who arn’’t humble.. 🤷♂️
Had some strange conversations with his contact on whatsapp, who kept asking me what I do for business, before giving me the price - which was a big red flag.
6) My Latin Life - Cheapest option, but hustle vibes, sends you straight to payment with little description.
I’ve followed Vance from MLL for a long time, and again before I give my honest opinion, he sounds like a nice guy.
MLL offers the cheapest price out of all the agents (for other residencies too).
But I’ll be honest here; I can not stand the MLL twitter account. I get that their business is pumping Latin America to Canadians and Americans who have little travel experience, but I find most of what they posts a bit cringe (to be fair I find 90% of Twitter accounts cringe).
However the My Latin Life Podcast is cool, and I would recommend it if you’re into travel and all this internationalisation stuff.
They typically offer very little information, and just funnel you straight to their Stripe payment page, not a great sales tactic compared to their competitors, who have detailed descriptions and Q&A.
However, maybe the service is great, I have no idea, I just got extreme hustle vibes from it all.
8) The Jerz Way -
I only didn’t pick Jerz as WW&T had a similar competitive price & I wanted to try a different agent for comparison.
I also met the
of in Asuncion (great bloke, give his Substack a follow!); he was using Jerz and I think had a good experience with it all 🤷♂️
4 - My Residency Experience 📜 How It Works
I have no affiliation with WW&T, but the process was simple and easy, with good communication from Nicole. My experience was good and I would use her again, but I would still recommend having a bit of a shop around for some other quotes too.
You should not be paying more than $3000 USD for a Paraguay residency, IMO - Unless you are getting premium services like accommodation included etc.
Like I said, the agents basically just collect a commission and palm you off to the lawyer/company on the ground in Asuncion.
My Paraguayan agent ‘Clari’ was nice, WhatsApp communication was great, and included full pick-up service from my Airbnb in a nice BMW.
The whole process only took about half a day. Most of it waiting around in the immigration building (we were able to skip the que). Honestly that was pretty much it! Easier than expected.
When I come back, I’ll need to visit the Police to get fingerprints etc, for the cedula.
I’ll also be aiming to get a drivers license and a bank account when I return to finalise the residency (banking in Paraguay is not great, but still good to have an account).
How the residency program works - The basics
It is not necessary to reside in Paraguay for the duration of the temporary permit.
Temporary Residency (TR) - Come to Paraguay to obtain your TR. This is now done in 2 trips (see point #5 below). You only need an apostilled birth certificate & an apostilled national police clearance (6 month expiry).
Permanent Residency (PR) - After 1 year 9 months (three months before the TR expires), come back to Paraguay to change the temporary residence permit to a permanent one.
After obtaining the permanent residence permit, you will only be obliged to return for a short visit every 3 years, accompanied by a renewal every 10 years… Incredible value.
After you come the first time and attain the TR, you will have to return after about 2 to 3 months to pick up your cedula ID card (more on this below), which completes the residency process.
Cedula ID
Cedulas are a requirement if you're getting residency in Paraguay. The cedula is what allows you to open bank accounts within the country, gain access to other financial institutions, and sign lease agreements. Simply having your residency is not enough; you need to ensure you have both the residency and cedula.
RUC: Paraguayan tax identification number
You can process the RUC tax ID without needing to be physically in Paraguay. But you will need your cedula first in order to get your tax ID.
I’ll be getting my RUC next year after I have the cedula.
If you want to work or do business in Paraguay, the RUC is essential. It works in a similar way to a tax identification number and you will need it for opening a business, working as a freelancer, and even paying taxes in the country.
With an active RUC, you will be obliged to file a monthly VAT return – the cost of this can vary depending on the agent you use, I have heard of ranges from $20 per month to $200 per month (this is just agents fleecing commissions).
If you do not wish to keep your RUC active, you can “deactivate” it. The deactivated RUC exempts you from monthly VAT obligations (I think..).
Paraguayan Citizenship
After three years of permanent residence, you can apply for Paraguayan citizenship, which would give you access to a Paraguayan passport. This passport has its own benefits, such as freedom of immigration throughout Mercosur. However, these benefits are only available to naturalised persons after 5 years. The Paraguayan passport can be an entry ticket to other South American countries with stricter requirements.
My agent from WW&T has cautioned me about getting this passport, so be careful of people selling the Paraguayan passport. DYOR on this - I have spilled enough digital ink in this piece already..
5 - Government Changed the Rules 🥲
There has been a change to the Paraguayan residency process, just this month..
Previously, the entire process could be done in one simple visit, but as of October 2024 the process requires two trips to Paraguay in order to obtain both the temporary residency & the cedula ID card.
Come to Paraguay, bring the relevent documentation - verify that it is correct before arriving, avoiding any surprises that some of the documentation is incorrect or not apostilled correctly.
Once the initial residency process is complete, return to Paraguay in 2/3 months to process the cedula ID card (your official residency).
Apply for RUC tax number once you have the physical cedula - can be done remotely (not necessary if you don’t want it).
Frustrating to say the least! The ONLY reason I didn’t go to Paraguay earlier, was because my (Mexican) girlfriends birthday was in October… 😂
Anyone who has dated a latina understands the peril of missing their birthday.. 🤦♂️
As I have mentioned before, residency, citizenship, and even foreign bank account opening processes are constantly becoming more difficult around the world. The documentation required and the process timeframes continue to increase, not only in complexity but also in cost.
If you are interested in obtaining an additional bank account, residency, citizenship, or tax-optimized company formation in a jurisdiction that makes sense for you and your lifestyle, now is the time to start the process.
6 - El Fin 🏁
Overall, an easy process. I wish I had known about all this internationalisation stuff before COVID, it would have been so easy to get it all sorted back then.
Pleasantly surprised by Asuncion. I can see why guys talk it up, not just to sell their residencies. It is a rather ‘boring’ place, but an amazing spot (especially for a bloke) to base yourself in the Southern Cone; with great internet, cafes, meat, restaurants, saunas and very low cost of living.
I only spent 10 days in Asuncion, and honestly I wish it had been longer!
I’ll be returning sometime in Q2 2025 to finalise the process, pickup my Cedula ID and then apply for the RUC. After this I will probably start looking to make Asuncion a legal base of operations, for tax purposes (a whole other complicated issue).
I’ll pen another piece next year on how I go about setting all this up. 2025 is a big year for me in setting up my life and getting out of Australia.
About to jump on a flight to Brazil as I hit publish on this 🏖️
Tap the like button if you made it this far!
Cheers - VanDiemen 😈
Congras on getting it done1
very informative.