Paraguay Permanent Residency by Investment via Film Production

There is a program that allows you to obtain immediate Permanent Residency in Paraguay, in a single trip.

Paraguayan law states that you must invest at least $70,000 and create local jobs.
However, the Paraguayan government is currently looking to develop the film industry through foreign investment.
This is why the Paraguayan National Institute for Audiovisual has obtained a special exemption:

• if you invest $40,000 in the production of a local film
• and demonstrate that you have at least $80,000 in any bank account
• you can obtain Permanent Residency, immediately.

Through this program, secure your access to one of the best Plan B options in Latin America, benefit from a territorial tax system and a rare level of economic dynamism — all in a single trip!

To maintain your Permanent Residency, you will only need to visit Paraguay once every three years.

Important note: in Paraguay, there are many unscrupulous agents. Some offer to bypass this requirement by using real estate companies, but this approach does not fully comply with the law. Please be very cautious.

Who is this program good for?

1. Westerners pressed for time, who want a Plan B without going through temporary residency or making multiple trips to Paraguay.
2. Nationals of African or Asian developing countries, who need a visa to travel to Paraguay. In this specific case, our immigration agent will help you obtain a Visa On Arrival, allowing you to enter Paraguayan territory.
3. People who fear new immigration restrictions in Paraguay. As of now, obtaining residency in Paraguay is particularly easy, and the country is booming. Migration offices are full. There is little doubt that authorities will introduce new restrictions in the near future.

Take a shortcut towards Permanent Residency in Paraguay

This program requires you to go to Paraguay

To submit your application, you will need to travel to Asunción for a period of 7 business days. This timeframe is realistic if you have prepared all your documents in advance.

If you are a citizen of a developing country in Asia or Africa, you will need to obtain a visa beforehand in order to enter Paraguayan territory.

In this case, our local agent will arrange the visa process on your behalf.

This procedure involves additional fees of $3,000, as well as a longer processing time.

If you have a Western passport and want to go the usual, slower route by getting temporary residency first, rather speak to Paraguay immigration agent Matt.

Services in Paraguay:

• My Real Estate Agent in Asuncion, Paraguay
• How to obtain Residency in Paraguay
• How to obtain residency in Paraguay through investment in film production

Articles on Paraguay:

• Asuncion Real Estate Market: Investor Guide 2025 – good long term prospects

Transcript of “Immediate Permanent Residency in Paraguay by Investment“

LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello, everyone. Ladislas of The Wandering Investor. Today, we’ll be discussing how to obtain permanent residency in Paraguay immediately. So, not the normal route, which is to, first, get temporary residency and, after a few years, convert to permanent residency, with a few trips in-between. But here, one trip, permanent residency immediately. We’ll be discussing this with Laszlo.

Laszlo, how are you?

LASZLO: Good-good, thank you so much for the invitation.

SUACE residency program in Paraguay

LADISLAS MAURICE: The program to obtain permanent residency immediately in Paraguay is called SUACE, and the law says that you must invest $70,000 in the Paraguayan economy and create at least local jobs. This is the official law. The problem with this is that not necessarily everyone wants to create an actual physical business on the ground in Paraguay or outsourcing services. What a lot of people have been doing, which is a bit on the gray zone, is they buy real estate and then they get permanent residency this way. Many immigration agents and lawyers are uncomfortable with this route because it doesn’t follow the rule of the law and doesn’t actually really create five jobs. Some immigration agents offer it, and it’s fine, people are getting their PR, others don’t.

Now the risk with such an approach is that, typically, when people go for permanent residency in Paraguay, it’s because they want a Plan B. And if your Plan B rests on shaky foundation, there’s an element of risk that people aren’t necessarily comfortable with.

Getting residency in Paraguay by investing in the film industry

LADISLAS MAURICE: However, that’s not the only way. And I was having a chat a few weeks ago with Laszlo, and he spent time in Paraguay recently, and he told me of another approved way with proper documentation and government endorsement, which is by investing in the local film industry. Laszlo, can you tell us about this option?

LASZLO: Yes. I do not want to make any comments on the property investment side, because it is possible that there would be enough work manpower to be used for the construction, which means that they might be able to satisfy and so on, and so on. Portugal is an open market now, so all in all, many things can be done. I’m not saying anything is illegal, because I’m not saying that, but I would like to talk only about our own solution for that, which, I think, it’s very, very clear.

Paraguay, they had a decision on the Council of Ministers that they want to develop their own film sector the same way as the Czech Republic, Canada, and so on and so on, to give subsidies in many, many ways than to have the development of the local filming industry, or helping foreign film companies to come and to shoot films, because that, don’t forget, making a film requires quite a lot of manpower, by the way, even though the majority of them are non-qualified ones. They’re just needed on the stage in the background to move, and that is why this five-member employment is definitely possible and it’s not a problem.

What the clients are doing, they are investing $40,000 into a film project, which is a film company, and therefore, the manpower requirement is definitely kept. And then we have a special waiver from the Ministry of Culture, who gave the permission to the Audiovisual Paraguay Government Committee to accept these kinds of applications and to grant an immediate permanent residency to the main applicant. When I’m saying immediate, obviously, it takes like two months to get this documentation in order. But otherwise, I think that is also a good thing, that in two-month time, you can be a permanent resident, and you do not have to go through the residency period, a normal temporary residency period.

The necessary investment is $40,000, and the reasoning is that the money would remain in the company. And according to our possibilities, then the money would be added, what is generated as a profit would remain in the company for a certain time. And then, most probably, there will be distributions. But until that time, that is also calculated, again, $70,000 threshold. And by the way, according to the law, the $70,000 investment must be done in 10 years’ time, which, just crazy, because anybody could promise 10 years. And now the Paraguay authorities are cracking down on those people who do not want to invest anything, they are just claiming, they are just promising that they would invest. This is not the case. It’s $40,000 for the main applicant, and then two-month time, permanent residency.

Why get residency in Paraguay?

LASZLO: And if somebody is interested in Paraguay, obviously, there are lots of materials also on your website, with your interviews of why Paraguay, with its territorial tax system. Freedom, we could say that really, it’s one of the freest country for the time being. The Itaipu Dam generates huge amount of electricity, so electricity is not a problem. It has a huge number of arable land, so if somebody wants to have agricultural activities, it’s okay. The manpower, unfortunately, is not as educated as, let’s say, in Argentina or in Uruguay. The government is working on to spend more on the education. Anyway, that’s about the country.

Permanent residency in Paraguay for families

LASZLO: How the system works, if the client and family members, because family members can be also included in the application with a caveat, and that is a kind of a negative sign, that only the main applicant can get permanent residency, and the family members get two years’ temporary residency, which can be renewed all the time. And if they would be living in Paraguay, then they would be able to convert it also to permanent residency. But initially, it’s only the main applicant who gets the permanent residency valid for life. I think, for $40,000 in such a booming country with so many good possibilities, investment possibilities, or really nearly in every aspect of ordinary life, it’s a good place to move. Then, I think, it’s a good idea.

How does an investment in a Paraguayan film work?

LASZLO: The money is invested in films, which are, again, as I mentioned, employs quite a lot of people during the film is made. And we see how the films would be successful. But we all know that the film industry, sometimes, creates very good films and very profitable films, and sometimes, it creates duds, because that happens, I think, in Hollywood also. It is, even though it’s an investment, and it is an investment, and if the clients and the films are going well, then the clients will definitely get a later distribution. But there is a chance that not everything would go well, and the films will not be so easily saleable or will not generate enough income. And in that respect, the return is questionable if they receive any kind of return at all. And if that is the case that somehow this doesn’t work, then maybe the $40,000 will not be an investment, but rather, in economic terms, a donation to the country.

Still, the permanent residency in two months’ time is there. And then even when we consider this $40,000 donation, I mean $40,000 now is really not a lot of money at the end to get such a good stronghold in Paraguay.

How to apply for residency in Paraguay by investment

LASZLO: The applicants, depending on whether they are living in a country which has a visa-free agreement with Paraguay, then if they have the agreement, they can go to Paraguay to file the application, or they have to apply for a visa. We collect the documentation. We give it to the film authority. The government film authority, if they find everything is in order, then they go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a letter of invitation. And one is sent to the client, and one is sent to the actual embassy, where the client has to go personally to apply for the visa. Then a special document would be issued, and when they go to Paraguay, they get the visa on arrival.

It might sound complicated, but it’s definitely not complicated, because at the end, it’s just gathering the documents, and we would, in the background, sort everything so that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actually inviting those people to come. But they have to go to the embassies, whichever is responsible for the territory.

Where can I get a visa for Paraguay?

LASZLO: Now Paraguay compared to the Caribbean countries, compared to Vanuatu, I think, has a very, very good network because, for example, they have, in the United States, an embassy. They have in Canada, they have, obviously, on Central America and South America. In South Africa, for example, for Africa. They have the United Arab Emirates. They have in Japan, they have in India, also, which could be a good market. Qatar, South Korea, it’s Turkey, United Arab Emirates. In Europe, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, if somebody wants to go there, Spain, United Kingdom.

All in all, the network of the Embassies is very wide, so all in all, if somebody is living in a country which doesn’t have a direct Embassy on the territory, then we might suggest to go to that other country, and then we will sort out the paperwork for them.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Effectively, I see this option as interesting for two types of people. One, Westerners that want a Plan B, that want permanent residency in Paraguay immediately, in a single trip, without having to go two, three times over two-and-a-half years to get the temporary residency to then convert to the permanent residency. And then to keep the permanent residency active is just a single trip every three years to Paraguay. Or, people from developing countries that do not have visa-free access to Paraguay, typically, from Africa, the Middle East, many parts of Asia. This is your way in to Paraguay.

Laszlo can get you full support at your local embassy, or at an embassy nearby to get the visa for you and your family. And then you, as the main applicant, and your family can go to Paraguay, and in a single trip, you as the main applicant get permanent residency and your family temporary residency.

Advantages of permanent residency vs. temporary residency

LASZLO: Yes, exactly. And I have to add something that, sooner or later, governments would wake up to the fact to check of what is the content a foreign country, let’s say, the original country where the client is coming from, what is the residency? How much time do they spend there? But having a permanent residency sounds a much stronger attachment to that country. If anything is questioning that person, I think that the permanent residency is much more valuable than just a simple residency, especially if somebody is reading articles about Paraguay, or how easy it is to get a residency.

All in all, I think that in today’s time, $40,000 investment/donation, I think that is a very, very good proposition. And with that possibility, obviously, the whole Mercosur regional agreement would apply to that person, and then visa-free travel to Argentina, to Brazil, to Chile, and also business possibilities. All in all, I think that this is a very, very well-priced product, even for someone who just thinking of going there, why not have a permanent residency, which is very hard to take away.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah.

LASZLO: Just as simple as this. That’s my opinion.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Absolutely. Look, two things, as you said, Laszlo, before, it’s a high-risk investment without, necessarily, much upside, so people need to be aware of this. Personally, if I were to do this, I mean, I already have permanent residency in Paraguay, I would go in there thinking, this is a donation, and if distributions come to my account later on, then I’d be really happy. I think this is the mentality that people should have when they venture into this.

And point number two, this is immediate PR, but also for all the kind of normal people out there, if I can put it this way, temporary residency and then permanent residency works perfectly well for Westerners, for South Africans, etc. We can help with that process as well.

How to contact Laszlo for permanent residency in Paraguay

LADISLAS MAURICE: There is a link below. You can find all the information on how to obtain permanent residency in Paraguay with that option that Laszlo offers. You’ll also see the letter from the authorities confirming this program, and then also the usual way to obtain residency in Paraguay, which is by starting with temporary residency.

Laszlo, thank you very much for your time today.

LASZLO: That’s excellent. Thank you so much again. Cheers. Bye-bye.