Ask ten people what it costs to get residency in Paraguay through investment, and you'll get ten different numbers. That's because the rules changed on 28 April 2026, when the new Investor Pass came into force. The old figures floating around online are stale. The new ones are lower, at least on paper, and the entry point is now $70,000.
That number surprises people. Most residency-by-investment programs in the region start in the six figures and climb from there. Paraguay's new $70,000 track sits well under that, but there's a catch worth understanding before you get excited. The cheapest path isn't a passive deposit. It's a real business, registered through a government window called SUACE, and it asks something of you that a bank transfer never will.
Let me walk through what the Investor Pass actually offers, why the SUACE route is the lowest threshold, and how it stacks up against the simpler (and pricier) real estate option.
What the Investor Pass changed
The Investor Pass replaced the patchwork that came before it. Instead of a single fixed price, it now has several tracks, each aimed at a different kind of investor. You pick the one that fits your capital and your appetite for involvement.
Here's the headline detail that matters most: permanent residency comes directly, with no temporary phase to sit through first. Under older rules, plenty of countries make you hold a temporary status for a year or two before you can apply for permanent. Paraguay's new framework skips that step for Investor Pass applicants. Your cédula, the national ID card, follows once permanent residency is granted.
And there's a longer game here too. After three years of holding permanent residency, citizenship becomes possible. There are tests involved, and the practice around them is qualitative rather than a simple checklist, so treat the three-year mark as a door that opens, not a guarantee that walks you through it.
The four tracks at a glance
| Track | Minimum investment | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| SUACE productive investment | $70,000 | A registered business or productive project through the government's unified window |
| Real estate | $200,000 | A qualifying property purchase |
| Tourism projects | $150,000 | Investment into an approved tourism venture |
| Financial instruments | $200,000 | Regulated instruments held for a multi-year term |
The SUACE track is the lowest ticket by a wide margin. That's exactly why it deserves a closer look, and a fair warning.
What the SUACE route actually asks of you
SUACE stands for Sistema Unificado de Apertura y Cierre de Empresas, which translates roughly to the unified system for opening and closing businesses. It's the government's one-stop window for registering a company, and it's the channel your $70,000 productive investment flows through.
The word "productive" is doing real work in that sentence. This isn't money you park in an account and forget. The SUACE route expects an actual business or productive project behind it. That means a plan, a registration, and follow-through. You're setting up something that operates, employs, produces, or serves, not opening a term deposit and collecting a certificate.
I'll describe it qualitatively on purpose, because the requirements here are new and still evolving. The Investor Pass came into force only in April 2026, and the practical details of what SUACE officers want to see are being worked out in real time. What counts as a compliant productive plan today may be sharpened or reinterpreted next quarter. So don't build your whole timeline on a forum post from last month. Verify current practice with a local advisor who's filing these applications now and watching how they land.
The upside of all this effort is a genuinely low capital requirement and a residency that rests on real economic contribution rather than a passive holding. If you were going to start a business in Paraguay anyway, the SUACE route lets your residency ride along with something you were already doing.
The honest comparison with the $200k real estate track
Here's where I'll be straight with you, because the cheapest option isn't automatically the right one.
The $200,000 real estate track costs nearly three times as much up front. But it's a simpler asset to understand. You buy a qualifying property, you hold it, and the thing you own is tangible and familiar. One premium apartment in a good Asunción neighborhood can clear the threshold on its own. There's no business plan to write, no productive activity to sustain, no ongoing operation that needs your attention.
So the trade is clean. The SUACE route is cheaper but demands involvement and carries more regulatory uncertainty while the rules settle. The real estate route is more expensive but gives you a passive, well-understood asset and a smoother path with fewer moving parts.
Which one wins depends entirely on you. If you want a business in Paraguay and don't mind the work, SUACE is remarkable value. If you'd rather own a solid asset and treat residency as a byproduct, the apartment might be the calmer choice even at the higher price.
The tax picture behind all of this
Part of what draws people to Paraguay isn't the entry cost at all. It's the tax frame waiting on the other side.
Paraguay runs a territorial tax system. The flat rate is 10%, and foreign-source income is taxed at 0%. If your income is earned outside the country, Paraguay generally doesn't reach for it. For location-independent earners, that structure is often the real prize, and residency is what makes living there under that system possible.
I'll flag the obvious: tax outcomes depend on your specific situation, your other tax residencies, and how your income is actually sourced. This is a frame, not personalized advice.
What we don't know yet
Being honest about the gaps matters more than sounding certain.
The Investor Pass is only a few months old. SUACE's exact documentation standards for a productive investment are still being tested against real filings, and different officers may weigh plans differently while the framework beds in. The precise interplay between the productive-project requirement and ongoing compliance, meaning what you must keep doing after approval to stay in good standing, isn't fully settled in public guidance.
The three-years-to-citizenship path exists, but the tests and their practical bar are qualitative and worth confirming closer to the time rather than assuming today's read holds.
None of this is a reason to wait. It's a reason to work with someone on the ground who's current.
FAQ
Is $70,000 really the total cost of getting residency? It's the minimum productive investment for the SUACE track, not the all-in figure. Budget separately for professional fees, registration, and the ongoing costs of running the productive project itself. Think of $70,000 as the investment floor, not the final bill.
Can I use the SUACE route as a passive investment? No. That's the whole point of it. The SUACE track expects a real business or productive project with a plan, a registration, and genuine follow-through. If you want something passive, the $200,000 real estate track fits that need far better.
How long until I can apply for citizenship? Citizenship becomes possible after three years of holding permanent residency, and tests apply. The bar is qualitative and the practice is evolving, so confirm the current requirements with a local advisor as you approach the mark.
A note before you decide
None of this is legal advice. It's an overview of a new and shifting framework, and the details that matter to your case need a qualified local professional who's filing these applications right now.
One principle to carry through all of it: buy the investment on its merits first. Whether it's a business you'd genuinely run or an apartment you'd genuinely want to own, let it stand on its own value. Treat residency as the bonus that rides along, not the reason you overpay or overreach.
If you want the full breakdown of every track, the paperwork, and the sequence from investment to cédula, grab our free Paraguay residency guide. It's the map we wish we'd had going in.