Applicants who wait until they reach Paraguay to look for a birth certificate or the correct criminal-record document can lose weeks. Paraguay’s migration authority asks most applicants for the same core evidence. The difficulty often lies in the issuing country: which document is valid nationwide, which authority issues its apostille, and which certificate proves current civil status?
This guide covers the ordinary temporary-residence route and the Mercosur route available to Brazilian and Argentinian citizens. Special categories for investors, relatives of Paraguayan citizens and other statutory cases have separate requirements.
Temporary residence is the normal starting point
Under Paraguay’s Migration Law 6984/2022, ordinary residence is initially granted for up to two years and may generally be extended for the same period. It is normally required before permanent residence. While the application is pending, the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) says that provisional status permits work, study, departure and re-entry. Temporary residence also provides access to a Paraguayan identity card valid for the corresponding period.
Permanent residence is a second procedure. The DNM places the change-of-category window between 90 days before and 30 days after the temporary card expires. Paraguayan background certificates and proof of financial means are among the requirements. Claims that every foreigner can obtain immediate permanent residence therefore do not describe the ordinary route.
Documents generally required by Paraguay
The DNM’s current temporary-residence checklist includes:
- a valid passport or other accepted identity document, with an authenticated copy;
- a visa and Paraguayan verification where a visa is required;
- evidence that entry into Paraguay was properly registered;
- a birth certificate issued by the competent authority;
- a marriage certificate, divorce judgment or spouse’s death certificate where applicable;
- from age 14, a current criminal or police certificate valid at national or federal level from the relevant country;
- certificates obtained in Paraguay from Interpol and the National Police; and
- DNM-generated declarations concerning compliance with Paraguayan law, occupation or activity, and address in Paraguay.
Foreign public documents generally require legalisation or an apostille. Documents in another language must be translated into Spanish. The DNM accepts a translation by a public translator licensed in Paraguay. A translation made abroad must itself comply with the authentication route described by the DNM.
The criminal-record requirement also follows residence history
Citizenship does not decide the issue by itself. A person who lived in the country of nationality supplies that country’s national or federal certificate. Anyone who lived in another country for more than one year during the previous three years generally needs a certificate from that country as well as evidence of residence there. A person already resident in Paraguay for more than three years falls under a different rule. Applicants should clarify this point with the DNM before ordering documents.
Country overview
| Country | National criminal-record document | Apostille route | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Federal Office of Justice certificate | Federal or state route depending on the document | Civil-status records come from the registry office |
| Brazil | Polícia Federal criminal-record certificate | Authorised Cartório | Mercosur residence available |
| Argentina | RNR criminal-record certificate | Foreign Ministry or authorised route | Mercosur residence available |
| Spain | Certificado de Antecedentes Penales | Competent Spanish justice authority | Confirm practical acceptance of electronic records |
| United States | FBI Identity History Summary | US Department of State for FBI record; state authority for birth record | Two different apostille levels |
| United Kingdom | ACRO Police Certificate | FCDO Legalisation Office | Not the same as an ordinary DBS check |
| Switzerland | Federal Office of Justice criminal-record extract | Federal Chancellery; canton for civil-status records | Apostille can be requested with the paper extract |
Germany
Applicants should order a recent birth certificate from the responsible Standesamt. A private family-book extract or simple photocopy is not equivalent. Married, divorced or widowed applicants also need the official record or decision proving their current status.
The nationwide Führungszeugnis is maintained by the Federal Office of Justice and can be requested through the official certificate portal or the registration authority. Federal records and municipal civil-status records do not necessarily use the same apostille authority. Applicants should state that the document is for use in Paraguay and confirm the current pre-certification and apostille route with the issuing authority. The Apostille Convention has applied between Germany and Paraguay since January 2022.
Brazil
Brazilian citizens can use temporary Mercosur residence. The DNM currently lists Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador under this route. The permit lasts two years and is not renewable, so the change to permanent Mercosur residence must be prepared on time.
Birth and civil-status certificates come from the responsible civil-registry Cartório. The principal nationwide criminal-record document is the Polícia Federal’s Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais. Brazilian public documents for foreign use are apostilled by authorised notarial and registry offices.
Argentina
Argentinian citizens can also choose the Mercosur route. Birth and marriage certificates come from the competent provincial civil registry or the registry of the City of Buenos Aires. The national criminal-record document is issued by the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia through the official application procedure.
Argentinian public documents can be apostilled through the Foreign Ministry and other authorised channels. With electronic documents, the apostille and means of digital verification must remain together; a printout does not always preserve the legally verifiable electronic record.
Spain
Spain’s Civil Registry issues birth, marriage and death certificates. The Ministry of Justice issues the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales. Its official electronic portal provides the relevant procedures.
An apostille is generally required for use in Paraguay. The competent Spanish office depends on the document and its format. Holders of electronically signed records should verify before travelling that the electronic apostille and verification code can be processed in practice. The DNM provides a narrow criminal-record exception for certain minors from Spain; adults should not treat it as a general exemption.
United States
US documents come from two levels. A certified birth certificate is issued by the state or territory where the birth was registered, and the competent state authority normally apostilles it. A local or state background check is not automatically the nationwide certificate required by Paraguay.
The federal document is the FBI Identity History Summary. As a federal record, it is apostilled by the US Department of State, whose official apostille guidance expressly includes FBI background checks. The birth certificate and FBI record therefore go to different apostille authorities.
United Kingdom
An official birth certificate can be ordered from the General Register Office or the relevant regional register. For foreign immigration purposes, the nationwide police document is generally the ACRO Police Certificate. An employment-related DBS check is not automatically an equivalent substitute.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Legalisation Office issues the apostille. The official UK legalisation service explains whether the original, a certified copy or prior certification is required. Applicants should use the appropriate civil-registration authority for England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Switzerland
Civil-status documents are issued by the competent Swiss civil-registry office. The Federal Office of Justice supplies the Swiss criminal-record extract. Swiss authorities state that an apostille from the Federal Chancellery can be requested when ordering a paper extract for a foreign authority.
Cantonal civil-status records follow the apostille route of the relevant canton, not the federal route. Applicants should begin with the official criminal-record ordering service and the civil-registry office that issued the record.
Documents obtained in Paraguay
The foreign documents are only part of the file. Applicants also need evidence of registered entry and the certificates required by the DNM from Interpol and the National Police. Authenticated copies are prepared locally. Families with children face additional consent, custody or representation requirements depending on whether both parents, one parent or a third person accompanies the child.
A safer order of work
- Identify the correct route: ordinary, Mercosur or a genuinely applicable special category.
- Determine which country must issue the criminal record based on the previous three years of residence.
- Order recent official birth and, where relevant, civil-status records.
- Order the nationally or federally valid criminal-record certificate.
- Identify the correct apostille authority for each record; federal and regional documents may follow different routes.
- Check that the original and apostille are complete before translation.
- Obtain a Spanish translation by a method accepted by the DNM.
- Register entry into Paraguay and then complete local certificates and authenticated copies.
Last verified: 17 September 2026. Requirements, fees, responsibilities and electronic procedures can change. Check the current DNM page before ordering or apostilling records. The competent authority, not a private relocation agent or this general guide, makes the binding decision.