Paraguay generally permits foreign ownership. A company can be wholly foreign-owned. Company law, administration and immigration are separate questions: incorporation calls for accountable representation with clear authority; capital should match the legal form, activity and a credible opening budget; and residence follows its own procedure. Keeping those questions separate avoids unnecessary nominees, poorly drafted powers and capital figures copied from an immigration route rather than company law.
The short answer is that ordinary Paraguayan companies can be wholly foreign-owned. There is no general rule reserving a percentage for Paraguayan shareholders. An Empresa por Acciones Simplificadas (EAS) may expressly be created by one or more natural or legal persons under Law 6480, and the official EAS guidance explains how non-resident foreigners may be shareholders.
That does not mean a non-resident can fill every operational role from abroad. Ownership, administration, legal representation, immigration status, tax registration and licensed activities each have their own requirements.
1. A shareholder is not the same as a representative
A shareholder supplies capital and holds the economic and voting rights attached to shares or quotas. A legal representative is authorized to act for the entity: sign filings and contracts, receive notices, operate within granted powers and face duties attached to that office. The same person can sometimes perform both roles, but the roles are legally different.
Therefore, appointing a person in Paraguay does not require giving that person equity. The articles, shareholder resolution or power should state what the representative may do, whether signatures are individual or joint, how long the appointment lasts, and how it can be revoked. A blank or informal arrangement creates risk for both owner and representative.
2. Foreign shareholders may hold the entire company
The EAS portal states that all shareholders may be foreign. A non-resident individual may create and hold shares in an EAS through a qualifying representative. A foreign legal entity can also participate, but must document its own existence, tax identity, decision to invest and authority granted to the person acting in Paraguay. Foreign documents generally need legalization or apostille and, when not in Spanish, a qualified translation.
Traditional S.A. and S.R.L. forms also do not impose a general Paraguayan-ownership quota for an ordinary commercial business. They differ in number of participants, governance, transfer rules, public-deed and registration procedures. A business in banking, insurance, securities, telecommunications or another regulated sector may face special capital, authorization, ownership or suitability rules; the general answer is not a substitute for the sectoral law.
Land ownership is another separate subject. Owning shares in a company does not automatically bypass restrictions that apply to a particular asset, location or beneficial owner. The company must disclose its real controllers and comply with the beneficial-owner registry.
3. The EAS needs an eligible person to operate the online process
The current MIC process requires the principal legal representative to use a Paraguayan electronic identity. Official guidance describes that person as Paraguayan or a foreigner with a Paraguayan identity card; its FAQ also allows a non-resident shareholder to act through a Paraguayan national or a foreigner with permanent residence. A non-resident shareholder who is not eligible for the administration role can remain an owner without becoming the representative.
If someone constitutes the EAS on behalf of shareholders, the special power must grant sufficient authority. A power executed abroad must normally be legalized or apostilled and translated into Spanish when necessary. A power executed in Paraguay may require registration in the Public Registry of Powers. The exact document set depends on whether the shareholder is a person or a foreign company.
The procedure calls for a properly eligible and authorized representative. A Paraguayan national or a qualifying foreigner can serve in that role, and the choice should rest on competence and trust. Nominal shareholding has no role in the ordinary commercial-company procedure.
4. EAS capital is set for the company and its activity
The MIC’s EAS FAQ allows founders to set capital for an EAS regardless of whether its shareholders are Paraguayan or foreign. The declared capital should nevertheless be credible for the activity. A company formed with a token amount may be legal but unable to pay setup costs, obtain permits, persuade a bank about its business plan or meet contractual obligations.
The frequently repeated US$70,000 figure belongs to an investor-certificate route linked to immigration facilitation, together with conditions described by the relevant programme. That route and company formation need separate budgets: one concerns a possible immigration benefit, the other ownership and capital of the EAS.
MIC comparisons also state that ordinary EAS, S.A. and S.R.L. forms do not have a general fixed minimum capital. That does not abolish integration rules or sector-specific thresholds. The deed or articles declare subscribed and paid-in capital, contributions in kind need valuation and documentation, and regulated activities may demand much more. An EAS gives up to two years for integration under its rules, while special treatment can apply at very high capital levels.
5. Incorporation is only the first layer
A certificate of incorporation does not by itself make the business operational. The entity needs its RUC tax registration and correct economic activities, accounting and invoice arrangements, beneficial-owner and legal-entity filings, municipal patent or licence where applicable, labour and IPS registrations when it hires, and sector permits. Banks perform their own customer, source-of-funds and beneficial-owner checks.
Non-resident owners should also examine tax residence, withholding, dividends, management fees and treaty consequences in every relevant country. A Paraguayan company is not a personal residence permit, and a residence card is not proof that the company’s filings are current.
A safer formation sequence
First define the activity, expected partners, financing, liability and exit plan. Then choose the entity type instead of defaulting to the fastest form. Identify the beneficial owners and decide who will actually manage and sign. Give the representative explicit powers and a replacement procedure. Prepare apostilles and translations before submission, not after a rejection.
Next, choose capital from a real opening budget: professional fees, equipment, rent, payroll, tax, insurance and working cash. Confirm whether the activity has a statutory minimum or prior authorization. Finally, make a post-incorporation checklist with named owners and deadlines for RUC, books, registry updates, bank account, invoices, labour and municipal permissions.
The useful rule is simple: Paraguay generally permits foreign ownership, but it does not permit ownerless administration or anonymous control. A foreigner may own 100 percent without inventing a local shareholder. The company still needs accountable representation, documented beneficial owners, adequate capital for its real business and compliance after the incorporation email arrives.
Beneficial ownership is disclosed through SIARA
The shareholder register identifies the legal holders of shares or quotas; the beneficial-owner filing asks which natural people ultimately own or control the structure. Paraguay's Ministry of Economy and Finance administers the SIARA platform for the administrative register of legal persons and structures and the beneficial-owner register. As of August 2026, companies should use the current SIARA manuals and notices rather than an old formation checklist. The Ministry also moved specified corporate communications for S.A. and S.R.L. entities into SIARA from 3 March 2026.
That filing is not a one-time substitute for governance records. A change in ownership, control, representative or another registrable fact can create a separate update duty. Identify the natural people behind every shareholder before incorporation, preserve the evidence used, and assign responsibility for monitoring later changes.
SUACE coordinates the formalisation route
SUACE is useful because it coordinates parts of business formalisation through a single institutional route. Incorporation, the RUC, municipal authorisation, labour and IPS registration, beneficial-owner reporting, invoicing and sector licences remain separate legal steps. The activity and entity type determine which steps apply.
A foreign founder should therefore ask for a written completion map: which authority issues each registration, which credential or representative can use the online system, which filings recur, and what remains outstanding after the company certificate is issued. The practical test is authorisation, registration and the company’s ability to perform its actual activity.