Apostille for Paraguay residency. Country by country, in 2026.

From the convention itself

What the Hague Apostille Convention actually says.

The 1961 convention abolishes the chain-legalisation requirement for public documents moving between contracting states. Article 3 sets out the only formality that may be required:

La seule formalité qui puisse être exigée pour attester la véracité de la signature, la qualité en laquelle le signataire de l'acte a agi et, le cas échéant, l'identité du sceau ou timbre dont cet acte est revêtu, est l'apposition de l'apostille définie à l'article 4, délivrée par l'autorité compétente de l'État d'où émane le document.

The only formality which may be required to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signer acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp on the document, is the addition of the apostille issued by the competent authority of the State of origin.

What needs the apostille

Which documents does Paraguay require apostilled?

DNM (Migraciones) asks for the foreign-issued documents in the residency file to be apostilled. Paraguayan-issued documents (Interpol clearance, Antecedentes Policiales, the local Antecedentes Penales) do not need apostille — they are presented as originals. Home-country translations — even certified ones — are rejected at DNM; translation is arranged in Paraguay.

1. 01

   Criminal-record certificate (federal level)

   The single most important document. Must be issued at the national/federal level, never the local police precinct. United States: FBI Identity History Summary. United Kingdom: ACRO Police Certificate. Germany: Bundeszentralregister Führungszeugnis (Belegart O). Brazil: Polícia Federal Atestado de Antecedentes. Russia: МВД Справка о наличии (отсутствии) судимости. Validity: 90 days from issue at the point of submission to DNM, so timing matters.

2. 02

   Birth certificate

   A full long-form birth certificate showing parents' names. Short-form or wallet-card versions are routinely rejected. Reissue the long form if your current copy is the short version. No expiry date in most jurisdictions, but if your birth certificate is older than ~15 years many DNM officers still ask for a reissued copy to anchor the apostille date.

3. 03

   Marriage / divorce records (if applicable)

   Required only if you are applying with a spouse or claiming family-of-Paraguayan reunification. The full marriage certificate plus, if applicable, any divorce decree from prior marriages. One apostille per document. If the marriage is in one country and the divorce in another, you need an apostille from each.

4. 04

   Children's documents (if applying as a family)

   Each child's full long-form birth certificate, plus — if both parents are not on the residency file — a notarised travel-authorisation or sole-custody decree from the non-applying parent. The travel-auth itself must also be apostilled. Children under 18 are added to the file under the same Ley 6984/2022 procedure but with a reduced government fee.

What does NOT need apostille from abroad: passport (presented as original at DNM), proof of address (a local Paraguayan utility bill or rental contract is what DNM accepts), bank statements (only relevant for Investor Pass financial-instruments track and that uses Paraguayan-issued instruments). The full document checklist is on the main residency guide.

By country of origin

How much does an apostille cost in each country?

Costs are USD-equivalent at May 2026 rates; turnaround estimates are government-only and do not include shipping, agent fees or sworn translation in Paraguay. The fastest path for each country is flagged. All twelve below are Hague parties, so apostille replaces consular legalisation in one step.

Country not listed? If your origin country is a [Hague contracting state](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41) the workflow is structurally identical — find the country's *competent authority* on the HCCH status page. If your origin country is NOT a Hague signatory (e.g. Canada before 2024, China, Vietnam, most of Sub-Saharan Africa), you need *consular legalisation* through the nearest Paraguayan consulate instead of an apostille. The Paraguayan consulate stamp replaces the apostille for residency-file purposes.

Order of operations

When should you order each apostille?

The cheapest residency file is one where every document is fresh at the moment DNM stamps the file. Sequence matters because the criminal-record certificate carries a 90-day validity window that drives every other date.

1. 1

   T-100 days · Order birth + marriage records

   These have no real expiry date in most jurisdictions. Order them first because they have the longest postal turnaround and the most failure modes (wrong version requested, name spelling discrepancies, the records office is closed for a month).

2. 2

   T-90 days · Apostille birth + marriage records

   Once you have the documents, apostille them. Even though they don't expire, you want to be done with the slow steps before the 90-day criminal-record clock starts. If your country offers e-Apostille (UK, Spain, Brazil, several US states), use it.

3. 3

   T-60 to T-50 days · Order criminal-record certificate

   Time-critical. The certificate must be less than 90 days old when DNM stamps your file. Order it from the federal authority (FBI, ACRO, BfJ Bundesamt, etc.) and have it shipped to wherever you will apostille.

4. 4

   T-40 to T-30 days · Apostille criminal-record certificate

   Apostille immediately on receipt. Some apostille authorities (US Dept of State for FBI, German Bundesverwaltungsamt) take 2–4 weeks themselves, so build that into the schedule. The apostille's own date does not extend the certificate's underlying 90-day window.

5. 5

   T-20 days · Travel to Paraguay with documents

   Carry the apostilled originals in hand luggage. Avoid shipping — international couriers sometimes hold documents for customs and you lose days. Have scanned PDFs of every document in cloud storage as a backup.

6. 6

   T-10 days · Sworn translation in Asunción + DNM filing

   Court-sworn translation in Paraguay costs ~US$ 25–50 per document (PYG 175,000–350,000) and takes 2–5 working days. Once translated, the file is ready for DNM. Standard government residency fee under Ley 6984/2022 is PYG 1,235,400 (~US$ 203 at the BCP referencia of 22 May 2026). One practical note from May 2026 DNM Asunción appointments: Wednesday-morning biometric slots tend to open ~3 days ahead in the online portal — quieter than Mondays. The MigraMóvil mobile-DNM unit cycles through Encarnación and Ciudad del Este on a published schedule if travelling to Asunción isn't realistic.

A reader who books a scouting trip can compress this whole timeline into 6 weeks instead of 10 by ordering documents while still abroad, then flying to Asunción with the apostilled originals in hand. The scouting-trip planner walks the rest of the in-country setup.

Translation step (in Paraguay)

Where does sworn translation happen — Paraguay or home country?

Foreign-issued documents are translated by traductores públicos matriculados registered with the Corte Suprema de Justicia. A translation done in your home country, even by a certified translator, will not be accepted at DNM. The translator stamps the Spanish version and binds it to the apostilled original.

Who can do it

Only traductor público matriculado registered with the Paraguayan Corte Suprema de Justicia. The DNM publishes a list; most reputable translators in Asunción serve relocators directly.

Cost per document

PYG 175,000–350,000 (US$ 28–57 at May 2026 rate). Criminal records typically run higher than birth certificates because of length.

Turnaround

2–5 working days for the standard residency document set. Some translators offer 24-hour rush for ~50% premium.

What languages

English, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Hebrew and Arabic are well-covered. Less common languages (Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino) may have only 1–2 sworn translators nationwide — book ahead.

Notarisation after translation

Not normally required for the residency file. Some banks ask for an additional escribano público notarisation of the translation if you are using these documents to open a corporate account.

What goes wrong

What are the five most common apostille mistakes?

• Short-form birth certificate

  Wallet-card or short-extract birth certificates miss the parents' names DNM needs. **Always order the long-form / literal / *de inteiro teor* version.** Cost: a few extra dollars and 1–2 weeks; vs flying back to a notary in your home country.

• Apostille on the translation, not the original

  Apostille goes on the foreign-issued original, not the translation. Translation happens in Paraguay after the apostilled original arrives. Reverse this and DNM rejects the file.

• Local-police clearance instead of federal

  Brazil PCSP letter, US local sheriff's record, German Polizeiliches Führungszeugnis from the local Bürgeramt: all rejected. DNM needs the national/federal criminal-record certificate. Order from the FBI, Polícia Federal, BfJ Bundesamt, etc.

• Letting the 90-day window expire

  Criminal record issued 91 days before DNM filing date = file rejected; re-order, re-apostille, possibly re-fly. The clock is on the *issuance* date, not the apostille date — apostille late doesn't extend it.

• Apostille from a non-Hague country

  Documents from China, Vietnam, most Sub-Saharan African countries cannot be apostilled — they need consular legalisation through the Paraguayan embassy or consulate covering that country. The chain is slower (often 6–10 weeks) and more expensive. Plan accordingly if your origin country is not on the [HCCH status table](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41).