Paraguayan citizenship. Three years of PR, a language test, and a Supreme Court ruling.

From the constitution itself

What Article 148 actually requires.

Naturalisation is set by the 1992 Constitution, not by decree. The three-year residence rule is requirement 2, quoted verbatim:

Los extranjeros podrán obtener la nacionalidad paraguaya por naturalización si reúnen los siguientes requisitos: 1. mayoría de edad: 2. radicación mínima de tres años en territorio nacional; 3. ejercicio en el país de alguna profesión, oficio, ciencia, arte o industria, y 4. buena conducta, definida en la ley.

Foreigners may obtain Paraguayan nationality through naturalization if they meet the following requirements: 1. legal age; 2. minimum residence of three years in national territory; 3. exercise in the country of some profession, trade, science, art or industry, and 4. good conduct, as defined by law.

Eligibility

Three years of PR and the integration tests.

Article 148 of the 1992 Constitution sets four cumulative requirements: legal age, three years of residence, regular profession or income, and good conduct. The text remains unchanged through the 2024–2026 reform discussions. See the full residency guide for how to build the three years of PR that this clock counts.

• Three full years of permanent residency (PR), uninterrupted, from the date the cédula is issued. Trips out are allowed but the cédula must remain valid.
• Adult: 18 or over at the date of the application.
• Honest livelihood: a documented occupation, business, or pension. Naturalisation is rarely granted to applicants without a demonstrable income source — though the threshold is low.
• Good conduct: a clean Paraguayan record (Antecedentes Penales y Policiales) AND a clean criminal record from your country of origin. (The broader 'every country of residence in the past 3 years' rule applies at the residency-application stage, not at naturalisation.)
• Adequate Spanish or Guaraní: assessed in interview at the Supreme Court. Conversational level is sufficient. Written essays are NOT required.
• Basic civics: name the branches of government, the President, the date of independence (1811), the colours of the flag, and Paraguay's most recent constitutional date (1992).
• Public-order oath: signed declaration to respect the Paraguayan Constitution and laws.

The process

From file submission to Supreme Court ruling.

The naturalisation file goes to the Corte Suprema de Justicia (en pleno). A typical application takes 12–24 months — most of that is the Court's queue. The applicant attends one interview and then waits.

1. 01

   Assemble the document set

   Original birth certificate (apostilled + translated), original marriage certificate if applicable, criminal background from your country of origin (apostilled + translated), Paraguayan Antecedentes Penales y Policiales, RUC + tax compliance certificate from SET, recent utility bills as residency proof, sworn affidavit of livelihood, and four recent passport-style photos. Tax residency status is needed for some citizenship documentation (RUC + tax compliance certificate from SET). See tax residency for the threshold and filing details.

2. 02

   File at the Corte Suprema de Justicia

   File via a Paraguayan attorney at the Corte Suprema de Justicia in Asunción. Filing fee is symbolic (Gs. 200,000–500,000 / US$ 33–83 in stamp duties). Most of the cost is the lawyer (US$ 1,500–3,500 typical) plus translations + apostille.

3. 03

   Background verification

   The Court asks Migraciones to confirm the residency dates, asks Identificaciones for the cédula record, asks Interpol for an additional check, and may request supplementary documents. This phase typically runs 6–12 months.

4. 04

   Language + civics interview

   An informal interview with a Court-appointed examiner (sometimes the case's reporting magistrate). The applicant answers questions in Spanish or Guaraní, names key civic facts, and reads aloud a short passage. Failure rate is low if the applicant has been physically present in Paraguay during the 3-year PR period.

5. 05

   Acuerdo y Sentencia (ruling)

   The Corte Suprema de Justicia issues a written ruling granting (or in rare cases denying) citizenship. The ruling is published in the Gaceta Oficial. The new citizen presents at the Court for the formal oath and receives a Carta de Naturalización.

6. 06

   Cédula + passport update

   Within 30 days of the ruling, the Carta is registered with Identificaciones, a new cédula is issued (now without 'extranjero' / foreigner field), and a Paraguayan passport application can be filed (about US$ 100, 10–14 day issuance).

Under Constitution Art. 150, naturalised Paraguayan citizenship is lost only by judicially-declared unjustified absence from Paraguay for more than three years, or by voluntary acquisition of another nationality. A Carta obtained by fraud can also be set aside through ordinary judicial review. Otherwise it is permanent.

Dual citizenship

Allowed in Paraguay — but the older country may complicate it.

Paraguay accepts dual (and multiple) nationality on a reciprocity basis (Constitution Art. 149) and through bilateral treaties — Spain and Italy are the formal treaty partners; other dual nationalities are tolerated in practice. Whether you can keep your prior citizenship depends entirely on the rules of that other country, not Paraguay's.

• Paraguay does not require renunciation of prior citizenship at naturalisation. The Carta de Naturalización doesn't ask which other passports you hold.
• If your country of origin DOES require renunciation (Austria, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, China — partial list), the renunciation is your problem, not Paraguay's. Some applicants accept the loss; others retain dual status quietly because Paraguay never reports the new citizenship to your origin country.
• Children born to Paraguayan citizens abroad acquire jus sanguinis citizenship — they're Paraguayan by birth, regardless of where they're born. Two-generation chains DO work (your children of children of a naturalised citizen still qualify, with paperwork).
• If you naturalise and later lose or renounce Paraguayan citizenship (Constitution Art. 150 — voluntary adoption of another nationality, or 3+ years of unjustified absence), it can be reacquired later — but not automatically; you re-apply.
• Tax: Paraguay taxes only Paraguay-source income for both citizens and residents. Holding a second passport doesn't expose you to additional tax in Paraguay. (Your other country may have CFC, exit-tax, or worldwide-income rules — those don't change.)

What naturalisation gives you

Almost everything — but a few political offices stay reserved.

A naturalised citizen has full civil rights. A small set of high political offices is reserved for citizens by birth (Constitution Art. 221, 223, 228, 258). For how rights differ at each earlier stage, see rights by status.

Realistic timeline

Four to seven years from arrival to passport.

The constitutional minimum is three years, but in practice the start of the clock is the cédula PR issue date — not landing. Add the residency build, file preparation, and the Court's queue, and the realistic end-to-end is closer to 4–7 years. The full residency-to-citizenship timeline lays out every stage.

• Arrival → TR cédula

  1–6 months

  Standard residency through Migraciones. MigraMóvil delivers TR in 5–10 days; the standard path takes longer.

• TR cédula → PR cédula

  21 months (legal minimum), 24+ realistic

  TR is granted for 2 years. Convert to PR before it expires. Some applicants secure PR directly under the Investor Pass — that compresses the front of the timeline.

• PR cédula → naturalisation eligibility

  3 years (constitutional minimum)

  Three full years on the PR cédula. Long absences may reset the clock — keep entries + exits below ~6 months consecutive abroad.

• Naturalisation file → Carta

  12–24 months

  Average is 14 months. Files with apostille gaps or unclear livelihood evidence can stretch to 24+ months.

• Carta → passport in hand

  30–45 days

  Cédula update at Identificaciones (10–14 days), passport issuance (10–14 days). Sequential.

FAQ

Paraguayan citizenship — common questions