MOVE FROM SPAIN
Moving to Paraguay from Spain
Spaniards get the rarest head start of any nationality here: your documents are already in Spanish, so the sworn-translation step that slows everyone else simply does not apply. Add a low cost of living and a territorial tax system, and the move is short. This page covers it, including the parts other sites skip.
For a Spanish citizen, Paraguay is one of the easier moves to make. The residency process is administrative rather than judicial — no investment minimum on the standard route, no language barrier, and a cédula at the end. Spain even gives you one concrete head start: your documents are already in Spanish, so the sworn-translation step that slows other nationalities does not apply to you. But the move still carries specific paperwork at home, and one tax reality worth understanding before you go. This page covers both.
Step 1
The documents a Spanish citizen assembles
Paraguay's Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) expects a specific, modest set of documents. As a Spanish national you gather these at home, before you fly:
- A Spanish passport valid well beyond your planned travel — check the expiry date now, not at the airport.
- Your literal birth certificate (certificación literal de nacimiento) from the Registro Civil that holds your record. Request the full literal version, not an extract.
- A Certificado de Antecedentes Penales — the national criminal-record certificate issued by the Ministerio de Justicia. You can request it online with Cl@ve, by post, or in person at a Gerencia Territorial; the fee is small and it is normally issued quickly. This is the police record Paraguay expects from Spanish citizens.
- Your marriage certificate (certificado de matrimonio) from the Registro Civil, if you are married and applying as a couple.
- Your advantage: because these documents are already issued in Spanish, you do not need a sworn translation for Paraguay — but every document must still be apostilled. See Step 2.
Step 2
Apostilles — which authority for which document
Spain belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention, so Paraguay accepts an apostille and you skip consular legalization entirely. The catch: Spain has no single apostille office. Which authority you send each document to depends on who issued it — and getting this wrong is the most common delay for Spanish applicants.
- Civil-registry and criminal-record documents — your birth certificate, marriage certificate, and Certificado de Antecedentes Penales — are apostilled by the Ministerio de Justicia.
- Judicial documents, such as a court ruling or a divorce decree, are apostilled by the relevant Tribunal Superior de Justicia (TSJ).
- Notarised documents, such as a power of attorney, are apostilled through the Colegios Notariales.
- Spain does not charge a government fee for the apostille itself, but routing a document to the wrong authority returns it unprocessed — confirm the issuing authority before you send anything.
- No sworn translation into Spanish is needed for Paraguay, since your documents are already in Spanish — one full step the move skips for Spanish citizens.
Be honest with yourself
Ending your Spanish tax residency is the real task
This is the section most relocation marketing skips. Spain — unlike the United States — taxes by residence, not by citizenship, so leaving genuinely can end your Spanish tax bill. But it does not end automatically the day you land in Asunción; you have to actually cease being a Spanish tax resident, and the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) tests this on more than one front. The day-count rule makes you resident if you spend more than 183 days of the calendar year in Spain, and the days do not need to be consecutive. Separately, the centre-of-economic-interests test can make you resident regardless of days if the core of your business and investments stays in Spain. And there is a family presumption: if your non-separated spouse or dependent minor children habitually reside in Spain, the AEAT presumes you are resident too — rebuttable, but the burden of proof is on you. The clean exit is to genuinely move your life, file a final IRPF return for your departure year, and obtain a Paraguayan tax-residency certificate to evidence your new status. Paraguay's territorial system can be a real and lawful improvement on your tax position — but treat it as a move to be done properly, and speak to a cross-border accountant who knows both Spanish and Paraguayan rules before you act.
Getting there
Flights, timeline, and your first weeks
A realistic picture of the move itself:
- Spain is one of the few countries with a direct connection to Asunción — Air Europa flies Madrid to Asunción non-stop. Schedules and frequency change, so confirm current availability when you book; otherwise routings connect via Madrid, São Paulo, or Buenos Aires.
- Document preparation — ordering registry certificates, the criminal-record certificate, and the apostilles — typically runs a few weeks from Spain, paced by the Ministerio de Justicia's processing and your courier time. Plan for several weeks rather than days.
- You do not need a visa to enter Paraguay as a Spanish tourist; EU citizens enter visa-free for up to 90 days. You begin the residency process in person, after you arrive, at the DNM.
- Paraguay keeps an embassy in Madrid if you need a document checked or a question answered before you fly.
FAQ
Moving to Paraguay from Spain — FAQ
Do I need to translate my documents to move to Paraguay from Spain?
No. Because your documents are already issued in Spanish, you do not need a sworn translation for Paraguay — this is one full step the move skips for Spanish citizens. Every document must still be apostilled, but the translator's fee and delay that other nationalities face simply do not apply to you.
Where do I get a Spanish apostille for Paraguay residency?
It depends on the document, because Spain has no single apostille office. Your birth certificate, marriage certificate and Certificado de Antecedentes Penales are apostilled by the Ministerio de Justicia; judicial documents such as a divorce decree go to the relevant Tribunal Superior de Justicia; notarised documents go through the Colegios Notariales. Spain charges no government fee for the apostille itself.
What police certificate does Paraguay need from a Spanish citizen?
A Certificado de Antecedentes Penales — the national criminal-record certificate issued by the Ministerio de Justicia. You can request it online with Cl@ve, by post, or in person at a Gerencia Territorial; the fee is small and it is normally issued quickly.
Do I still pay Spanish tax after moving to Paraguay?
Not once you genuinely cease to be a Spanish tax resident — unlike the US, Spain taxes by residence, not citizenship. But it does not end automatically: the Agencia Tributaria can still treat you as resident if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain, if the core of your business and investments stays there, or — through a rebuttable family presumption — if your spouse or minor children habitually reside in Spain. See the tax section for detail.
How do I prove I have left the Spanish tax system?
Genuinely move your life, file a final IRPF return for your departure year, and obtain a Paraguayan tax-residency certificate to evidence your new status. Paraguay's territorial system can be a real and lawful improvement on your tax position — speak to a cross-border accountant who knows both Spanish and Paraguayan rules before you act.
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