Ask five Paraguay residency agencies what they charge and you'll get five sales calls and zero numbers. Almost nobody in this market publishes prices. We do: every agency in our directory is listed with a real price range. This article explains what's behind those numbers.
The short answer
For one adult in 2026:
| Cost level | Range (USD) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Government fees only | ~$300–600 | DIY: filing fees, cédula fee, translations (and all the queues, in Spanish) |
| Budget operator | $900–1,500 | Appointments handled, you prep your own documents |
| Mid-range full service | $1,500–3,000 | Document review, translations, filings, cédula, support in English |
| Premium / specialist | $3,000–6,000 | Everything above plus tax registration (RUC), tax residency, banking, accounting |
Couples and families pay more, but rarely double. Most agencies discount additional family members.
What the government actually charges
The state's own fees are modest: immigration filing fees, the cédula issuance fee, document legalization and certified translations. All in, a few hundred dollars per person. Everything beyond that is service.
What you're really paying an agency for
- Document correctness. The most common cause of delay is a rejected document: a missing apostille, a name mismatch, an expired criminal record. Good agencies catch these before you fly.
- Queues and appointments. Migraciones and the Identificaciones office work on appointments and patience. Local operators batch these efficiently.
- Translation and filing. Documents must be officially translated into Spanish in Paraguay.
- The extras that matter. RUC (tax ID), tax residency certificates, bank account introductions, driver's license conversion. These are separate processes, and they're where cheap packages quietly end.
Hidden costs to budget for
- Apostilles at home: varies by country, often $20–100 per document.
- Criminal record certificates: some countries make this slow or annoying from abroad.
- Travel: flights plus 3–7 days in Asunción; possibly a short second trip for the cédula.
- The second adult: check whether quotes are per person or per family.
- "Government fees not included": the favorite trick of low sticker prices. Always ask.
Price is not quality; fit is
The most expensive firm in our directory is not "the best"; it's the best for someone who needs tax structuring in German. The cheapest is genuinely good for a solo plan-B applicant with clean documents and some Spanish. This is exactly what the comparison table and the quiz are for: matching the price level to what you actually need.
Prices reflect our directory data as of June 2026 and change over time. We disclose how we make money (referral fees from some agencies, never affecting ratings) on How it works.