First of all, to acquire permanent residency in Paraguay you need to deposit 25 million Guarani with the central bank (around 4400$US). You need a few other documents such as a criminal background check, birth certificate etc.

You need to fly there and apply in person (on your own or with the help of a local immigration attorney). You can complete the whole process in a few days but I recommend spending a month in town just to make sure.

A few months later you receive your ID card (cedula) and voila, you are a PR.

That being said, you can’t become a citizen easily. The only way at the moment is to spend three years IN the country and prove significant local ties (a local business, a wife/husband, lots of friends etc).

I wrote an article on the subject a few months ago:

The Paraguay citizenship is just easy to get. It doesn’t actually require living there.

Why do you want a second passport? As an american citizen you would still have trouble with taxes everywhere and a paraguayan passport is not that good. Far better passports are from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay…

I will just try applying solo. If I run into problems, then I will contact attorney. I speak some Spanish but should get a translator.

Ya. I was skeptical. I’ve come across all kinds of scams. I wish I could find a trustworthy lawyer in Paraguay to submit the docs for me.

richardh: The sites you provided are pure ripoffs. There is no such program that requires USD25k deposit. Feel free to check the official immigration website.

nathantech2005: Yes to both of your questions.

Is the $25,000 put into a reputable bank? Sorry, I am just skeptical because I know there’s some scams out there. No offense.

Thank you. Did you have to apply in person in Paraguay? Also, did you have to prove residency for the 3 years (prove where you lived in Paraguay) ?

I got residency a couple years ago. First step is to read the requirements from Paraguay Migraciones website:
http://www.migraciones.gov.py/web/guest/tramites/-/asset_publisher/7OxIF68Cs594/content/requisitos-para-radicacion-permanente-ley-978-96?_101_INSTANCE_7OxIF68Cs594_redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.migraciones.gov.py%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Ftramites%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_7OxIF68Cs594%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-1%26p_p_col_pos%3D2%26p_p_col_count%3D5&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.migraciones.gov.py%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Ftramites%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_7OxIF68Cs594%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-1%26p_p_col_pos%3D2%26p_p_col_count%3D5

I want a 2nd passport from Paraguay. I have a US passport. So I need to get Paraguay citizenship after 3 years of residency.

You need to be more specific about the passport that you currently hold, and your intentions.