Asunción, Agencia IP.- The Paraguayan Directorate of Migration concluded the first half of 2026 with a historic record in the processing of residency permits for foreign nationals, driven by the growing number of people choosing Paraguay as a destination for temporary or permanent settlement.
Between January and June, the institution received 33,243 residency applications, representing a 62% increase compared to the 20,567 applications submitted during the same period in 2025.
During the same period, the DNM granted 29,765 residency permits, an 81% increase over the 16,456 approvals recorded in the first half of last year. Of the total, 23,833 were temporary residencies, and 5,932 were permanent residencies.
Brazil led the list of nationalities receiving the highest number of residency permits, with 22,628 approvals, followed by Argentina (2,210), Germany (1,132), Spain (821), Venezuela (495), the United States (450), the Netherlands (426), France (358), Bolivia (357), and Russia (345).
In addition to residency permits, the institution issued 811 spontaneous or occasional residence authorizations, 2,654 certificates of residence, 3,406 provisional residency permits, 213 replacement resident cards, 60 permanent resident card renewals, 32 extensions of temporary stay, and processed 1,802 online applications.
Operational measures to meet growing demand
In response to the sustained increase in demand, the Paraguayan Directorate of Migration implemented a contingency plan that included extending working hours and adding work shifts on non-business days to strengthen document review, immigration controls, and application processing.
According to the Directorate of Migration, these figures reflect both the growing number of foreign nationals choosing Paraguay as a place to settle and the institution’s operational capacity to respond to the increasing volume of migration procedures in accordance with current regulations.