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Brazilians top Paraguay residence requests — 9k+ early 2026
Marco Três newsroom · edited by Annie Grellmann
About 9,200 residence permits were issued to Brazilians in the first quarter of 2026, according to Paraguay's National Migration Directorate — Brazil leads the ranking of residency applications in the neighboring country, and the Foz–Ciudad del Este border is one of the main gateways of this shift.
The movement you can feel in the queues at the Friendship Bridge now has official numbers: the National Migration Directorate of Paraguay (DNM) closed 2025 with 47,687 residency requests from foreigners — an increase of more than 63% over 2024 — and 40,600 residences granted. Brazilians top the nationality ranking, with about 23.5 k residencies in the year.
And 2026 started even stronger: there were 2,817 requests in the first 20 days of the year (a ~79% rise over the same period in 2025) and about 9,200 permits issued to Brazilians just in the first quarter, according to data released by the DNM.
What residency is: it is the residence authorization that allows living, working and starting a business in Paraguay. Most Brazilian requests are for temporary residence (permanent is a second stage) — meaning many people are testing the move, attracted by lower cost of living and tax burden.
What this means for the border: a significant part of this migration passes through and settles in our region — Ciudad del Este and the Alto Paraná department are among the destinations, and the flow of moves, documents and business energizes customs brokers, registries and commerce on both sides of the bridge. It’s another figure that shows the border as a true integration zone, not just a shopping area.
Source: National Migration Directorate of Paraguay — official balance. Residency data are published by the DNM in periodic bulletins.
Read also: what documents you need to cross the border
Frequently asked questions
- How many Brazilians applied for residence in Paraguay in 2026?
- About 9,200 residence permits were issued to Brazilians just in the first quarter of 2026, according to the National Migration Directorate of Paraguay.
- Is Brazil the country that requests the most residence permits in Paraguay?
- Yes — Brazilians led the residency ranking in 2025, with about 23.5 k requests, within a record total of 47,687 foreign applications.
- What is needed to apply for residence in Paraguay?
- The application is made at the National Migration Directorate (DNM), usually starting with temporary residence. Official requirements and fees are on migraciones.gov.py — always check there, as rules change.
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Content verified by the newsroom based on an official source: Direção Nacional de Migrações do Paraguai (DNM). Last checked: 7/4/2026. Found something inaccurate? We fix it fast. How we work.
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