Can foreigners buy property in Paraguay?
Yes, with a passport and without residency. What Laws 117/91 and 2532/2005 say, how the border zone rule works and what buying does not give you.
Yes. Foreigners can buy houses, apartments and land in Paraguay with a valid passport, without residency and on the same terms as Paraguayans. Americans, Britons, Canadians and Australians face no restriction because of their nationality. The only rule of that kind covers rural property within 50 km of the border, and only for citizens of the three neighbouring countries, Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, and companies mostly owned by them.
What the law says
The starting point is Investment Law 117/91:
- Foreign investors have the same guarantees, rights and obligations as Paraguayan investors (art. 2) and the same tax treatment (art. 10).
- The right of ownership is guaranteed, with no limits other than those set by the Constitution and the law (art. 5).
- Capital can move freely into and out of the country, including profits sent abroad, once the taxes due have been paid (art. 6).
The US Department of State reads the law the same way in its 2025 Investment Climate Statement on Paraguay: it guarantees equal treatment of foreign investors and the right to real property.
What you need to buy
A valid passport is enough to identify yourself; if you already have a Paraguayan identity card (cédula), you use that instead. The forms of the Registro Unificado Nacional (RUN), the body that has combined the property registry and the cadastre since January 2026, accept owners with a foreign document.
You will go through the usual anti-money-laundering checks. The real estate agency must ask for your nationality, address, contact details, your RUC (taxpayer number) or proof that you are not registered as a taxpayer, and a statement of where the money comes from. The escribano, the Paraguayan public notary who authorises the deed, is subject to the same rules.
