PARAGUAY’S SUACE RESIDENCY BY INVESTMENT ALTERNATIVE ISSUED 302 VISAS IN 2018 AND CREATED NEW BUSINESSES IN PARAGUAY
Would you like to be a resident of Paraguay – a South American country (surrounded by Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina), known for its low cost of living, low taxes, tropical climate, and extensive pastures? If so, you would be interested in alternatives under Paraguay’s residency by investment program. One such alternative in Paraguay is the “Sistema Unificado de Apertura y Cierre de Empresas – Unified System for the Forming and Closing of Companies” (SUACE) option. In a May 30, 2019 interview in “Investment Migration Insider”, economist Margarita Peña Concha, General Director of SUACE, advised that the SUACE alternative under Paraguay’s residency by investment program had issued 302 visas in 2018 and created new businesses in Paraguay.
The SUACE alternative under Paraguay’s residency by investment program requires a minimum investment of $70,000 into the foreign investor’s own Paraguay-registered company. The foreign investor has 10 years to employ this investment amount once the company has been registered at SUACE.
General Director Peña Concha stated, “Our mission is to facilitate the opening of companies through transparent and straightforward support and administration. However, most of the foreign businesspeople will need to settle in Paraguay to control their investments. . . . Because of the company, they will need the residence permit. It allows them to become a member of the board of directors in the case of an SA (Sociedad Anonima – Inc, Plc) or to become the director of an SRL (Llc). In these cases, foreign company owners must become permanent residents of Paraguay. If the overseas applicant wishes to register a unipersonal company, then he or she also has to become a resident of Paraguay. . . . The foreigner becomes an investor when SUACE issues the certificate and record of investment (Constancia del investor), which document declares the amount of the planned investment. This document is one of the requirements of the immigration process. . . . Ultimately, construction-related real estate projects attract foreign capital. Before, the most popular investment type was the Maquila (reexport tax incentive), which was favored by most Brazilian and Argentinian investors. . . . [SUACE] provides a fast-track immigration process that is significantly quicker than the regular procedure system. To tell you the truth, this is much more convenient for investors. Because an investor has no more than 15 days to get the permanent residence permit and the ID card, we must offer faster service than the usual immigration channels to help them by reducing the red tape . . . Paraguay’s policy is to stay open for investors as well. Paraguay is a welcoming country with a friendly immigration system; we don’t maintain any restrictive policies like in other countries. We don’t expect any obstacles to the program in the future. . . . The original idea was to bring significant investments, which can generate many jobs. This is still the main objective to reach, to create more jobs for the people of Paraguay”.
According to official statistics, between January, 2016 and May, 2019, the SUACE alternative under Paraguay’s residency by investment program received 799 applications from foreign investors, with the greatest number from Brazil, followed by Argentina and Uruguay.
For foreigners who do not want to operate a business in Paraguay, or otherwise cannot meet the requirements of the SUACE alternative, Paraguay does offer other options under its residency by investment program.
If you would like more information on Paraguay’s residency by investment program (whether the SUACE alternative or other options), please contact CitizenMatch, at info@citizenmatch.com, or (773) 349-6693, for assistance.