Retiring in Paraguay: Residence, Taxation of the French Pension and Access to Care

A French citizen enters Paraguay without a visa for 90 days with a passport valid for the whole stay; beyond that, an extension is requested from the immigration service (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). To settle, the retiree first obtains temporary residence under law 6984 of 2022, valid for two years at most and renewable for an equal period, which is a prerequisite for permanent residence. During processing, they have the status of precarious resident, which lets them leave and re-enter the country, and they then gain access to the Paraguayan identity card (cédula).

The application for permanent residence is filed in the three months before the temporary residence card expires, or up to one month after with a fine; after that, only an extension of temporary residence remains possible, for an equal period, up to six months after expiry, with a fine. For a retiree or pensioner, the directorate asks for a pension certificate stating the amount received and how the funds are received, legalised or apostilled; the page sets no minimum amount and mentions proof of solvency depending on the categories in an annex. The permanent card is definitive but renewed every ten years, and gives access to a cédula valid for ten years.

The cash fees are 2,926,925 guaraníes for temporary residence, 1,287,847 for an extension, 2,926,925 for permanent residence and 234,154 for the radicación certificate, with a surcharge for card payment. Foreign documents are apostilled or legalised and translated by a Paraguayan sworn translator; the procedure is personal and in person. The guide to drawing your pension abroad details the formalities on the French side.

Paraguay does not appear on the list of tax treaties published by impots.gouv.fr. A non-resident is taxable in France on French-source income, subject to the tax treaty concluded with their country of residence, and pensions fall within this scope when the fund is based in France. Where no treaty applies, the fund withholds tax at source, the minimum rate is 20% up to €29,579 of income received and then 30%, and the taxpayer can request the average rate if that arrangement is more favourable to them. These thresholds are updated every year and should be checked on impots.gouv.fr when filing your return.

On the Paraguayan side, personal income tax is run by the DNIT, with rates of 8%, 9% and 10% for personal services income and 8% for capital income and gains. The treatment of a pension from a foreign source is not specified on the pages consulted: confirm it with the DNIT. Without a treaty, the risk of double taxation of the same pension is not ruled out by any text: it is managed with the French tax authorities and with local advice.

The S1 form, which allows a retiree living in the European Union to be treated at France’s expense, does not apply to Paraguay (ameli.fr, the Assurance Maladie website). The CFE retiree offer has a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen, with no health questionnaire and no possible exclusion, with immediate cover if you join before departure or within three months of settling, and no waiting period on returning to France. Failing that, international insurance takes over. The IPS (the Paraguayan social security institute) does not accept as beneficiaries either retirees of another fund or dependent employees: its conditions are checked with the institute.

France Diplomatie reminds readers that, without insurance covering medical costs and repatriation, access to care may be refused, even in a life-threatening emergency. During a temporary stay in France, a retiree of a basic scheme who can show at least 15 years of insurance and has no activity is reimbursed for their care, by the CNAREFE attached to the CPAM (the local health insurance office) of Seine-et-Marne for the general scheme; the spouse who accompanies them is not covered. If tax residence is no longer in France, the CSG, the CRDS and the Casa (social levies on income) are not withheld, and a health insurance contribution of 3.2% on the basic pension, 4.2% on the supplementary pension and 7.1% on a self-employed worker’s pension may apply (CLEISS). See the guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad, the S1 form user guide and the page on retiree insurance abroad.

The legal minimum wage, of the order of 3 million guaraníes a month and adjusted each year, gives a benchmark for local income levels, and the “Economic indicators” block of this page updates inflation and the exchange rate. Taxis are cheap (about €5 a ride in Asunción), Visa and Mastercard cards are accepted in many shops and cash machines are numerous in the large cities. A retiree’s budget is built from the actual rent, health cover and travel.

Most services (embassy, French lycée, administrations, hospitals) are concentrated in Asunción, which has 464,180 inhabitants, and in its conurbation (San Lorenzo, Luque, Capiatá, Lambaré); Ciudad del Este, on the Brazilian border, has about 396,000 inhabitants. France Diplomatie recommends staying vigilant in certain districts of the capital, especially at night, and advises against certain zones in the north of the country. Safety and daily-life advice appears on the page on living in Paraguay.

The residence file requires criminal record certificates from age 14, including the Interpol one, the certificate of antecedents for foreigners and the good conduct or criminal record certificate, with requirements that vary according to the place of residence over the past three years. Foreign documents are apostilled by the countries party to the Hague Convention and, in other cases, legalised by the Paraguayan consulate and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Any change of civil status, profession or personal data is backed by a document.

Overstaying the authorised length of stay is punished by a fine of 702,462 guaraníes in cash, and filing the permanent residence application after the temporary card has expired exposes you to this fine. It is therefore prudent to schedule the application several months before the end of validity. For retirees, the pension certificate must be provided legalised or apostilled, and translated into Spanish by a Paraguayan sworn translator, except for Portuguese issued by Brazil.

French pension funds pay the pension into an account, in France or abroad, and may ask for proof of existence; these steps are prepared before departure. The guide to retiring abroad summarises the steps. In a country without an agreement, CLEISS indicates that pension rights are examined separately by each country and that France does not take into account periods spent under the local scheme to calculate the rate of the French pension; see also quarters worked abroad.

For a return to France, the CFE member keeps their rights for up to three months after returning, then affiliates to the CPAM; see return-to-France insurance. Expavy helps you compare the health covers suited to a retiree settled in Paraguay.