Guatemala or Paraguay
Two countries side by side across the same rows as the full comparison. A dash means the value is missing: fields are not filled with guesses. about the data
| Guatemala | Paraguay | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 3 years |
| Partner can work | yes | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | 5 |
| Quarantine | no | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 976 · estimate | $ 687 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 35,7 | $ 22,9 |
| Life expectancy | 72.75 | 73.98 |
| Homicides/100k | 22.76 | 6.88 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 5.8 | 2.6 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Guatemala — 17, Paraguay — 11. Types present in both: family and investment. Guatemala adds: work, remote work, study, talent and retirement.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Guatemala: fees range from 25 to 700 USD. Routes stating an income threshold: 3; the lowest is 1,250 USD a month. Paraguay: fees range from 585,385 to 2,926,925 PYG. Routes with no fee: 2.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Guatemala after 5 years, Paraguay after 2 years. Citizenship: Guatemala after 5 years, Paraguay after 3 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
Guatemala in brief
The Migration Code (Decree 44-2016) divides foreigners into tourists, temporary residents — for work, study, investment, science, or the arts, for up to five years with renewal — and permanent residents. Rentista and pensionado are an exception to the general logic: income from abroad grants permanent residence directly, bypassing the temporary stage (article 78(e)). Naturalisation takes five years of continuous residence under the general route (Nationality Law, Decree 1613, article 33), with an exam in Spanish and an oath requiring formal renunciation of prior citizenship; people born in other countries of the former Federal Republic of Central America obtain status as a Guatemalan by origin through the separate equiparación mechanism, without such renunciation, and Spaniards keep both citizenships under the bilateral nationality convention of 1961. Bringing in dogs and cats requires no quarantine or antibody titre testing provided rabies vaccination is current. Population and business activity are concentrated in the capital agglomeration around Guatemala City and Mixco, while the tourist flow goes to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Antigua Guatemala, to Lake Atitlán near Panajachel, and to the western-highlands cultural centre of Quetzaltenango. The country lies in a seismically active region with several active volcanoes near populated areas and one of the highest rates of violent crime in Latin America.
Paraguay in brief
Paraguay stands out for two things. The first is nature: earthquakes 0.1 out of 10, cyclones 0.0, an overall risk of 2.6 on the INFORM scale. That is one of the calmest profiles in this guide; what remains is river flooding and heat. The second is how residence is built: the temporary status under law No. 6984/2022 carries the right to work and study from the moment the application is filed, becomes permanent after two years, and three years after that opens the way to citizenship with no language exam. Count the whole chain, though: about five years from arrival, not three. The main constraint is that citizenship here replaces the old one rather than adding to it — multiple nationality is allowed only by international treaty, and a naturalised Paraguayan loses the passport on voluntarily acquiring another. Control of corruption at −1.02, among the worst in the region, also deserves weight.
Other comparisons
More on each: Guatemala · Paraguay. Build your own comparison — up to four countries
This material is for reference and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax thresholds and prices change. Before deciding anything, check the official sources and consult a licensed professional in the relevant country.