Lawyers for immigration and residency in Paraguay ( Avogad )

I would counsel extreme caution in dealing with "attorney's" or "fixers" to get Paraguayan residency over the internet.   Paraguay has gotten a reputation as an "easy" country to get residency in and this has brought out many sharks who are preying on the unwary.    Paraguay is one of the most corrupt countries in Latin America with an archaic and barely functional legal system.  All this is a toxic mix that makes it  rip off mecca.

There was recently a case where a female lawyer who was a big promoter on this site and others was arrested and charged with fraud as she was selling fake residency documents to include passports.  Of course she was caught red handed with lots of local TV coverage but was soon "released" and evidence supposedly disappeared.   I don't doubt she is back in business again under an assumed name.    There's another lawyer who still advertises him or his "Group" who is becoming quite well known as the guy who takes your money and never returns emails, phone calls or does any actual work.

So how do you protect yourself and are there actual competent lawyers or "fixers" out there that do what you pay them to do?   

First of all you don't need a lawyer or a fixer to get your residency, it's a simple process that is outlined on any Paraguayan Embassy's web site.   What you need in order to accomplish the process yourself is basically just three things.  The first is a lot of home country preparation to gather the right documents and get all the required stamps on them.  The second is a basic understanding of Spanish (or access to trusted interpreter) once you get here to turn in all that paperwork. The third thing is it takes a couple of weeks of time running around collecting the items you need from here in Paraguay, as well as to turn everything in.

How to find a lawyer or fixer…first a few words of caution.  NEVER pay money up front before anything has been  done.  NEVER turn over important documents to a person you haven't met or are working with face to face (you may never see them again - the documents that is).   NEVER believe anyone who tells you they can take care of everything without you coming to Paraguay.  And quite frankly, if your looking for a country to add to your "residency" collection and are not interested enough to visit in order to get the process done, you should move on.  Paraguay isn't for you.    To find that lawyer, go to the premier site on line for expats living in Paraguay, it's a Facebook site called Expats in Paraguay.  They maintain a list of "vetted" folks who have given good service in the past.  But it's a constantly changing list as new players are always popping up, it's a huge growing industry in Paraguay now to service the large numbers of expats showing up or wanting to show up.

One last word is that Paraguay  has apparently slowed down or stopped considering residency applications from folks who come from nations that are seen as supporting terrorism or are frontline states in the "War on Terror".   The list of these nations may just be a rumor or it may be real, but I've heard a lot of unhappy stories regarding this.  And the only way I would recommend clearing it up is for a face to face meeting with an Immigration official in Asuncion or maybe a visit to a local Paraugayan Consulate in your home country.