South Africans seeking new life in Paraguay

Hello; my Cedula and Permanent Residency = all took about 5 months; had 5 trips to Py so far, lovely country but its not paradise. You have to have $5000 in cash to deposit at the Bank Fomento of which you will get about $4250 back - that is to prove "solvency" you have two steps; one is Permanent residency then you apply for cedula. All told Lawyer was $1600 (but that was just for me)  The key is you dead in the water without Spanish so you need to learn it fast. For a Saffer I would say about R150,000.00 just to get the papers and 5 months. Jobs don't really exist unless you speak Spanish - so you need to work for yourself. Good luck. Also recommend on Facebook you join Suid Afriakners in Suid Amerika group - lots of info - many old timers from SA there. I used Geronimo Finestra - can praise him highly. He worked hard, he delivered, he was honest - rare for ANY lawyer especially Paraguay - obviously you can all do it yourself but then you need fluent Spanish and know where to go to - I cannot even tell you what that rigmarole is.

Hello Anna..welcome to the forum...finding work in paraguay isnt as hard as it seems..well for my wife and i, we opened out clothing store and a bakery..but for someone seeking employment..domestic help is always in demand in this country..thats if you dont have a  profession..but if your a go-getter type theres many ways to earn a living..like teaching English..teaching a skill..ect..but its necessary to know a bit of Spanish..i hope my response was helpful..Ivan

Good day.

We are both retail managers. My husband have 28 years plus hardware retail management experience. Do you think we'll find something?

A

Dankie Boerseun!!

This is really valuable info.

A

I find it difficult to navigate on this site. Think I should spend more time here. Your reply was very helpful, thank you!

Boerseun1963 wrote:

Hello; my Cedula and Permanent Residency = all took about 5 months; had 5 trips to Py so far, lovely country but its not paradise. You have to have $5000 in cash to deposit at the Bank Fomento of which you will get about $4250 back - that is to prove "solvency" you have two steps; one is Permanent residency then you apply for cedula. All told Lawyer was $1600 (but that was just for me)  The key is you dead in the water without Spanish so you need to learn it fast. For a Saffer I would say about R150,000.00 just to get the papers and 5 months. Jobs don't really exist unless you speak Spanish - so you need to work for yourself. Good luck. Also recommend on Facebook you join Suid Afriakners in Suid Amerika group - lots of info - many old timers from SA there. I used Geronimo Finestra - can praise him highly. He worked hard, he delivered, he was honest - rare for ANY lawyer especially Paraguay - obviously you can all do it yourself but then you need fluent Spanish and know where to go to - I cannot even tell you what that rigmarole is.

So the bank keeps $750 of your deposit? Can anyone else confirm this?

No, the bank does not "keep 750$".

The amount required to deposit is not, and has never been, 5000 US dollars.

Paraguayan law states that it is "350 jornales" or rather, 350 x the current daily minimum wage in Paraguay. Right now that is 350 X 81,252Gs which is Gs. 28,438,200 (or its equivalent in American dollars at the time of deposit). So if the minimum wage goes up, the amount of the deposit goes up too.

If you deposit US dollars at the Banco de Fomento, they will convert it to Guaranies at the going rate at the time of deposit. So, in theory, they are buying your US dollars and depositing the amount in Guaranies. The certificate of deposit will show the amount in Guaranies. There is a service fee of approximately Gs. 80,000 (about 14$ US) to make the deposit. And you will not receive any interest for the time the deposit is there.

When you get your permanent residency, you can withdraw your  Gs. 28,438,200 (or whatever the amount on your certificate is) and they will give you the full amount in Guaranies.
However, if you want your deposit back to US dollars, they will sell you US dollars at the going rate at the time of withdrawal.

So, all depends on the exchange rates at the time of deposit and withdrawal, and in which direction they fluctuate.
The bank (or any currency exchange office) will always make a small amount on any currency exchange. For example, today Banco de Fomento is buying US dollars for Gs 5,830 and selling them for Gs 6,030.

If you're planning on living in Paraguay, you're better off just withdrawing in Guaranies and using that to pay your living expenses in Paraguay.

You can make a deposit at any Paraguayan bank (it doesn't have to be Banco de Fomento), and some will accept deposits in US dollars, though I don't know know which ones do.

I hope this helps.

And you don't absolutely need a lawyer to do the process. Do yourself a favour, learn some basic Spanish and save yourself $1600. Paraguayans are great people and very helpful.
Do a search for "Gabtar" on this forum. He wrote a post outlining the basic steps at the time and it hasn't changed that much since. Do your homework, get organized, use Google maps.

LCan wrote:

No, the bank does not "keep 750$".

The amount required to deposit is not, and has never been, 5000 US dollars.

Paraguayan law states that it is "350 jornales" or rather, 350 x the current daily minimum wage in Paraguay. Right now that is 350 X 81,252Gs which is Gs. 28,438,200 (or its equivalent in American dollars at the time of deposit). So if the minimum wage goes up, the amount of the deposit goes up too.

If you deposit US dollars at the Banco de Fomento, they will convert it to Guaranies at the going rate at the time of deposit. So, in theory, they are buying your US dollars and depositing the amount in Guaranies. The certificate of deposit will show the amount in Guaranies. There is a service fee of approximately Gs. 80,000 (about 14$ US) to make the deposit. And you will not receive any interest for the time the deposit is there.

When you get your permanent residency, you can withdraw your  Gs. 28,438,200 (or whatever the amount on your certificate is) and they will give you the full amount in Guaranies.
However, if you want your deposit back to US dollars, they will sell you US dollars at the going rate at the time of withdrawal.

So, all depends on the exchange rates at the time of deposit and withdrawal, and in which direction they fluctuate.
The bank (or any currency exchange office) will always make a small amount on any currency exchange. For example, today Banco de Fomento is buying US dollars for Gs 5,830 and selling them for Gs 6,030.

If you're planning on living in Paraguay, you're better off just withdrawing in Guaranies and using that to pay your living expenses in Paraguay.

You can make a deposit at any Paraguayan bank (it doesn't have to be Banco de Fomento), and some will accept deposits in US dollars, though I don't know know which ones do.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, that makes sense then. I know Spanish so I think I can manage without a lawyer or "helper".

Here is the profile of Gabtar is anyone else is looking: https://www.expat.com/forum/profile.php?id=361329

Hello ,
There are easy legal ways open to most of applicants, in order not to have to deposit  about 5000US$ as a deposit at the bank while your Permanent Residency card is processed by the Immigration authorities.