Yes — foreigners get full freehold in Paraguay. Same rights as a citizen. Title in your own name.

Paraguay's 1991 Investment Law puts foreign and domestic capital on identical legal footing. Article 2 gives the foreign investor "the same guarantees, rights and obligations" the law grants a national investor, "with no limitation other than those established by law." Article 5 guarantees the right of property for foreign and national investment alike. Article 6 guarantees a free-exchange regime — capital can enter and leave, and you can remit proceeds abroad, without restriction. (Ley Nº 117/91, BACN)

This is reinforced one level up. Constitution Article 109 guarantees private property to all. The practical upshot: a Canadian retiree and an Asunción local sign the same kind of deed, register at the same office, and hold the same title. There is no foreigner surcharge, no minimum purchase, and no nationality test on a standard urban or rural buy. (Ley 117/91, SICE/OAS)

Verdict: a foreigner owns Paraguay property on the same terms as a citizen — outright, in their own name.

You do not need a Paraguayan company, a nominee, or a local co-owner to hold real estate. The deed (escritura pública) is drawn before a notary (escribano) and inscribed at the Dirección General de los Registros Públicos (DGRP) in your own name. Registration is what creates legal title — the signed deed alone does not. Expect a registry backlog of roughly 15–45 days in Asunción, longer in the interior. (moveparaguay.com — real estate)

A Paraguayan SRL is sometimes used for a *portfolio* of rental units or for estate-planning reasons — never because the law forces a foreigner to use one. For a single home, direct ownership is cleaner, cheaper and easier to sell. We model both before you commit, but the default is: buy in your own name.

Use the seller's escribano? No. The notary registers the deed and confirms a clean chain of title; you want one answering to you, not to the party you are paying. Always appoint your own escribano and your own title study.

This is the single most misread rule in Paraguay real estate. The Ley de Frontera (Ley 2532/2005) creates a security strip of 50 km along the international borders with Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Inside that strip it restricts ownership and leasing of rural land by nationals of those three bordering countries — and by companies in which bordering-country nationals hold more than 50% of the capital. (moveparaguay.com — real estate)

What it does not do:

• It does not restrict nationals of non-bordering countries. A US, EU, UK, Canadian, Asian or African passport holder is unaffected and may buy in the border zone.
• It does not touch urban-zoned plots — those are exempt for everyone, including BR/AR/BO nationals.
• It does not apply to most of the country. Asunción, San Bernardino, Areguá and the central districts are nowhere near a border.

The affected departments run along the Brazilian edge (Alto Paraná, Canindeyú, Amambay, parts of Itapúa, Concepción, Alto Paraguay), the Argentine edge (Ñeembucú, Misiones, southern Itapúa) and the Bolivian edge (Boquerón, Alto Paraguay). If you are buying rural land in Ciudad del Este or rural Encarnación and you are *not* a bordering national, you are fine on this point — title and zoning checks still apply.

Verdict: if your passport is not Brazilian, Argentine or Bolivian, the 50 km rule does not restrict you.

Owning property and living in Paraguay are two separate questions. You can purchase, register and hold freehold on a tourist entry — no residency card, no Investor Pass, no minimum stay. Tourists, temporary residents, permanent residents and citizens all sign the same escritura pública and register at the same DGRP. (moveparaguay.com — real estate)

That said, buying does not grant residency, and residency is what gets you a tax ID, easier banking and the local-resident path to a mortgage. Many of our clients buy first and file residency second. If you want both, line them up in parallel — see our residency-by-investment mandate, and cross-check the relocation and tax mechanics on moveparaguay.com.

Verdict: a passport is enough to buy; residency is a separate, optional step.

Foreign-owned Paraguay property passes under Paraguayan succession law, regardless of where you or your heirs live. Heirs open a succession (juicio sucesorio) at the local civil court, typically a 3–6 month process, after which title is re-registered at the DGRP in their names. (moveparaguay.com — real estate)

The good news for estate planning: Paraguay levies no inheritance tax and no estate tax on the property's value — only a modest registration fee on the transfer. Paraguay also recognizes forced-heirship rules, so a local will (or coordination with your home-country estate plan) avoids surprises. For a multi-property estate, an SRL can simplify transfer by passing shares rather than re-titling each parcel — one reason buyers with portfolios sometimes choose a company wrapper.

Verdict: heirs inherit freely; there is no inheritance tax, only a registry fee.

The recurring tax is the municipal Impuesto Inmobiliario at 1% of the fiscal value (avalúo fiscal), billed by the municipality, usually in two instalments. Because fiscal values run well below market — often 30–60% of real price — the effective rate lands around 0.3–0.6% of what you actually paid. The Executive adjusted 2026 fiscal values +4.1% in line with accumulated inflation, so expect a small bump on the prior year. (ABC Color, Dec 2025)

There is no national wealth tax on real estate. Rental income is taxed on Paraguay's territorial basis — only income sourced in Paraguay is in scope. Closing costs (notary, transfer and municipal taxes, registry) are a one-time ~5–6% of price, covered in detail on our closing-costs page. Cross-reference moveparaguay.com taxes for the resident-tax picture.

Verdict: cheap to hold — roughly 0.3–0.6% of market value a year, with no wealth tax.

Ownership rights are strong; the risk in Paraguay is execution, not entitlement. The recurring failure modes:

• Paper-title chain. Paraguay is a deed-registry system. A clean DGRP title study covering the 30-year chain of title, liens and prior succession is non-negotiable. Estate-sale and rural parcels are where boundary and inheritance disputes hide.
• Using the seller's escribano. It happens constantly and it is a conflict of interest. Bring your own.
• Pre-construction (en pozo). Off-plan can offer interest-free developer terms, but funds are not buyer-controlled and completion risk sits with you. Vet the developer's delivery record.
• Central-tower oversupply. Vacancy in parts of central Asunción's apartment stock runs near 30% — fine for capital growth and diversification, weak for yield. Buy the location, not the brochure.

None of this changes the answer to "can I own it?" — it changes whether the title you register is actually clean. That diligence is the entire point of independent buy-side representation.

Verdict: the title is yours by law; make sure it is clean before any funds move.