Hello!
I'm Canadian & interested in Paraguayan residency but not sure yet.
I'll be visiting Paraguay this winter, entering by land from Brazil, so I'll get my multiple-entrance visa from the embassy/consulate here in Ottawa (NOT the visa on arrival).
Does anyone know for how long the visa is valid?
I know I can't stay longer than 90 days, but when does it expire? For Americans, I think it is valid until their passport expires. For Canadians, it's unclear.
If I decide to apply for residency, I would like to go back to Paraguay on the same visa. (I really hate the idea of signing something saying I won't apply for residency if I intend to do so, which I would have to do if I need another tourist visa to go back for the residency application.)
Thanks in advance for your help.
Validity of tourist visa (when it expires, not length of stay)
Multiple entry visa is valid for five years regardless of nationality.
3 months for canadians
legaic wrote:3 months for canadians
That's not true. Paraguay has only ONE multiple entry visa and it's good for 5 years. Duration of stay per visit is 90 days but the visa is good for 5 years.
Really? That is fabulous! I am going to Paraguay in January for a year and was told by the embassy guy in Ottawa that I should get my visa at the airport in Asuncion and if I want to renew it to leave & renew it at the airport again. I've been trying to figure out how to do this so, this comes as a wonderful piece information. Thank you. You made my day!
I believe the visa is valid for longer than 5 years, at least it used to be valid for as long as your passport was in effect. So the "expire" date of the visa is the same as the "expire" date of their passport. In my case my passport was good for 10 years and so is my visa, although I only had 7 years left on the passport when I got the visa so it expires with the passport at that point.
I talked to the paraguayan Embassy guy in Ottawa a few days ago. He said the multiple entry visa is only good for 3 months and they only issue 3 months visas regardless if it is multiple entry or single entry. I looked on my old visa and it was good for 3 months only. Now I am totally confused as to what to do.
A visa, whether it's a "multiple use" one like you get at the embassy or a "one time use" one like you get at the airport upon your arrival in Asuncion is ONLY GOOD FOR A 90 DAY STAY. The difference being of course that with a one time visa if you want to come back you "have to buy another visa" to get into the country. If you have the mulitple use visa, you can turn around and come back again, and again, and again….using this same visa until you passport and this visa, expire.
But again, you cannot stay in country for more than 90 days legally, unless your applying for residency. And if this is the case once your residency paperwork is submitted and is being worked, you allowed to stay until residency is achieved.
Now here's a crazy thing that is so pure "Paraguayan". If you overstay the 90 day limit, then when you leave the country the immigration folks who stamp your passport will assess a fine against you, sort of an "overstay charge". It's actually not terribly much, I think the last price someone quoted was like 500,000 Gs (a little less than $100 at today's exchange rate). So, what's so crazy about this you ask? The fine is the same whether you overstay by "one day" or "one thousand days". Of course there are also ways to extend the 90 day stay by going to immigration and paying for an extension, but in another twist of Paraguayan logic, it is more expensive to do this than to just pay the fine. If it made sense, it wouldn't be Paraguay…..
