Criminal record and residency in Paraguay: what's really holding things up in 2026

This is a question that comes up regularly, often in hushed tones: "I have a criminal record, is Paraguayan residency possible for me?" An old conviction, a youthful mistake, a matter settled years ago, and the fear that any expatriation project is doomed from the start. This guide provides factual answers: what document Paraguay actually requires, what is and isn't on it, what blocks an application and what doesn't, and how to know where you stand before incurring any costs.

The essential message is in two sentences. Paraguay requires a clean criminal record extract at the time of application; this is a firm condition. But "criminal record" does not mean what most people think: the document requested is bulletin n°3, which only mentions a limited part of convictions, and many people with a judicial past have a perfectly clean bulletin n°3. The first step is therefore never to give up: it is to check what your document actually contains. Our guide to Paraguayan residency procedures details each step.

What Paraguay actually requires

The required document: criminal record extract from the country of origin

• Migraciones' requirement: for any residency application, the Dirección General de Migraciones requires a criminal record certificate from the country of origin, and from the country or countries of residence in recent years, if applicable. For a French national, this is the criminal record extract, bulletin n°3, issued by the National Criminal Record Office in Nantes.
• Formal conditions: bulletin n°3 must be recent, practically less than 90 days at the time of submission, apostilled and then translated into Spanish by a sworn translator. The request for the bulletin is free and can be made online at casier-judiciaire.justice.gouv.fr, with reception by mail or online depending on the case.
• The Paraguayan certificate too: if you have already stayed in Paraguay, a Paraguayan certificado de antecedentes penales is also requested, issued quickly on site.
• Substantive criterion: the bulletin must be clean, with no conviction mentioned. A bulletin bearing a conviction leads to the rejection of the residency application. There is no waiver procedure or case-by-case review on the Paraguayan side: the document serves as proof.

What bulletin n°3 actually contains, and what it does not

This is the point most candidates ignore, and it changes everything:

• The French criminal record has three bulletins. Bulletin n°1, complete, is reserved for justice. Bulletin n°2, broader, is reserved for certain administrations. Bulletin n°3, the only one you can obtain and the only one Paraguay sees, is the most restricted of the three.
• Essentially, it only includes: the most serious convictions: firm prison sentences exceeding two years without suspension, certain firm prison sentences of shorter duration when the court has expressly ordered their mention, and certain ongoing prohibitions and disqualifications, particularly prohibitions from working with minors.
• Therefore, it generally does not include: minor offenses, most suspended sentences, fines, short sentences without express mention, convictions expunged by legal or judicial rehabilitation, nor those for which exclusion from B3 has been ordered or obtained. Many people who have had contact with the justice system, such as an old drunk driving offense, a minor offense amnestied or rehabilitated, a simple suspended sentence, have a clean bulletin n°3.
• Erasure over time: French law provides for automatic rehabilitation after a period without a new conviction, which varies depending on the sentence, and the possibility of asking the court to exclude a mention from bulletin n°3. These mechanisms are legal, provided for by the Code of Criminal Procedure: using them is not circumventing the rule, it is exercising a right.

The rational approach: check first

Step 1: request your bulletin n°3 now

Before any project, any question, any concern: request your own bulletin n°3. It's free, online, and received in a few days. Three scenarios:

• It's clean: your situation is identical to that of any other candidate. Paraguayan residency is open to you under normal conditions, and your judicial past, settled and expunged as per B3, does not need to be mentioned: the official document is the only one requested, and it is clean.
• It contains a mention, but the rehabilitation deadlines are approaching: inquire with a French criminal lawyer about automatic rehabilitation and the request for exclusion from B3. Depending on your situation, a few months of patience or a court request could result in a clean bulletin, and the Paraguay project then becomes possible, in accordance with the rules.
• It contains a lasting mention: Paraguayan residency is not accessible in its current state, and it must be said frankly: submitting a file with a non-clean criminal record will result in rejection, and any attempt at concealment or falsified documents would constitute a serious offense, in Paraguay as in France, with consequences far worse than a refusal. No serious provider will accompany you down this path, and neither will we.

Step 2: pre-check before any commitment

It is precisely for these situations that our residency support begins with a free document pre-check before any payment: you send us your documents, including bulletin n°3, we verify that the file will pass, and you only pay the first installment once the pre-check is validated. No one commits to an uncertain file, neither you nor us. For a candidate concerned about their criminal record, this process removes all risk: the answer comes before the commitment.

Frequently asked questions about criminal records

Concrete cases

• "I received a suspended sentence ten years ago": in the vast majority of cases, an old simple suspended sentence does not appear on B3, or has been removed through rehabilitation. Request the bulletin, you will know in a few days.
• "I have an old drunk driving case": same answer: depending on the penalty and how old it is, B3 is most likely clean today. Check.
• "I was convicted abroad": Paraguay requests criminal records from the country of origin and, depending on the individual's history, from recent countries of residence. A conviction in a third country falls under that country's criminal record: the question is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and honestly, with a lawyer.
• "A procedure is ongoing against me": a pending procedure does not appear on the criminal record; only definitive convictions are listed. But expatriating during an ongoing criminal procedure raises other questions, judicial supervision, obligation to appear, which fall under your criminal lawyer's purview, not an immigration provider. Settle the procedure first.
• "My spouse has a criminal record, not me": residency applications are individual. Your application is not affected by your spouse's situation; theirs is examined separately, according to their own bulletin.

After obtaining: the criminal record no longer follows you

• Obtained residency is acquired: the criminal record is only checked at the time of application, and then upon renewal if applicable. An ordinary life in Paraguay afterwards is not subject to any retrospective checks.
• The golden rule on site: the Paraguayan certificado de antecedentes, requested for permanent residency and then for eventual naturalization, must remain clean. The conduct to adopt is the same as anywhere: a life according to the rules, and the past remains the past.

Mistakes not to make

Mistake 1: giving up without checking

The most frequent and damaging. Candidates abandon their project believing their criminal record is insurmountable, whereas their bulletin n°3 has been clean for years. Ten minutes of free online procedure gives you the official answer. Start there.

Mistake 2: concealing or fabricating

Falsified documents, omission of a country of residence, an intermediary who "knows someone": these paths lead to rejection, territorial ban, and criminal prosecution in two countries. No expatriation project is worth this risk, and any provider who proposes it puts you in danger. The only way is the legal way, and it is more open than one might think.

Mistake 3: ignoring French expungement mechanisms

Automatic rehabilitation, judicial rehabilitation, exclusion of the mention from B3: French law organizes the right to judicial oblivion, and these procedures regularly succeed. A consultation with a criminal lawyer, 150 to 400 €, can transform a blocked project into a feasible one within a few months. This is the most profitable investment in the file.

Mistake 4: letting documents expire

Bulletin n°3 has a practical validity period of 90 days on the Paraguayan side, including apostille and translation in the timeline. Sequence: bulletin, apostille, translation, submission, without downtime. Our pre-check precisely organizes this sequencing so that nothing expires along the way.

Conclusion

A criminal record does not automatically mean the end of a Paraguayan project. Paraguay requires a clean bulletin n°3, and this bulletin, the most restricted of the three that make up the French criminal record, is clean for many people who have nevertheless had contact with the justice system: old suspended sentences, rehabilitated convictions, excluded mentions. The rational approach involves three steps: requesting your bulletin, which is free and fast; consulting a criminal lawyer if a mention persists, as expungement mechanisms exist and work; and undergoing a pre-check before any financial commitment, so that the answer precedes payment.

And a red line, without exception: the legal path is the only one. A clean bulletin obtained legally opens all doors; a fabricated document closes them all, definitively, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Want to know if your application will pass? Contact our team for a free and confidential pre-check before any commitment: Paraguayan residency (from €1,400, 2 days on site), bank account, DNIT accounting (€30/month). You'll know where you stand before paying anything. Write to us on WhatsApp at +595 971 362 302: quick, discreet, French-language response.