“Welcome to Paraguay,” the head of immigration services in Ciudad del Este repeated out loud as he walked among chairs, plastic benches and beach sarongs.
“Tomorrow, at 7 in the morning, we will begin to distribute the forms. At 8 in the morning, attention will begin for those who wish to apply for residency.”
The message was addressed to hundreds of Brazilians organized in a long line who remained silent—interrupted by applause—to listen to the instructions in Spanish after a whole day camping under the intense sun and on the red earth of Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil.
It was the night of the penultimate Sunday in March. In just 12 hours, the Paraguayan government’s mobile task force would begin expediting the issuance of documents for those wishing to move to the country.
However, the line was almost around the corner, and Brazilians still had several hours of enduring heat, rain and mosquitoes to guarantee service the next day.
“We came to see everything Paraguay has to offer Brazilians,” said Delly Fragola, 55, smiling as she sat in a colorful beach chair she had bought to get through the wait.
Owner of a hair salon in Anápolis, in the interior of the state of Goiás, she had arrived at 8 in the morning with her daughter and son-in-law.
They were there because “Brazil no longer offers opportunities” for their business. In Paraguay, they told him, they could find “easier labor.”
“In Brazil, no one wants to work.”
A little further back, businessman Dilberto Wegrnen, 63 years old and from Cascavel, in the interior of the state of Paraná, was drinking a beer while waiting to grill the meats on an improvised grill that his new friends had organized on a barrel.
Dilberto was there because he believes that “Paraguay will be the largest country in Latin America very soon” and also because he has many critics of Lula’s government.
“Businessmen are leaving Brazil to come to Paraguay. Here, the tax burden is much lower and labor laws are much more accessible. What does all this lead to? To this enormous line that exists today,” explained the man from Parana.
The group is part of a growing wave of Brazilians who want to move to Paraguay, which has caught the attention of the authorities of that country, who since last year have been promoting joint campaigns to coordinate demand and assist those who aspire to residency.
The main gateway is Ciudad del Este, famous for its cheap shops and chaotic commerce across the Friendship Bridge. The joint campaign in March was the second of the year in the city, with a total of approximately 4,000 services provided there alone, and the Paraguayan government plans to carry out 19 more throughout the year throughout the country.
In 2025, Paraguay broke a record by granting 40,600 residence permits to foreigners. More than half (23,500) were Brazilians, a figure much higher than that of Argentines, who occupied second place (4,300).
By 2026, the figure is expected to be even higher. In the first three months of the year alone, 9,200 permits were issued to Brazilians.
The latest estimate from the Brazilian government, from 2023, indicates that 263,000 Brazilians lived in Paraguay, making up the third largest community abroad, after the United States and Portugal.
BBC News Brazil followed the line for the joint immigration campaign for three days. Everyone the reporter spoke to said they were there motivated by their political stances and the search for a more comfortable life with lower taxes.
They are people from all regions of Brazil, who generally begin to dream of living in Paraguay by browsing social networks.
The proliferating videos often list the “economic advantages” of moving to the country, reinforcing Paraguay’s low tax burden and the predominance of right-wing governments in its history.
They are mainly published by Brazilian influencers who live or shop in Paraguay. Many offer counseling services for those who want to follow the same path.
That’s how Marcelo Mendes, a 70-year-old retired architect from Recife, abandoned his plan to move to Portugal, where his daughter lives.
“On the Internet, we found out in several groups. We saw videos of people who were explaining their situation, how to obtain the documents,” he explains.
His plan now is to sell his house in the capital of the state of Pernambuco and buy another in the city of Encarnación, a four-hour drive south of Ciudad del Este, on the border with Argentina. But first he needs to convince his wife, who has even traveled to Paraguay, but is not yet willing to move there.
“We can’t stand Brazil anymore, our salaries are losing value. What I earn in reais is not enough for me to live in Portugal either. Here I can live well,” says Marcelo, who plans to supplement his income by working as a real estate agent.
The changing profile of migrants
Zena Cheraze, a 68-year-old woman from Rio de Janeiro, traveled alone 1,500 km by bus from Rio de Janeiro to Ciudad del Este “blindly,” without knowing for sure if she had all the necessary documentation.
“There is a lot of advertising on YouTube, each one says something different. But I came here to check it out,” he explains. A retired teacher and widow, she hopes to be able to afford cheaper health insurance in Paraguay.
From 3 in the morning, standing in line at the immigration office, Zena recorded a video to tell her friends that, in fact, she was not alone: there were many people like her waiting for approval from Paraguay.
“We, those on the right, feel like the most oppressed people. We have no freedom,” the retiree explained to BBC News Brazil about her experience. “It is a government that only harms us.”
A large number of Brazilians with the same profile as Zena have been identified by immigration authorities.
Cornelio Melgarejo, director of immigration for the department of Alto Paraná, on the border with Brazil, estimates that two years ago, 80% of residency applicants were medical students looking for universities with cheaper tuition than in Brazil.
However, recently many entrepreneurs who want to open businesses in the country and retirees have appeared, “in search of economic and political stability,” says Melgarejo.
In common, they share the vision that life in Paraguay today better fits their ideological positions.
The Paraguayan president, Santiago Peña, is the ninth right-wing ruler among the ten who have led the country since redemocratization, after the end of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in 1989.
It was his government that created the work groups for migration, called Migramóvil. Created in 2025, this initiative brings together organizations such as the National Immigration Directorate and the National Police in one place, which can provide guarantees that the immigrant does not have problems with justice.
The government is actively seeking to capitalize on this new wave of migration. The arrival of immigrants to Paraguay is presented as an indicator of the country’s good times; One of the official promotional materials on the subject states that “Paraguay opens its doors to the world.”
Foreigners are seen as responsible for boosting the local economy, while the government changes laws and offers even more tax incentives to attract investment and businesses.
In line with Donald Trump’s government, Peña signed a controversial agreement in March that authorized the presence of non-public military personnel and American companies in the country to combat organized crime.
“Ninety nine% of those who come are from the right,” says Roberta Viegas, a native of Rio de Janeiro, who has been living in Paraguay for a year and organizes meetings between businessmen like her, in addition to offering advice to those interested in moving.
Before the move, Roberta, 47, was especially concerned about the education of her four children in Rio de Janeiro, especially that of her 14-year-old son, even though he attended a private Christian school.
“We didn’t feel comfortable in Brazil with the situation right because of my beliefs,” explains Roberta, who initially planned to go to Australia, but changed plans and moved to Paraguay after a friend settled there.
The family, Roberta explains, also did not see a future in the health insurance business they had in Rio and felt threatened by urban violence in the city.
Isn’t there a saying: “If something bothers you, move away”? I told my husband, “There’s no point in staying here and being resentful. Let’s go somewhere else where we feel good about raising our children.”
Low taxes and maquilas of Brazilian brands
Those who apply for residency in Paraguay are questioned by government officials about their reasons for migrating.
“The most frequent answers refer to the cost of our taxes,” says Cornelio Melgarejo, from the Paraguayan immigration service.
The total tax burden in Paraguay, that is, the rate of taxes collected by the government in relation to the economy, is around 14.5% of GDP, according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). In Brazil, the rate is more than double, reaching 32%, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Paraguay consolidated a simple rule for tax collection during the 1990s and 2000s: 10-10-10.
That is, the three most important taxes—the value added tax (VAT), the non-public income tax, and the corporate income tax—have the same rate of 10%.
In comparison, Brazil plans to create its own VAT, approved in the 2023 tax reform, which will unify five federal, state and municipal taxes. It is estimated that this tax will come into full force in 2033, with a rate between 25% and 28%.
In Brazil, the income tax varies between 7.5% and 27.5% for individuals and, in the case of companies, starts at 15%, with an additional 10% on profits exceeding R$ 20,000 (US$4,025) per month.
Paraguayan leaders highlight the lower tax burden and the simpler system as one of the pillars to attract investments that could be directed to other more developed nations in the region.
The system began to be outlined in 1992 and was consolidated under successive right-wing governments. The only left-wing president, Fernando Lugo (2008-2012), proposed some reforms, but was dismissed.
Furthermore, since 2000, the country has adopted a scheme called “maquila”, through which factories located in Paraguay can import raw materials practically without taxes, produce in Paraguayan territory and export while paying almost no taxes. This strategy has brought large manufacturing plants for Brazilian brands such as Lupo and Riachuelo to the country.
The economist Alexandr e da Costa, researcher at UNILA (University of Latin American Integration) and UFPR (Federal University of Paraná), explains that the Paraguayan model has contributed around 4% to the country’s growth in the last three years, above the Latin American average, although it remains one of the smallest economies in the region and has one of the lowest human development and per capita income indices.
Brazil’s GDP, Costa points out, is approximately 50 times larger than that of Paraguay, and the Paraguayan economy ends up being closely linked to what happens in Brazil, its main trading partner.
“Paraguay’s development strategy is based, above all, on the low cost of production for companies and the low cost of living for others,” says Costa.
One of the most cited examples of the low cost of living in Paraguay is electricity. Thanks to the large surplus of electricity generated by the Itaipú hydroelectric plant, built in partnership with Brazil, and Yacyretá, in partnership with Argentina, Paraguayans enjoy the cheapest energy in the region.
However, in the case of Itaipú, there is an ongoing negotiation on the current agreement that could leave the Paraguayans in a less favorable situation. According to data from the electricity sector consulting firm SEG, on average, energy in Brazil is 2.8 times more expensive than in Paraguay.
“In the case of the businessman, he is also mainly attracted by the low tax burden and the low cost of labor. Labor rights in Paraguay, compared to Brazil, are much lower,” Costa continues.
The country, for example, does not have a Salary Guarantee Fund, and vacations begin with 12 working days a year, increasing with seniority, and can reach 30 days. There is no unemployment insurance.
Disadvantages
But the lower tax burden also means that Paraguay collects less money and has a low capacity to stimulate the economy and development, especially in infrastructure, health and education projects.
“Therefore, the central point is to verify the sustainability of this model in the medium and long term. Many of these Brazilians, for example, come to look for the SUS (Single Health System) here in Foz de Iguazú when they need it,” says Costa.
The public health system in Paraguay is quite fragmented—between those who have formal employment and those who do not, for example—and, although the law establishes free services, it has many limitations. Those receiving medical care often must pay for everything from medications to syringes.
Despite the significant reductions in recent years, extreme poverty affects 4.1% of the country’s population (in Brazil, 3.5%), according to official statistics agencies.
According to the economist, this new wave of dissemination of information about an “economic miracle” in Paraguay should be considered with caution, especially when it begins to attract people seeking employment.
In Paraguay, the official minimum wage is higher than in Brazil (equivalent to US$462), but the rate of informal employment – that is, people without a formal employment contract – is 62.5%, a much higher rate than in Brazil, which is 37.5%.
For Brazilians who emigrate, however, the Paraguayan model is a wonderful one that they defend.
Almost everyone interviewed for this report said they believe that Brazil is going through an economic crisis, even though current data indicates inflation within the projected range, a low unemployment rate and GDP growth.
“They say that the indicators [brasileños] They are very good. But we don’t know if they are all true. “I don’t know…” said Joraci de Lima, a 61-year-old businessman from Campo Mourão, in the interior of Paraná, who could not be attended to on the first day of the initiative in Ciudad del Este, even after arriving at 3 in the morning and waiting in line.
The native of Paraná explained that his metallurgical business was prosperous in Brazil, but due to the tax burden and the possibility of President Lula’s re-election, he wanted to open a branch in Paraguay.
“No one wants to change their homeland. But the fiscal situation in Brazil does not help us at all. A feeling of loss, pain, anguish and disappointment reigns here,” he lamented.
Many of those in line are not considering reconsidering their decision to emigrate, even if the right returns to the Brazilian presidency in 2027. They argue that the Brazilian system is already flawed.
But the data indicates that many Brazilians who emigrate to Paraguay end up choosing to return to their country of origin.
Although there is a large increase in applications for temporary residence, the increase in applications for permanent residence, which can be obtained after two years of living in Paraguay, is more moderate.
In 2025, of the 23,500 residency applications from Brazilians, only 4,600 (19%) were for permanent residence. In 2020, applications for permanent residence represented 68%.
In other words, a large part of the people who emigrate do not necessarily stay in the country. In addition, the proximity to Brazil usually makes the return trip easier.
Leonardo Ribeiro, a 22-year-old orange juice seller, left Marília, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, for Ciudad del Este three months ago after receiving an offer from his boss, who emigrated there, but he already feels that his time in Paraguay is coming to an end.
“I think people added a magical touch through the Internet, through videos in Paraguay. But I didn’t find much difference with Brazil,” says Leonardo.
“I came mainly for economic reasons, to see if I could improve my situation a little. It’s worth staying here, but personally, I prefer my Brazil,” says the seller, who plans to return at the end of this year.
*This is an edited version of the legal article by Vitor Tavares published in BBC News Brazil whose text in Portuguese you can see here
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