Romantic relationship in Paraguay

A noviazgo or pareja sentimental is an informal romantic relationship based on mutual consent; Paraguay has no national dating registry or compulsory dating institution. A couple may later share a home, marry through the Dirección General del Registro del Estado Civil or establish an unión de hecho. In the 2025 INE EPHC data for people aged 15 and over, 34.3% were single, 27.7% married, 26.4% in an unión de hecho, 6.1% separated, 4.8% widowed and 0.7% divorced. Married or cohabiting people therefore represented 54.1% of the population in that age group. Civil marriage is handled through Registro del Estado Civil offices. The office checklist generally includes a joint declaration, identification documents for both people and identification documents for four witnesses. Additional documents may be required for a previous spouse's death or divorce, common children, or a foreign partner's passport or Mercosur identification and migration entry. Processing time depends on the office, and the current checklist does not establish one uniform fee. An unión de hecho is a voluntary, stable, public and singular cohabitation between people who are legally able to marry and have no legal impediment. After four consecutive years, the community-property regime can arise. A common child can cause the period to be treated as fulfilled from the birth of the first child. After ten years, the couple may make a joint declaration before the Registro del Estado Civil or a Juzgado de Paz, giving the relationship effects similar to marriage, including inheritance effects. One partner may also petition a judge, who hears the other partner. A final judicial decision can be registered with the civil registry. Property acquired during the cohabitation, family expenses and obligations, and possible survivor pension, retirement or compensation rights depend on the statutory conditions and the evidence available. The Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social, through its Dirección de Salud Sexual y Reproductiva, health facilities and USF services, provides counseling, sexually transmitted infection prevention and modern contraception. Condoms and public contraceptive methods are available free of charge, although local stock, appointment times and service availability can vary. Sexual acts with a person under 14 are criminalized under Article 135 of the Código Penal. Article 136 protects certain people aged 14 to 16 who are under custody or guardianship, as well as cases involving dependency from age 16; force, threats and coercion are addressed separately. These rules do not reduce the need for free and informed decisions, privacy, confidentiality and non-discrimination. Ley 5777 covers violence against women in current or former relationships, whether the couple lives together or separately, and recognizes multiple forms of violence. Protection can include distance and no-contact measures, anti-harassment measures, police custody and an inventory of shared assets. In immediate danger, call 911. A person can also contact the Policía Nacional, the Fiscalía Barrial or Unidad Especializada contra Violencia Familiar, a Juzgado de Paz or Atención Permanente, and the Ministerio de la Mujer through SEDAMUR or its regional centers. SOS Mujer 137 and WhatsApp at 0984 457398 provide free and confidential support. Ley 1600 also covers people in current or former cohabiting and non-cohabiting relationships. Mediation does not replace protection when there is a safety risk. An informal breakup has no national dissolution procedure, but protection rights continue after the relationship ends. A civil marriage ends through a judicial divorce sentence. Mutual-consent divorce requires at least three years of marriage, separate hearings and a ratification period of 30 to 60 days. The divorce ends the community of property and the reciprocal inheritance vocation. The current Poder Judicial tariff lists G 43,051 for mutual-consent divorce and G 107,627 for contested divorce, excluding lawyer and additional costs; completion time varies. Poder Judicial mediation can address divorce and community-property dissolution confidentially. An unión de hecho is also dissolved and distributed under statutory rules, and an ex-concubine who lacks resources and cannot support herself may seek temporary maintenance under the conditions of Law 1/92. The reviewed official Paraguayan texts describe civil marriage and unión de hecho as unions between a man and a woman; no formal same-sex equivalent was evidenced in that review.