Immigration & Visas in Brazil for Foreigners

Since the 2017 Migration Law, Brazil runs one of the more open residence systems among major economies: digital nomad visas, retirement residence, investment routes, family reunion, work transfers, and study permits — each with its own income thresholds, document lists, and filing venue. The catch is procedural. Some routes are filed at a Brazilian consulate in your country; others are filed inside Brazil at the Federal Police; a few can go either way, and choosing the wrong venue can mean starting over.

Our immigration work starts with the question most applicants skip: which route actually fits your facts — your nationality, income structure, family situation, and how permanent you want this to be. A retiree with rental income, for example, sometimes fits the investor route better than the retirement route; a remote worker married to a Brazilian almost never wants the digital nomad visa. Route selection is where cases are won.

From there, we prepare the complete file — apostilles, sworn translations, background certificates, proof of income in the format the authorities actually accept — and file it, track it, and answer the exigências (official requests for clarification) that stall unrepresented applications for months. When you land, we finish the job: CRNM registration, CPF, and the practical registrations that make residence real.

What We Handle

Inside this practice area.

01 Digital nomad visa (VITEM XIV) For remote workers paid from abroad. Income proof, employment evidence, consular or in-country filing, renewal.

02 Retirement residence Pension-based residence for retirees transferring income to Brazil; route analysis vs. investor options.

03 Investment residence Residence through real estate or business investment, including the reduced-threshold routes.

04 Family reunion & marriage Residence based on a Brazilian spouse, partner, or child — including stable union (união estável) cases.

05 Work & study permits Employer-sponsored transfers, technical assistance visas, and student residence.

06 Renewals, CRNM & exigências Registration after arrival, card renewals, and responses to Federal Police information requests.

Process

How a typical engagement runs.

1

Route analysis

We map your facts against every viable route and recommend one — with the runner-up explained, so you see the trade-offs.

Days 1-3

2

Document assembly

You get a precise checklist for your nationality. We coordinate apostilles and sworn translations as documents arrive.

2-6 weeks, mostly on document issuers

3

Filing & follow-up

We file at the right venue, monitor the docket, and answer official requests immediately.

Government timeline varies by route

4

Arrival registration

CRNM appointment, CPF, and the registrations that make your residence usable in daily life.

First weeks in Brazil

Common Questions

Immigration & Visas questions we hear most.

Can I apply from inside Brazil on a tourist entry?

For several routes, yes — Brazil allows certain residence applications to be filed at the Federal Police while you're in the country as a visitor. Whether that's wise depends on your route and timing; doing it wrong can complicate the file. This is exactly the kind of venue question we settle before anything is filed.

How long does a Brazilian visa actually take?

Consular filings commonly run 4-12 weeks after a complete file is submitted; in-country residence applications vary by Federal Police office workload. The biggest delay in practice is document preparation — apostilles and translations — which is why we run that in parallel, not in sequence.

My income is irregular — freelance, dividends, rental. Is that a problem?

Not necessarily, but it changes the route analysis and the evidence package. Authorities want income they can verify and classify. Structuring how your income is documented is normal legal work for us, not an obstacle.

The right visa, filed right the first time.