Brazil Investor Visa

Brazil's investor visa, the VITEM IX, gives residence to foreigners who put their own money from abroad into a Brazilian company or into urban property. Each route has its own National Immigration Council rule: Normative Resolution 13/2017 (RN 13) for companies and Normative Resolution 36/2018 (RN 36) for real estate.

• Company investment: at least R$500,000 (R$150,000 for innovation and research ventures).
• Real estate: urban property worth at least R$1,000,000 (R$700,000 in the North and Northeast regions).

A third route under Normative Resolution 11/2017 lets a company investing in Brazil bring in a manager or director with at least R$600,000 of foreign investment per executive (less if the investment creates at least 10 new jobs within two years).

The process starts in Brazil. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security approves a residence authorization first. Only then does a consulate issue the visa.

Company investors and sponsored executives get residence for an indefinite term from the start. Real estate investors get 4 years first, then can switch to an indefinite term.

Both main routes are for individuals investing their own funds of foreign origin. Neither resolution sets a nationality limit or an income test.

Company investment

The money must arrive in foreign currency and go into a new or existing Brazilian company, in a project that can create jobs or income in Brazil. Under the company investment rule, the ministry weighs that potential first. The standard minimum is R$500,000.

The floor falls to R$150,000 for an entrepreneur settling in Brazil to invest in innovation or in basic or applied scientific or technological research. The company must meet at least one of these conditions:

• it received investment, financing or innovation support from a government institution
• it is based in a technology park
• it is incubated or has graduated from an incubator
• it was a finalist in a government startup program
• it was backed by a startup accelerator in Brazil

The ministry can also accept a company whose main product, process or service shows originality, reach and potential to create value.

Real estate

The investor must buy urban property, built or under construction. The real estate rule sets the minimum at R$1,000,000 (R$700,000 for property in the North and Northeast regions).

• Several properties: allowed if the investor owns them and their combined value reaches the minimum.
• Co-ownership: allowed only if each co-owner has invested the full minimum.
• Financing: allowed only for the part of the price above the minimum.

Buying property doesn't by itself create a right to residence. The ministry must first confirm that the money came from abroad and that the purchase meets the rules.

Family

A spouse, partner, children or other dependents apply for their own family reunion visa (VITEM XI), which can be filed at the same time as the investor's.

The ministry checks the investment before anything else. Each route has its own evidence list. RN 13 and RN 36 also require the other documents set out in the council's Normative Resolution 01/2017.

Company route

• Company records: the articles of association or founding act, registered with the competent body, with the foreign capital fully paid in.
• Proof of investment: the foreign-exchange contract from an institution authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil, showing the transfer as foreign direct investment.
• Business plan: a plan with a three-year execution period covering the business, its goals, hiring over the first three years, salaries and how the money will be spent.

The ministry can inspect the company on site to confirm the investment was made.

Real estate route

• Finished property: the property registry record showing ownership free of liens, plus a declaration from an institution authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil confirming the international transfer of capital for the purchase.
• Property under construction: the registered promise-of-sale contract, the bank declaration of the international transfer for the purchase or the down payment, the building permit and the registered development filing (memorial de incorporação).

At the consulate

Once the ministry approves, the consulate asks for its own list. Santiago, for example, wants the visa form, a passport, a photo, an apostilled birth certificate, apostilled police certificates from every country lived in during the past five years, the residence authorization and the investment and property records.

The investment itself isn't a fee. Government charges come on top at three stages:

• Residence authorization: R$168.13 processing fee, paid by federal payment slip (GRU) with the MigranteWeb request.
• Consular visa: $100 at the standard rate. US nationals pay a reciprocity rate of $290.
• Registration card (CRNM): R$204.77, paid when registering with the Federal Police.

Brazil's consular fee table sets the visa fees in reais-ouro, a unit fixed at US$1. Consulates charge the equivalent in local currency. Investors who get their residence authorization while already in Brazil don't need a consular visa, so they skip that fee.

Apostilles, sworn translations and legal or accounting help cost extra. Prices vary by country and provider.

Applications run in two stages. The first happens in Brazil.

• 1. Residence authorization: the investor files online in MigranteWeb, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security's system, with a gov.br login and the investment evidence.
• 2. Visa: with the authorization approved, the investor applies for the VITEM IX at a Brazilian consulate. Since Sept. 1, 2026, nationals who don't need a visit visa apply fully online. Others fill in the online form and attend an in-person appointment.
• 3. Registration: after arrival, the holder registers in person with the Federal Police within 90 days of entry and receives the migration registration card (CRNM).

Investors already in Brazil can get the residence authorization directly from the ministry, without a consular visa. They register with the Federal Police within 30 days of the approval's publication in the Diário Oficial.

The ministry estimates up to 30 days for a correctly filed request and up to 60 days when it asks for corrections. Both can be extended. An approved residence authorization doesn't automatically mean the visa will be issued.

• Company route: residence for an indefinite term. Keeping it depends on proving to the ministry that the business plan was carried out.
• Executive route: also indefinite. Where the lower investment was used, keeping it depends on proving the promised jobs were created.
• Real estate route: 4 years at first. After the four-year term, residence can be changed to an indefinite term on proof that the property is still held, plus a copy of the CRNM card and criminal-record certificates.
• Minimum stay, real estate: At least 14 days in Brazil, consecutive or not, in every two-year period counted from Federal Police registration.

A real estate investor who misses the minimum stay or the deadline to switch can apply for a new authorization for another 4 years, as long as the property is kept. Under RN 36, residence can also be declared lost if the investment behind it ends.

Receita Federal, Brazil's tax authority, ties tax residency to the type of visa. A temporary-visa holder without a Brazilian employment contract becomes a tax resident on the day they complete 184 days in Brazil, consecutive or not, within a period of up to 12 months. Getting a permanent visa or a Brazilian job before then makes them resident from that date.

Someone who enters on a permanent visa is resident from the day of arrival. Receita's guidance uses that term and doesn't mention the indefinite residence granted on the company and executive routes, so those investors should confirm with Receita or a tax adviser when their residency starts.

Before residency starts, income from Brazilian sources, such as rent from a property in Brazil, is taxed at source, while income from abroad isn't taxed in Brazil. Afterward, income from abroad, including foreign rent and self-employed earnings, falls under carnê-leão, a monthly tax. Residents also file the annual income tax return under the same rules as everyone else.

Tax paid abroad can be credited only where Brazil has a tax treaty or reciprocity with the country that levied it. The residency rules make no exception for investors.