Nota fiscal and payment for consulting work in Brazil

Hello clorimer,

1. Yes, you need a VITEM-V Work Visa if you are going to be doing any kind of paid work in Brazil and to qualify for a VITEM-V you would need an employment contract with a Brazilian company. A VITUR Tourist Visa does not permit work or study in Brazil and a VITEM-II Business Visa only permits you to arrange clients, suppliers, make purchases, etc. in Brazil, not any kind of paid work.

2.  As far as I'm aware you would probably also need a Brazilian CPF number (equivalent to the US SSN). You do not need to be a Brazilian citizen or resident to apply for one, you can apply through the Receita Federal, Caixa Economica Federal or Correios once here in Brazil. All you will need is your passport and visa. Then you would put your ITIN and CPF number on the receipt (nota fiscal).

Since you're essentially self-employed I don't know how you would possibly get around the requirements for a VITEM-V, I think you would really need to visit the Consulado-Geral do Brasil either in San Francisco or Los Angeles (whichever has jurisdiction over your city of residence) and ask them if they can help clarify your visa needs. It's probably useless to try and phone or e-mail them, Brazilian Consulates worldwide are notorious for not responding to telephone or e-mail requests for information.

Sorry that I can't be of much more help to you than this.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Thanks James! I have a CPF, so I figured the nota fiscal wouldn't be too much trouble.

On the other hand, I'm still not clear on how a number of consultants work and network with Brazilian companies without being "hired" by them to get a work visa. I'm sure it's done, so I suppose I'll do more research to find out how. Working "for" a Brazilian company isn't the idea; it's working with them.

Thanks for the input though, cheers!
Christina