Immediate tax residency in Brazil?

05/11/23 @jonxxon. If the tax treaty between your home country and Brazil defines how a citizen of one country becomes a tax resident of another, that is the process that will apply to you.

If the tax treaty is silent on the matter, you would become a tax resident as soon as you became a permanent resident of Brazil. The most straightforward way to do that is to obtain a Brazilian immigrant visa in the VITEM series from a Brazilian Embassy or Consulate, and then register with the Federal Police upon arrival in Brazil. Once the Federal Police issue your Migrant Identity Card (CRNM), you'll be a tax resident.

If you don't have a family or marital relationship with a Brazilian citizen, your best bet may be an Investment Visa, VITEM IX. Here's the description from the Consulate General in Chicago. Check the site of your local Embassy or Consulate for updated information:

https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado- … investment

Thanks for your answer abthree. «For the purpose of the tax treaty, 'a resident of a contracting state' is any person who under the law of that state is liable to taxation by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature». Unless you have another interpretation of that clause, it sounds like PR might qualify. But then I get some more questions. In case you'd be able to have a look at them, they are the following.

1. The Chicago page is one of the best ones I have seen. Chicago calls it a temporary visa, but also say that the granted period is 'indefinite leave'. Do you know what that means? I leave when I choose? It also say visa is valid for one year. This means the applicant must use the visa within one year from the issue date before expiration.

2. How much time will each time in the process take, would you think?

3. What's the process of the investment itself. Do I get a time limit if I want to invest in a start-up? For the R$500,000 option, is it enough to put it in their stock market? How is the enforcement of the actual investment carried out by the state?

4. If I was ever so unlucky that I had to leave Brazil, is there an exit tax where they take a meaningful portion of one's assets?

Thanks for reading.

Many regards from Europe

Hi Jonxxon - I have an investment visa and there are a number of cons when compared to the Golden Visa. In NE Brazil the cost of this GV is R$700k compared to 1 million in the rest of Brazil, and you avoid a lot of the on-going costs and regulations of an investor visa - which must be for an active business employing Brazilians, so stock market investment will not work. I am not sure if the forum will print this website [link moderated] but if not search for PlanB-Brazil

Dear Peter,

• Thanks for your message two days ago. I had a look at the Plan B Brazil. It looks like it is best suited for investments in real estate or local business. Is your impression that it can be put in the stock market? Are you based in Itamaraca?
• I could start a staffing company in Brazil because I am looking for workers in the IT sector, but I would have to do more research on the opportunities of Brazilian workers.
• Could you please let me know about the cons that you have experienced with your investor visa? And how do you feel about it overall?

Kind regards from Marius

Hi Marius

I would be happy to help, and yes I do live on the island of Itamaracá. Perhaps you could make contact with me privately, and we could chat about what might be best for you?

@jonxxon Becoming a resident in Brazil is a long drawn out process that is the exact opposite of quick.

Roddie in Retirement

@Roddie I do not agree, as it very much depends on the path you take. If you are able to take the right actions in the right way, in my experience it might take just a couple of months. Of course, you have to be able to qualify, but if you can, it can actually be quite quick... Of course there are some courses that are very slow, especially if you want to qualify through a relationship as, just like every other country in the world, the authorities want to make sure the relationship is genuine - and that takes a lot of time.

05/14/23 Hi Jonxxon - I have an investment visa and there are a number of cons when compared to the Golden Visa.
-@Peter Itamaraca

I'm not aware of Brazil ever offering a Golden Visa in the usual sense of that term.  Do you have a link to the authorizing regulation?

@abthree Hi Abthree - to be fair it is not very well known, nor has it had a huge uptake, so your ignorance is understandable. Original regulation was 4 or 5 years ago, but have a look here...https://portaldeimigracao.mj.gov.br/pt/nav-guiada/rn-36#:~:text=RESOLU%C3%87%C3%83O%20NORMATIVA%20No%2036%20DE,de%20investimento%20imobili%C3%A1rio%20no%20Brasil.

05/15/23 @abthree Hi Abthree - to be fair it is not very well known, nor has it had a huge uptake, so your ignorance is understandable. Original regulation was 4 or 5 years ago, but have a look here...https://[link under review]#:~:text=RESOLU%C3%87%C3%83O%20NORMATIVA%20No%2036%20DE,de%20investimento%20imobili%C3%A1rio%20no%20Brasil.
-@Peter Itamaraca

Your terminology threw me off, since Brazil doesn't have a Golden Visa, and this isn't a visa program administered by the Foreign Ministry at all, so it doesn't appear on consulate websites. It's an Authorization of Residency program based on purchasing urban real estate, administered by the Justice Ministry. 

A number of our members have secured Brazilian residency through this route, usually by coming to Brazil on a tourist visa, buying an eligible property, and applying to the Federal Police for resident status under the regulation. You're right that it's certainly available to the OP.

https://portaldeimigracao.mj.gov.br/pt/nav-guiada/rn-36

@abthree OP?

05/15/23 @abthree OP?
-@Peter Itamaraca

"Original Poster" -- jonxxon.  I was on my phone, and couldn't scroll up for the name. 😂

Got it now! It has been puzzling me all morning! I think that the world over buying real estate to qualify for residency is known colloquially as a Golden Visa, but I am sure no country actually refers to it officially as such, so apologies for the jargon. I have had an investor visa for 16 years, long before the Brazil GV programme even existed, but, given a choice, I would go that route today rather than investor visa...

05/15/23 @Peter Itamaraca.  Understood.  I identify the term with classic citizenship-for-investment schemes, like the Malta Individual Investor Programme, hence the confusion.

I agree that this is a very desirable option for anyone who understands the risks.

@abthree Do you think there are more risks with this visa compared with any other?

@Peter Itamaraca Well I guess we agree to disagree. Did I tell you the one about the American who was very close to being barred from returning to Brazil to my wife, daughter and brazilin stepmother. After hours of negotiations and divine intervention from a higher Brazilian authority was I able to return after going to Miami for my FBI Background check.

I will keep in mind how easy it is next time. Though if it was that easy what would we do on EXPAT.COM without the challenges?

Roddie in Retirement

@roddiesho Roddie - I did not say it is always easy; I said that if you have the financial means it can be quick, but some visas can be very tricky as you have experienced. So actually we agree!

05/15/23 @abthree Do you think there are more risks with this visa compared with any other?
-@Peter Itamaraca

Good question. I think that the least risky basis of residence in Brazil is Family Unification. The foreigner arrives on an immigrant visa, usually has at least a rudimentary local network in the person of Brazilian in-laws, and has a strong legal presumption that the Polícia Federal will approve residency. Risks increase from there for other bases of residence.

Foreigners arriving with the plan to obtain residence through property purchase need to be well prepared and hit the ground running. They're arriving on a non-immigrant visa, so they're on a relatively fast clock to find a likely property, vet it, buy it, and then file the residence paperwork with the Polícia Federal.

The vetting includes confirming, in a monolingual Portuguese environment, that the title is clear, that all taxes and utilities are up to date, that the purported seller has the actual authority to make the sale, that there are no other claims on the property, and that there are no unidentified contingent liabilities that may fall on the buyer. Then there's arranging for timely funds transfer, and getting the change in ownership registered with the municipal government. All of these items are a concern for any foreigner resident in Brazil, but most people's approval to live in the country doesn't depend on getting them done quickly and successfully. 

For residential buyers, the heat is off once the residence request is filed with the Polícia Federal and they've moved in. For investment buyers, some additional risk mitigation is in order. It's not easy to evict tenants in Brazil, so owners need a plan for screening potential tenants. In many Brazilian cities, empty buildings with absentee owners are sometimes invaded by squatters and it can be very difficult, costly, and time-consuming to get them out; this mainly applies to single-family homes, but it can happen in larger buildings as well, so security is critical, and the use of a management company is a valid consideration. 

I think that any foreigner, especially someone who doesn't read and speak Portuguese fluently and is not familiar with Brazil, needs the help of a trustworthy local attorney or other expert to make sure that all these concerns are addressed efficiently and successfully. You're in the industry; I'd be interested in your thoughts as to whether any of the above is overstated, or if I'm missing other concerns.

@abthree Nicely put.

I think that for a foreigner looking to move to Brazil, the family reunion option is obviously only available if he/she already has a long term relationship in place. In my opinion, it is not an option to try and 'find' a partner to 'use' in the short term to obtain residency, as there are well-known pitfalls there unless you are extremely careful and very well advised.

Certainly bilingual experts are vital to make the process of any investment safe and quick, and to help with every step of the process.

If you follow advise given by your experts, then making a purchase here can be quite an easy process, (especially as they will do most of the complicated bits,) and I have found that 90+90 days on a tourist visa is perfectly adequate for the residency application.

So, for me, the risks can be minimised simply by using common sense and the advise and guidance of others who are experienced and know what they are doing...