Planning your permanent (or long-term) move to Brazil - considerations

It's surprising just how little preparation and planning some people put into making their long-term or permanent move to Brazil (or any other country for that matter). It seems that to many it's no more complex than moving to a new apartment across town. They find out very early on, just how very wrong they are in that assumption and for many it sends them scurrying back home, much wiser, but poorer. If you want to avoid becoming one of them then here are just some of the major points you should give full consideration before deciding to move to Brazil.

1. Language issues - Contrary to what many people think Brazil IS NOT a Spanish speaking country. The language here is Portuguese and if you don't have a bit more than a basic grasp of the language you may be in for serious problems here. English is not widely spoken in Brazil, not even in most workplaces so you're going to need an understanding of Portuguese just to communicate with your superiors and co-workers.

If you only speak English then you'd better be prepared to find yourself isolated within the expat community and, trust me, this country is so large you may even have troubles finding other expats. Speaking any language other than Portuguese also means you're going to pay "Gringo prices" for everything too, and that goes double if you don't understand the fine art of haggling over prices too (an old Brazilian tradition).

Language barriers will also present serious risks should you need to avail yourself of healthcare in Brazil. You won't find too many doctors or other health professionals here who could carry on more than a basic conversation in English, so if you can't tell anybody what your medical problem is because of your lack of Portuguese, you could be putting your life on the line.

LEARN AS MUCH PORTUGUESE AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN, AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN BEFORE COMING HERE!!! You'll thank me later.

2.  Healthcare issues - While Brazil's public healthcare system (Sistema Única da Saúde - SUS) is free for all comers, it is notoriously bad. Emergency services at the UPA (Unidade de Pronto Atendimento), emergency treatment at hospitals (Hosp. de Pronto Socorro) are reasonably good, but as far as non-emergency healthcare you can wait months on end just to get a five minute appointment with a general practitioner at a public clinic; much longer still if you need to consult a specialist. So get Traveler's Medical Insurance or enroll in a Private Healthcare Plan. Don't expect you own country's public healthcare system to pay for anything other than emergency medical treatments while you're abroad. They don't! Worse still, some don't even pay for that… check your coverage before coming to Brazil.

Prescription drug availability may be a serious issue for anyone with a pre-existing illness that requires ongoing treatment with specific medications. You should be aware that ANVISA the Brazilian government agency responsible for determining which drugs can or cannot be sold publicly in Brazil may not permit the sale of a drug that you may now be using. This is especially true if you are being treated with an extremely expensive drug or one that may still be considered “experimental”. Also the Brazilian government is really pushing the sale and use of generic drugs and many insurance plans will not cover the brand name drugs even when qualified medical practitioners formally state that they must be used by the patient, and that generics may in fact be harmful to him or her.

Individual medical insurance plans are becoming much harder to find in Brazil, which could leave you without coverage. As a result of very strict regulations placed on individual plans, and heavy fines imposed by ANVISA on insurers who don't want to play by the rules, many insurers are simply no longer selling individual plans. They are opting for selling only group plans which, unfortunately, are subject to less regulations and government oversight.

3.  Bureaucracy issues -  Despite the fact that the process for applying for permanent residency in Brazil hás been significantly streamlined and speeded up, it is still a very bureaucratic nightmare. There are endless documents that must be obtained, legalized, authenticated and declarations that must be notarized. Documents that are written in any other language than Portuguese, must of necessity be translated by a sworn translator (Tradutor Juramentado) here in Brazil.

The marriage process in Brazil (for foreign nationals) is extremely complex and takes at least one month from the time that all the necessary documents are filed with the Registry (Cartório). There is an inordinate amount of bureaucracy in absolutely everything dealing with any level of government from the municipal level on up to federal. It appears that all public servants get to make up their own set of rules as they go along, this can be totally frustrating.

Obtaining public services such as electricity, telephone, water and gas hook-ups are generally regulated on the state level and of course every state imposes its own rules. In many you cannot obtain services in your name unless you have both an RNE and CPF. That means you must either be a permanent resident of Brazil or registered in the RNE under some kind of VITEM Temporary Visa such as the Work Visa or Student Visa.

4. Banks and financial issues -  Government bureaucracy has absolutely nothing on the insane bureaucracy of Brazil's banking system. Opening a Brazilian bank account is a truly daunting experience and should not be undertaken by the faint hearted. You are asked to provide information about yourself that is required in no other country on earth.

Foreign checks as a rule are NOT accepted for deposit by any of the Brazilian banks. Some banks do have a “Cambio” (currency exchange) and as a result will accept certain foreign checks for deposit by their checking account clients they will usually only accept government checks and will hold the funds for 60 days. It is strongly recommended that if you receive funds from a foreign source you should maintain a bank account in your homeland, keep it active, and have those funds deposited directly to that account. This is especially important for anyone receiving a monthly pension because most countries do not have a direct deposit agreement with Brazil. At least with deposits being made to an account at home, you can access your money through ATMs here in Brazil.

5  Privacy rights issues -  No such thing here in Brazil I'm sorry to tell you. Everyone who resides here for any length of time is required to have a CPF – Cadastro de Pessoas Fisica number. This is an individual tax number like the US Social Security number or Canada's Social Insurance number. Unlike in those countries where that number and any information about you is confidential, here it is all public record and even you credit history is tied (for some reason that only God knows) to your CPF. Any stores were you go to purchase anything nowadays don't even ask you your name. Their first question is always, “CPF por favor?” When they key it into their computer system they get back every bit of information about you imaginable. They see not only all your personal information (name, address, phone number, employer, etc.) but also they see your entire credit history and all of the purchases you've made with them and every other large stores since you got your CPF number. It's bad enough for those worried about “Big Brother” watching over their shoulder, but here it's every retailer too.

6.  Tax issues – Brazil has one of the highest rates of income tax in the civilized world. It works on an incremental scale from 7.5% of earnings up to 27.5%. There are income ranges established and any earnings within that range are taxed at the rate for that range. Earnings in the next higher range are taxed at the next higher rate, and so on until the maximum 27.5% on all income above R$46.939.00 (roughly US $22,000.00) per year.

If your home country does not have a bilateral tax treaty with Brazil (the USA does not) then you have no protection whatsoever from double taxation. Many countries now, like the USA and Canada, require their taxpayers to report all income gained from foreign sources as “World Income”. The USA taxes based on citizenship; so you are required to file an annual 1040 declaration every year no matter where in the world you live. Also with the recent implementation of FATCA (Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act) and FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Reporting), banks here will report your account information directly to the IRS. You can't hide a cent from Uncle Sam.

Then too you pay taxes on every product or service you consume, including food. Most items and services have no less than 6 hidden taxes included in their price. To date the government has put off implementing a law that requires these taxes to be itemized. On average 22% of your overall food bill is pure taxes. Some items at the supermarket have up to an 85% tax load.

On top of all the other taxes on consumption, if you buy imported products you're going to pay an additional 60% import tax on what you purchase, so be prepared for sticker shock. This also has the net effect of keeping the quality of Brazilian made products way down, since they don't have to compete with better quality products coming from abroad.

7. Infrastructure and public services issues -  Like most South American countries, Brazil has not made investments in infrastructure over the centuries. They also do not subscribe to the concept of doing regular MAINTENANCE on what little infrastructure they do have. As a direct consequence of that we see constant electrical outages and increased energy costs all the time. Basic sanitation is precarious at best. In São Paulo, Brazil's largest and richest city, the most recent census showed that 1 in every 6 households do not have a bathroom indoors. It is a well established fact that fully 40% do not have access to potable water supplies or sewer connections, or garbage collection.

In most cities in Brazil there is little beyond primary sewage treatment, and sewer systems are crumbling and completely inadequate by world standards. As a result mundane tasks that we never give a second thought to (like flushing toilet paper down the toilet) are NOT possible here in Brazil. Unless of course you don't mind having everything you've ever flushed come back to visit you at some point in time.

Tap water everywhere in Brazil does not meet health standards we are used to at home. Nobody in Brazil drinks water straight from the tap. Brazilians drink bottled water or they will filter tap water in some way before consuming it. The better and more complex the purification system you use in your home, the less your risk of problems caused by consuming water.

Roads? We'll the standing joke among Brazilians (sadly, it's all too true) is that there are only two kinds of roads in Brazil – the toll roads or the ones with huge potholes everywhere.

8.  Labor and job market issues -  For foreigners finding work in Brazil is a daunting process. First of all, Brazilian law requires all employers to prove that they have exhausted all efforts to place a qualified Brazilian in any job vacancy before they can hire an expat to fill the vacancy.

As if that isn't already bad enough, expats are completely shut out from the public sector (much higher paying) jobs which are reserved solely for Brazilian citizens (born or naturalized). That goes for every public service position right from the street sweeper at the municipal level, right on up to the Directors of state owned companies like Petrobras, and federal civil servants.

Most expats in Brazil, in fact, survive by generating their own income in some way; either by operating small businesses, turning some favorite pastime into an income generator by producing something that is marketable.

9.  Political issues – While you may be used to having a voice back home, having at least some small say in the way things are run in your country; you will not have any say at all here in Brazil. Expats are expressly banned by Decreto/Lei 6.815  from having any involvement whatsoever with politics. You cannot even join a political party or support any party or politician. Any violations could result in deportation.

The present government in this country is an extremely leftist government, so you may wish to think seriously about relocating somewhere else if you have problems with that style of governance. There is no sign that this is going to change anytime soon.

10.  Social issues -  If you aren't used to seeing extreme poverty and rampant social injustice, then Brazil is going to be a very difficult place for you to adapt to. You have to leave both your sense of compassion and your wallet at home when you go out on the streets in Brazil. If you're at all soft hearted, you could put yourself into the poorhouse in very short order here. Sometimes it appears that fully half of the Brazilian population has a sad story and is out on the streets begging.  You really do need to develop a thick skin here.

Animal treatment is another serious social problem here. Brazil is overrun by stray dogs and cats which are abandoned and roam the streets all over the country. Apart from the significant health risk that these animals pose they also are a risk to your physical safety too. Animal abuse is also all too common here in Brazil.

Prejudice, while not blatantly a problem in Brazil, does still exist. Brazilians love foreigners, they're not really xenophobic in that sense provided you come from anywhere but other Latin American countries. They really are prejudiced against other Latin Americans and sadly other Brazilians (primarily from the Northeast of Brazil).

Surprisingly, in a nation that has one of the largest populations of LGBT individuals in the entire world, homophobia is alive and well in Brazil. It is highly recommended that you avoid any public show of affection, such as holding hands and even the slightest kiss, in public. This can spark physical attacks or prompt being ejected by force from certain public places. This happens all over Brazil, but is more prevalent in large cities such as São Paulo, Rio, Belo Horizonte and Salvador.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team