Moving to Brazil from USA, maintaining residency, etc.

It appears that the Escapees mail forwarding service is North America only:  you may want to look into one that will ship internationally, in case you ever need the hard copy documents to be forwarded.
If you already have a Brazilian bank account, that suggests that you're also be a legal permanent resident; in that case, you're all set.  If by chance you aren't, then the 180 days in every 365 limit will apply to you, and you'll only be allowed into the country for six months a year.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I will be perm residence from marriage of Brazilian National. I looked for international mail service but did not find any. My plan was to use escapees for mail scanning and if i need hard copy quick i will send to family to forward out of USA.

I maintain my residency In Brazil and the US but use a mail forwarder to forward my credit cards and important documents. I file my US taxes on-line direct to the IRS so no problem there. I maintain a California Driver License and a house there, so there´s no question that I´m a CA resident.

As long as you don´t stay more than 6mos in Brazil, you don´t need to pay income taxes.

robal

brazil_cyberpat wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I will be perm residence from marriage of Brazilian National. I looked for international mail service but did not find any.

There are several.   I use US Global Mail.  The mailing address they provide is in Texas, but a couple of their competitors have Florida addresses.

I will be staying 9-10 months so i have to plan for paying income tax I suppose. I am thinking about a part time job in Brazil as a consultant and maintain a remote job on call  from USA. I am working out the details in the next 6 months. I already retired from Army Reserves but dont withdraw until after a few years.

Like the US, Brazil taxes ALL income - locally or worlwide... There are topics about taxes in Brazil. You may find them useful in your situation.

robal

@robal Thanks for the heads up.

Is your bank account in Brazil in your name? Did not think you could have one unless you have the CRMN.
Ito use US Global Mail and works fine. iPostal1 may have a florida location.

Yes, it is in my name. I received my CPF number completing a form from the Embassy for long term residence in Brazil. I used my fiance's address as residence. I went to the bank and completed all the forms there, it took awhile but it all worked.

Sorry I am a little confused,  Being married to a Brazilian citizen does not automatically entitle a foreign citizen to obtain a permanent visa. CPF is just a tax payer ID.
Have you applied for CRNM and had all documents translated, legalized and approved? Finger prints, and given protocol number. PF come to visit the both of you at your home?

Jury Duty.... For as long you can justify through your passport your extended absence, they will drop you at the beat of the eyelid.  So no concern there.   I had one coming from MA, just this year,  mere self explannatory e-mail and they drop me off the roster.   I could further back up my claim by showing the passport entries but my word was good for it. 

You already done your homeowork. Leave no unpaid bills behind, file your US Taxes annually under FATCA guidelines, and you are good to go.   

Leaving a postal address in FL is ok, for as long you maintain this is a forwarding address only. FL is good since you do not have State Income Taxes to file.  That is it.   You are not getting much more out of it this as you may think.

Tons of Americans already do the Soho remote laptop logging working routine in Brazil.  They come and go, as migration birds.   Some do to escape the climate in the US ( Clinton was not a savior as we may led to believe, and Obama is not a saint, and Bush Senior, was smart and had a global vision but was not a charismatic leader, I am a Jimmy Carter man ), or to feel rejuvenated ( the women here will do that for some ).

Just watch the women and the overly friend Brazilians.   And if in Sao Paulo, ask the local Bolivian Emigre  enclave how Brazilians threat them.  So then you can learn to separate the wheat from the chaff.   

And learn the language, for Chrissakes.  Do as the Brits, don't be a tourist, be a traveler. 

And while I am a Real Estate Broker practicing in Sao Paulo, five years is not much in terms of acquiring property unless you find yourself a too good to pass deal. Rent it from an old lady, widow, man or women.  And do the improvements yourself. Stay away from the expats glamurous enclaves,, and please do not go to American Fast Food outlets for your lunch meals.

Thanks for your response. Good thing I am marrying a Brazilian, we been together for a year. Both divorced and very stable in life. One of her Daughters lived in Kansas, so she will be learning English from me so she can speak to my kids and her grandkids. I will be learning Portuguese, already taking lessons.

March I will move in with her in Goiania. After she retires in a few years from her Government job we will spend half year there then the other half in the US. Probably live out of an RV touring the country.

Just trying to figure all this out and maintain a US job. I am in information security so the jobs are endless. However, I need to find one that allows out of country work. I think I may have to consult from my LLC and contract work. However, if I need a job in Brazil I have one with IBM but wont have the exchange rate or salary like my US job.

You're all set, then.
Once you have your CRNM (maybe even on your Protocolo before it comes, but I waited), you can obtain a Labor Card from the state Labor Department.   This will be easy, since you'll be in the state capital.  You may never use it, but if you have it, that will make it easier for IBM or any other employer to take you on, if that's what you choose.

So you are with big Blue.  Good for you.  Stick with it.  Learn the lay of the land first, before you jump with your own feet. As a midwestern, you need to make a strong cultural adjustment to the mores and customs here, so staying under the umbrella of big Blue , politics aside, is a good thing. 

And yes, I know IBMers no longer have to sport a Navy Blue, with black shoes and white tie, but it is still a culture one has to adhere to in order to stay relevant.

As for LCC, if you are in the enterprising mode, you should stay with IBM for as long as you can hang to.  In the interim, when timing is ripe, you can create your own entity, wich is what the  MEI enterpreneur program is designed for.  You pay a flat feet per month ( around R$50,00 ), and that takes care of your SS Taxes.    For that, a couple runs here and there to get the local TAX Id, but this is mostly done online, the Federal Tax Bureau won't touch this, so your payments, business tax filing is all online. 


That is not an LLC, mind you.  It is a sole proprietorship.  This is a a stepping stone, should you get billable work as a contractor/consultant and the bug of working for yourself bits you.

That MEI program is only good for as long as you have less than ten employees.  From zero to ten. IT does not protect you from liabilities as an LLC  or limited partnership would do.  IF you plan to address its shortcomings, do hire an accountant to explain this, avoid attorneys. 


If you are into infosec I assume you have all certifications,. join an US based group on info security ( there used to be a good one in MA, they used Microsoft facilities in Waltham  ( http://www.naisg.org/ if I am not mistaken ).   Perhaps you can sponsor a Chapter in Brazil.

Lots of good information, thanks. Yep, I have a bunch of certifications and experience in Digital Forensics / Incident Response, Security Analysis, Pentesting, and Threat Intelligence. I don't currently work for IBM but I know many that do and my current Sr. manager ran the IBM SOC in Brazil years ago.  If I need to go that route it would be no problem. Currently, I work for a Major Power Company in the US. They want to keep me, my manager and director is willing to allow remote work but the culture overall is against it. I will have to get exceptions and approvals from VPs. I am their most skilled and expert in this area so they are doing anything to get me to stay. Lol However, there is so much Brazil to explore, the food, and the slower pace of life.

I live in Brazil now became Permanent Residency last year. I see you are like me don't speak Portuguese. I found a company that has already produced a translator you put in your ear. There new product is going to be available in November it's called the Ambassador it two over the ear piece. How it works you have two ear pieces they link to one phone translator. It has three modes talk direct to the other person with Translation. Listen mode your ear piece can translate people conversation talking around you and group mode you can link many  phones that will translate in text when you speak using the ear piece. It made by Waverly labs. I purchased two that 4 ear pieces all link to one  phone. I think this will help both you and your wife. I speak English and my wife speaks Portuguese.

That could delay your learning process though
because language has to be heard and spoken
with all the gestures and body language associated with it.

Just want to give you idea how the over the ear translate works. Just what you pointed out this will give you all of that. You will be talking like you know the language seeing normal everyday conversation.

I´m trying to emphasize the mental calisthenics of conjugating verbs in Portuguese and linking them to every action and thoughts for easy memory fixation and thereby hastening the learning process. The mechanical translation of  words back and forth from your thoughts and minds of others further distracts the easy flow of information for faster learning. That would be ok if you are here for a limited time only. But you said you are now a resident, so you owe it to yourself to learn Portuguese the easy and old fashioned way...

I watched the video, and it looks too good to be true.  You know what they say about things that look too good to be true ... 
I can see where it could be useful on a short vacation, but for everyday life, I think it would become cumbersome pretty fast.  I also couldn't find the November release date on their website, and would expect that to slip.

I am old enough and do not need nor want something in my ear that looks like a hearing aid. Plus I am not one that has a cell phone in my hand. I like to know my surroundings.
Cannot imagine dining with a plug in my ear.

What Bank?? I tried to do the same and the bank said no. I gave a CPF & I am married to a Brazilian National . I have an address here as well.
Thanx

If you have a CRNM, CPF, and an address in Brazil, you should be good to go to open a bank acct. But there are banks that rejects americans not only in Brazil but also abroad because they are obligated to report american accounts to the US under FATCA regs.

I tried to open an account at Santander to be used for cryptocurrency trading and I haven´t heard a word from them since then. They said the amount was too big and they know about their obligation to report to the US about accounts like that.

Americans who has more than $10,000 in a foreign bank acct are under the FBAR rules to report on FinCen 114 of that said bank acct.

robal

lbowen13 wrote:

What Bank?? I tried to do the same and the bank said no. I gave a CPF & I am married to a Brazilian National . I have an address here as well.
Thanx

CPF alone will not let you open an account as Robal stated. CRMN is required for am expat to open a bank account.  Just having a residence is a good start, but that is a smaller part of CRNM process.

I took my cpf from the IRS as a foreigner.  Have fixed residence here at home in Brazil.  I opened the bank account at Bank do Brasil. I didn't do anything special. Not sure what else to say.

brazil_cyberpat wrote:

I took my cpf from the IRS as a foreigner.  Have fixed residence here at home in Brazil.  I opened the bank account at Bank do Brasil. I didn't do anything special. Not sure what else to say.

Presumably, you had your CRNM as well as your CPF.  If Banco do Brasil opened an account for you without a CRNM, or at least the Protocolo showing that the Polícia Federal had issued you  RNM and the card was on its way, then you are Powerball-Winner lucky:  hope you bought a ticket before you left. 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I will be perm residence from marriage of Brazilian National. I looked for international mail service but did not find any. My plan was to use escapees for mail scanning and if i need hard copy quick i will send to family to forward out of USA.-@brazil_cyberpat

Are you a Permanent Resident yet? I have been waiting for almost 6 months for my lawyer´s to get me my Permanent Resident Visa by Spouse.