Retirement Visa for Brazil

Thanks to all for great information in this thread above.

1. Does anyone have experience with the Brazilian consulate in Miami? Your posts above seem to imply that the San Francisco consulate is very efficient and helpful. As a resident of Miami, can I go through them, or are there boundaries?

2. Is it still true that the retirement visa is good for only one year, and that a re-application must be done every year? (What a pain!)

3. Like most countries, Brazil demands that anyone entering the country must declare funds in excess of a certain amount. I forget what Brazil's limit was, but I remember it was lower than most countries. What happens if a person honestly does declare that he has more than the minimum? A tax? A requirement to prove that the money was honestly earned?

Thanks again for the invaluable information in the thread above.

Oi Getting on,
Since you are in Miami, you must use the Miami Consulate. Each BR consulate has specific areas, I have not heard anything negative as to the Miami Consulate.

what about the L.A. consulate? I'm in Arizona so I will have to use them. Everything in L.A. right now seems to be a big mess?  Has anyone used the consulate there?

I do not recall a discussion as to L.A. We did have a good friend and member on Expat. He moved back to L.A. and does not follow Expat anymore.
Their website appears to be up to date as to VITEM XIV *retirement visa*

http://losangeles.itamaraty.gov.br/en-u … ml#vitem14

thanks

Just in case anyone has not seen the jurisdictional map of Brazilian Consulates within the USA, here it is.

When you begin any visa process with one particular Consulate, part of your paperwork package includes evidence that you do indeed reside within their jurisdiction, ie. bills, driver's license, tax statements...

http://washington.itamaraty.gov.br/en-u … the_us.xml

Just seeking confirmation: Is the retirement visa good for one year only, so that the application process must be re-done as if starting from scratch? Or is there some kind of renewal process that is less onerous?

There is a renewal process. They just check for financial changes is my understanding.
The initial term of the temporary visa and residency is up to two years, as decided by the Federal Police. If two years isn't enough, you can always request to renew the visa or even ask for a permanent visa.

01/27/22

Getting on wrote:

Just seeking confirmation: Is the retirement visa good for one year only, so that the application process must be re-done as if starting from scratch? Or is there some kind of renewal process that is less onerous?

There's a difference between the visa and the authorization for residency.  Once you have the visa, you have up to one year to present yourself at a Federal Police office in Brazil and apply for your authorization for residency.   If you don't do that within a year, the visa expires; if you do, you're then in the Justice Ministry's residents system,  and the visa is irrelevant.  You'll have a CRNM, a Migration Registry Card, that serves as your Brazilian resident ID.

You'll probably have to renew your CRNM every two years,  at least at first  - this is still new, and the rules are in some flux.  But you'll be able to do that at the Federal Police, and won't need to leave the country to do it.

Thanks so much, to all.

True? A non-speaker of Portuguese might have to have a translator or a lawyer if presenting oneself to the Federal Police? Can you direct me to the form to be filled out in order to enter the Justice Ministry's residents system, to get the CRNM?

abthree wrote:

The Brazilian Government has approved a replacement for the old Permanent Visa for Retirees, that was eliminated for new applicants as part of the 2017 Immigration Reform.

As was the case with the old Permanent Visa (VIPER) for family reunion, the new visa for retirees is a temporary visa, probably in the VITEM series.  Visaholders will need to apply to the Federal Police once they arrive in Brazil to receive authorization to remain, and their CRNM.  The authoritative document is:
"Resolução Normativa No. 40, de 2 de Outubro de 2019", published in the Diário Oficial da União on November 27, 2019.  You can read it here:   
http://www.in.gov.br/web/dou/-/resoluca … e%25202019

Initial validity is for two years; terms of renewal are left to future Normative Resolutions.  The minimum requirement for monthly income transfers to Brazil continues to be $2000 US.  One new requirement is proof that the applicant has health insurance valid in Brazil already in force.

________________


Questions I saw this morning from a FB group, and after reading through all of this just now, I admit I have not see the answers to these two questions.

*Is there a minimum age for the Retirement Visa?

*Would a retiree from another country, living in Brazil with a Retirement Visa be allowed to work in Brazil?

Thank you

01/29/22

@rraypo

Those are excellent questions, and I don't know that they've been answered yet.

Under the old retirement visa, the answers were clear:  60 was the minimum age,  and employment was prohibited. 

That visa was deleted by the 2017 law, not modified, so the new one is being created from scratch;  I don't know whether they've addressed those issues systematically yet.

In the old visa the age was 50, and it was changed to 60 in line with the increase in Brazilian retirement age for government employees. Which means this could change again because this is an ongoing topic for discussion due to the immense burden of the public employee pension cost to Brazil.

01/29/22

Sorry for going off-topic, but I want to get this word out ASAP.

There is HUGE news this week for potential digital nomads in Brazil.  The National Immigration Council has finally published the regulation making it possible for digital nomads to obtain residency.  See this thread for details:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=973331

abthree wrote:

01/29/22

Sorry for going off-topic, but I want to get this word out ASAP.

There is HUGE news this week for potential digital nomads in Brazil.  The National Immigration Council has finally published the regulation making it possible for digital nomads to obtain residency.  See this thread for details:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=973331

Ya me and the wife were talking about this, I think brazil has been watching the status of what people are doing when they come, lets face it recetia federal knows everything we are doing in brazil haha!

But this is a very very huge step for brazil, glad to see it going progressive here on this aspect.

01/29/22

Mikeflanagan wrote:

Ya me and the wife were talking about this, I think brazil has been watching the status of what people are doing when they come, lets face it recetia federal knows everything we are doing in brazil haha!

But this is a very very huge step for brazil, glad to see it going progressive here on this aspect.

Very true!  In addition, Rio de Janeiro requested the Federal Government to do this, and has launched a municipal program to encourage it.   Still, Brasília has been sitting on it for months.

Most likely needing to mull over rules and regulations. While immigration here may seem sloppy. I feel it's more by design. This way they can pin / wrap it all up and have it as a pseudo tourist rule. Longer people are here the more money they spend right

Mikeflanagan wrote:

Most likely needing to mull over rules and regulations. While immigration here may seem sloppy. I feel it's more by design. This way they can pin / wrap it all up and have it as a pseudo tourist rule. Longer people are here the more money they spend right

_____
Nothing better than a long-term tourist with a consistent source of verifiable income from another country, and mandatory health insurance.

01/29/22

Mikeflanagan wrote:

Most likely needing to mull over rules and regulations.

I agree.

I suspect that they still had some serious disagreements to resolve even after they thought it was finalized, probably with the Economy/Labor and the Health Ministries, who aren't part of the Council and don't usually get a vote on these things, and maybe even within the Foreign Ministry and the Federal Police themselves.   

The regulation is dated September 9, 2021, but wasn't published until this past Monday.  That's highly unusual. 

01/29/22

rraypo wrote:

Nothing better than a long-term tourist with a consistent source of verifiable income from another country, and mandatory health insurance.

As we've discussed in this space before, I've been convinced for years that a subtle but strong thread of xenophobia runs through Brazilian culture, across all classes and the whole political spectrum.  On the Left it often disguises itself as simple anti-Americanism, but there's more to it than that.  On the Right it's less specific, but often even stronger. 

This is the kind of measure that could easily run afoul of that.  I'd be surprised if that weren't involved in the publication delay, and if it doesn't cause some foot-dragging in the implementation.

cant say as I blame them ....I've got a pretty  strong streak of anti-americanism myself, these days .....

Brazil has always been xenophobic,just look at the condition of afro brazilians,u will not see many blacks who own a car,in a historical measure,slavery ended here a couple of days ago,least in the us,weve had a black prez,and a vice.

How does this talk about xenophobic relate to the tile of this discussion Retirement Visa for Brazil. It seem this not what this thread was about. Maybe stop talking about the negative and what positive how to get a Retirement Visa.

Ask abthree

01/30/22

NewBrazil wrote:

How does this talk about xenophobic relate to the tile of this discussion Retirement Visa for Brazil. It seem this not what this thread was about. Maybe stop talking about the negative and what positive how to get a Retirement Visa.

It relates to the (admittedly off-topic but important) news that digital nomadism is now legal in Brazil, and that the regulation took an unusual four months to be published after it was completed and approved. 

Everything in Brazil takes a long time. It simply isn't a culture that moves that quickly, preferring to take a lot of time at each step of the way. I'm an attorney and talk to Brazilian lawyers every week. It took them about three times as long as the U.S. to reform their tax code and it still isn't complete. It has nothing to do with xenophobia or any form of prejudice.

I've been spending serious time in Bahia living with the people here ....recently along with the renewed flames of racism being kindled by the Democratic Party and the MSM in the USA, there have been a few attempts to suggest that there is racism here in Bahia.  The concept is more than absurd.....because nobody here even knows what they are, nobody at all is purebred, every single citizen is mixed .....people have been interbreeding here for 500 years .....
Sorry to bring this up here, but I feel obliged to counter the misinformation from the corporate tyrants.

Question of Clarification about Retirement Visa/Residency requirements:

That Normative Resolution #40 states that you need to have proof of retirement and at least $2000 US dollars a month or OTHER income.  I am 60, and currently receiving SSDI for disability and haven't been able to work for 2 + years. My Disability and other income from disability insurance are more than the $2000/month minimum.  I also have have a pension that would add to this down the road, but haven't begun to draw on this yet. 

Based on what people know about the system in Brazil, am I eligible for this Retirement Visa?

Also, What are people using for International Health Insurance in Brazil?  One of the other Requirements...
I saw a few companies listed on this website.  Thoughts?

Thank you!

A disability income stream is still a regular income stream in support of a 'medical retirement', so yes, that would count as a pension the same as someone who is not disabled. Brazil does not discriminate against disabled people.

As far as insurance, I have looked at Cigna as offering the most comprehensive coverage, and it is considered the best international insurance. However, it is all about your budget, and there are links in this expat forum to a number of other options.

Cigna has three different levels of insurance, so if you are younger and want to pay less, you simply choose the lowest tier and risk paying some expenses out of pocket.

If you have ongoing medical issues, you might explore the highest option, which covers pretty much everything.

No issues as to an SSI statement. I would have A copy of the Pension Fund assets available.
Many years ago, I had an option to work or retirement buyout. No official paperwork just additional income in my bank.
I used the latest bank statements and IRA statements with no issue. (But I was a family reunion CRNM)
I would use travel health insurance and look at health plans in your area. Once approved you always have SUS. I am not a fan of out-of-pocket insurance and waiting on reimbursement.

02/01/22

mooseheadlaw wrote:

As far as insurance, I have looked at Cigna as offering the most comprehensive coverage, and it is considered the best international insurance. However, it is all about your budget, and there are links in this expat forum to a number of other options.

Cigna has three different levels of insurance, so if you are younger and want to pay less, you simply choose the lowest tier and risk paying some expenses out of pocket.

If you have ongoing medical issues, you might explore the highest option, which covers pretty much everything.

This is strongly dependent on (1.) where you plan to live; (2.) what you expect your ongoing medical needs to be like, and (3.) how much cash you have on hand.

We (my husband and I) had Cigna the first year I lived in Brazil, 2017-2018.  Their network may have improved since then, but for us living in Brazil's 7th largest city, it was strictly an indemnity plan:  we had to pay all bills in full, and they reimbursed us, less any deductibles and co-pays.  Their Scotland-based Customer Service was very easy to deal with, and their reimbursements were prompt in response to receipts and documents sent electronically.  They even believed that they had a network here, but in every case that we called a hospital or a medical practice that the Customer Service agent assured us was in their network, the answer was always the same:  "never heard of them".  They offered to provide Payment Guarantee letters, but the letters were only available in English, which is useless in most  Brazilian medical billing offices.  I hope that at least that has been corrected in the intervening years.

I want to stress that I don't think that anyone at Cigna knowingly lied to us.  I do think that somewhere in their internal game of Telephone, aspirational Marketing goals became Customer Service "information" that was passed on as accurate.

If you expect anything other than routine checkups and the like, and especially if you have ongoing medical issues, I strongly recommend asking each company whether they have providers where you want to live that accept direct reimbursement from them, obtain names and contact information for at least some of the hospitals that they claim (if they have hospitals that really are in-network, you can identify doctors through the hospitals when you get here), and contact some of those institutions directly to confirm the accuracy of what you've been told.

That's interesting that travel insurance would satisfy the retirement visa insurance requirement. It's much cheaper and, yes, that gives you the option of exploring local insurance plans, which might be less expensive.

That is a good point. PF may require proof, they did accept my 60-day travel insurance, but that was way before 2017 changes.
I did get a CPF in a week and registered with the SUS which helped.

What is the SUS?

02-01-22

MA22 wrote:

What is the SUS?

Sistema Único de Saúde, Brazil's national health system.

I don't understand, Texas Brazil. If retirement visas permit you to sign up for SUS automatically, why do you need to show proof of insurance?

Not sure about the new Retirement Visa.
I was able to sign up with SUS after I received my protocol from PF.
Again I applied for a family reunion. The PF never asked me for health Ins but I did show my Medicare and VA with the initial appication.
It was easy, I just went to SUS admin and showed protocol.

02/01/22

Texanbrazil wrote:

Not sure about the new Retirement Visa.
I was able to sign up with SUS a few months after I received my protocol from PF.
Again I applied for a family reunion.

We're going to have to wait to get some on-the-ground experience from people who have the new Retirement Visa (and the new Digital Nomad Visa!) to know what their status vis-à-vis SUS will be. The published regulations don't seem to address it at all.

On the one hand, both visas -- and the related PF Authorizations for Residency when the visaholder gets here -- require international health insurance applicable to Brazil, implying, to me at least, that the holders will not be eligible for SUS.  That is a brand new concept in Brazilian immigration law.  On the other hand, the 1988 Constitution requires the government to provide health care to everyone who lives in the country, regardless of citizenship -- nobody CAN be rejected. 

Up to now, if you've had a CRNM, you could get a SUS Card, no questions asked.  If that has changed, we may not know until someone actually gets rejected and reports back here.

Regardless, I'd recommend that anyone coming on one of these visas sign up for a Brazilian private health plan as soon as possible, regardless of their status with SUS.  It will be cheaper than an international plan, and the sooner you start the waiting period, the sooner you'll have full coverage.

TB, I am also a veteran (70% disabled) so I have an active V.A. card. Because I have this high rating, I'm Priority 1 (they pay for everything, no copays) and don't use Medicare.

Are you saying the VA card serves as proof of medical insurance if I also get the travel insurance?