Moving to Marau, Bahia

We are a family in The Netherlands with 3 kids.
Of which 2 born in the USA.
We want to emigrate to Brazil.
Buy a pousada there. And hope to get a permanent residence visa.
Were looking at Marau, Bahia.
Hoping to leave the Netherlands in the first week of November.
Can we enter on a tourist visa?
Can we buy a house while we are there on the tourist visa and than apply for a permanent residence visa?
For Bahia it is a 750.000 Reais  real estate investment to apply for a permanent residence visa. If I am correct.
How long does this process take as we can maybe extend the tourist visa to 180 days?
Would we have to leave the country? 
For my sons I have their birth certificates. However they have a Dutch passport.
What other paperwork would I need?
After we have sold our house here we would need to transfer the money to a bank account in Brazil to buy the house there.
However I read that you cannot open one if you dont have a residence permit.

Can you please give us more information?
It is all quite overwhelming.

We greatly appreciate it🙏🏼

Ivonne and Remco

Welcome, Ivonne and Remco,
I am glad you posted this. You will get help from many.
Yes, you can enter on a tourist visa and buy a home.
I will address Permanent Residency (PR) by buying a home.
Buying a home will not grant you the right to apply for a PR.
To become eligible for an ​investor visa a foreigner must invest R$ 500,000 in either an already existing Brazilian legal entity or in a new Brazilian legal entity. Therefore, they need to set up a company first, then wire in the capital (R$500,000) to the bank account of the legal entity, and only then apply for the visa.
If you are planning to live in your 100% and not rent some of the property you may not qualify.
There is a Retirement Visa if you are over 60 years of age. In order to apply one should do this at your nearest BR Embassy. One may apply in Brazil, but a slightly diffrent process.

I am going to stop here and you can digest what I have mentioned, and allow others to add advice.
If you meet one of the above, let us know.

08/22/21

Hi, Ivonne and Remco,

All the information that Texanbrazil has given above is accurate.

If your intent is to request residency on the basis of investment, you might want to consider applying for an Investor Visa (VITEM IX), rather than trying to enter on tourist visas.  Your investment plans will need to be approved by several agencies in Brazil to obtain authorization for residency, and without either the guidance of the visa process or a representative in Brazil, that may be challenging.   A VITEM IX will give you more time to get your affairs in order in Brazil, and much of the required documentation can be reused for your residency application.

As long as your children are under 18, there should be no problem including them in your residency application.  The US birth of two of them shouldn't cause complications if they're also Dutch citizens and residents.  If they're over 18 and fulltime students financially dependent on you, it will still probably be possible.  Disabled children who are totally dependent on their parents can enter with them at any age.  Otherwise, adult children ordinarily will not qualify.

You might want to take a look at the Dutch Brazilian Chamber of Commerce's publication, "Compass Guide -- Doing Business in Brazil".  Its information looks pretty current, although it is unfortunately light on qualifying for residency:

https://www.flipsnack.com/dutcham/dutch … razil.html

Because of exchange rate fluctuations, you probably don't want to transfer your funds until you've found a house and are ready to make a deal.  You can't hold Euros in Brazilian accounts, so your Euros will be converted to Reais as soon as you make the transfer.  At that point, you should have established a relationship with an attorney, so you should be able to satisfy yourselves that the title on the property is clean, and that you can make a secure transfer.

Looking forward to your next questions.  :top:

Congratulations on your decision, I am originally from Iceland and I love Brasil.

If I were in your complicated shoes, I would hire a professional to help you. Mine was nothing by comparison, but he did everything and so easily.

Thank you for your information. Yes we will be fully focusing on investing in Real Estate.
I have heard that in the north the investment should be a minimum of 750.000 Reais.
In the south a minimum of 1 million Reais.
Is this still considered the investment visa you talk about?
My twin boys of 14 years have autism and fully dependent. My daughter os 9.

Thank you for your reply.
Yes we want to hire a qualified and knowledgeable laywer. We have one (not hired yet) but they're all new with this and it is taking a lot of time.
Do you have anyone who you can recommend?

Thank you for your reply!
Yes we only want investment via Real Estate.
Not in a business as it will take alot longer and is too complicated of what a lawyer there said.
He told us the quick duration is around 6 months with the possibility they decline the 3 year business plan.
So not an option if we enter on a tourist visa.
Real estate is the only way to go than. That is easy.
Can we start by applying for a CPF already?

Ivonne and Remco,
Yes, you can apply for a CPF at any time. An Embassy can issue one or online the Receita Federal website.
I am not aware of the requirements for purchases you mention. The immigration law states a minimum of $R 500.000,00/ for an investment visa.
Who is "he"?
tex

“He” is the lawyer we talked to.
And 500.000 Reais in in a business which is extremely complicated they told us. You need a 3 year business plan that in the end either gets qualified or denied still.
It is too much risk for our family to find out after 6 months if the business plan gets denied. It goes over too many desks as well.
So we're looking for the easiest way without least risk.

RemcoIvonne wrote:

“He” is the lawyer we talked to.
And 500.000 Reais in in a business which is extremely complicated they told us. You need a 3 year business plan that in the end either gets qualified or denied still.
It is too much risk for our family to find out after 6 months if the business plan gets denied. It goes over too many desks as well.
So we're looking for the easiest way without least risk.


That is news to me.  As you progress, please keep us posted:  if successful, I'm sure that others will want to follow in your footsteps.

If you're running a pousada, the tax information in the Chamber of Commerce material will still be of value to you.  At the very least, it will provide some informed questions to pose to your attorney.

I stand  by my advice on the timing of your transfer.   The Real loses value against the Euro most days, and there's no need to buy into that before you have to, or with any more of your funds than you need.  The transfer is not hard to make, but it does need to be explained to the Central Bank, and that's very straightforward if it's about a specific property, and not just a big lump of money.  If you continue to maintain at least one Euro account in the  Netherlands and transfer funds as you need them, you'll have more control over your exchange exposure, and an easier time with transactions like paying your European credit cards, which you probably should keep.

How are the educational resources for the children in the area where you're planning to live?

How did the lawyer say s/he would get you a permanent resident visa?
He the lawyer knows a "loophole " we all would love to know.
As I mention (english version) the law for investment and retirement are very specific.
Since no family in Brazil, the family reunion permanent visa would not apply.
I find no migration law for buying property and applying for a CRNM.
All applications will go through many desks, but if there is a way the PF will issue a "protocol" that gives the applicant extra days to complete the application.

Hi Ivonne and Remco,

I initially applied for an investment Visa based on buying Real Estate at the required level of funding in the South of Brazil but this was rejected with the advice that such an Investment Visa does not or no longer exists.

Thanks, FR267
After 2017 laws changed this type of visa.
Thanks agin

The Brazilian Consulate in Amsterdam has told us about the investment in Real Estate. You will have to live there yourself. And it HAS to be URBAN. Not rural!
South is 1 million Reais. North is 750.000 Reais.
Bank transfer via Central bank as proof where there will be asked for purchase contract.

Here are the requirements for the investment visa:
VITEM IX – Investment

This type of visa requires to start the process in Brazil. The Brazilian company or institution must file a petition for temporary residency authorization at the Ministry of Justice (“Ministério da Justiça”). Only after the authorization is granted, the applicant will be able to apply for a work visa at the Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles.


Eligibility:

1) Administrator, manager, director or executive with supervising responsibilitities over a foreign corporation or society that intends to invest in a Brazilian counterpart;

2) Individual who intends to invest at least R$ 500.000,00 in a Brazilian company/enterprise;

3) Individual who intends to invest at least R$ 150.000,00 in a Brazilian startup;

4) Individual who intends to inves at least R$ 700.000,00 in real estate in the North or Northeast regions of Brazil;

5) Individual who intends to invest at least R$ 1.000.000,00 in real estate in the Center West, Southeast or South regions of Brazil.

So, if you want to live in the North or Northeast you need to spend at least R$ 700.000, for the other regions at least R$1.000.000

You may consider this as semantics but it is not.  Please remember, there is no longer such a thing as a "PERMANENT VISA" unless you a citizen of Uruguay.  The legal authority and allowed time period of stay will be on your CRNM.  Another thing to remember is Tax Residency is a completely different thing and you'll need to read about that here:  Instrução Normativa SRF nº 208, de 27 de setembro de 2002

As mentioned by others, you don't have to enter with a VITEM visa to receive a CRNM, but it makes the process alot easier, because much of the checking, etc. is done when you apply for your VITEM Visa.  When you receive your VISA, they will also tell you what documents you will need to take to the PF.