How to get a Brazilian investor visa

The most straightforward answer to the question of “how can I get a permanent residency visa in Brazil?” is invariably through marriage to a Brazilian citizen, or having a child in the country. The spouses or parents of Brazilian citizens are given near-automatic residency status, and even full citizenship is facilitated in these cases. But, of course, barring a prior relationship, marriage and/or having children is anything but straightforward.

While temporary work and study permits are available, there are relatively strict conditions to obtain permanent residence in Brazil, besides the so-called “family reunion” visas. Among the possible avenues are indefinite visas for investors.

Individuals can obtain a permanent visa by investing a minimum of BRL 500,000 (USD 91,000) in a Brazilian company, or opening their own firm in the country with the aforementioned amount of equity.

Furthermore, in the case of opening one’s own company, the applicant must prove to the Brazilian authorities that the venture will create jobs, demonstrated by way of a three-year business plan. This document must contain information about the company’s location, services provided, and the implementation of investment, as well as detailed hiring plans and wage structures for staff.

Job creation is a crucial part of investor visas, but business plans should also be conservative. If, at the end of a three-year period, a foreigner’s company has not fulfilled the promises laid out during the visa application, their right to reside in the country may be revoked.

While there is no legal minimum number of promised jobs to obtain an investor visa, our experience suggests that planning for at least three paid employees is desirable.

With a business plan in place, it must be presented along with the applicant’s passport, the company’s articles of incorporation, proof of direct foreign investment of at least BRL 500,000, and receipts for the payment of visa fees.

These visas can either be issued in any Brazilian consulate around the world, or from within Brazil, via the Federal Police.

Investor visas, in numbers

Indeed, individual investor visas are not common, making up just a tiny fraction of permanent residency permits in Brazil. In 2019, a total of 182,931 visas were issued; 24,576 of these were permanent and just 131 were investor visas — just 0.05 percent of all permanent residency permits. French and Italian citizens were the most common applicants, with 22 new permanent residents apiece, followed by China with 13 and eight each from Germany and Portugal.

The percentage was even lower in 2018, with just 0.03 percent of all permanent visas going to investors. Of the measly total of 102 successful applicants, 25 were Chinese and 16 were Italian.

Meanwhile, what jumps out in the data is the location where these visas were obtained. Unsurprisingly, the economic capital of São Paulo leads the way, but the northeastern coastal cities of Fortaleza, Aquiraz, and Fortim (in Ceará state) appear regularly, as does the tiny Rio Grande do Norte municipality of Tibau do Sul, which encompasses the famous Pipa beach.[/restricted]