Immigraion To Brazil

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Investor visas

Brazil’s National Immigration Council (NIC) lowered the amount of investment needed for obtaining a permanent residency in Brazil to US$50,000 on 6th October 2004. This investment can be made by investing in real estate and by satisfying the following conditions. The investor needs a copy of his passport, proof of address in his home country and a power of attorney to enable the process to be begun in Brazil. The usual method is to form a Brazilian company, following which a bank account is opened. US$50,000 is transferred from the investor’s account abroad to his new corporate account in Brazil. In order to begin this process it is necessary to apply for a Brazilian tax number (called a CPF number). Banco Central do Brasil (the regulatory State bank) issues a certificate, that the money has been brought from abroad, after which the visa application is filed in Brazil and once approved by the Ministry of Labour, the visa will be issued but the visa will be sent for collection by you to the Brazilian Consulate in your country of origin. Entry to Brazil with the visa must be effected within 90 days of issue. The visa is subject to review after five years.

It is certainly advisable to have professional advice in relation to these processes. The Consulates-General of countries represented in Brazil often have lists of professionals who can help with the technicalities involved.

Moreover, when you are buying real estate in Brazil, note two things: first, there are estate agents advertising properties on the internet and they often seek to charge the buyer a commission, of up to 5%; whereas when buying through a Brazilian agent in Brazil it is only the vendor who pays commission. Secondly, never use a lawyer (called an Advogado in Brazil) unless he has been personally recommended to you by someone that you know and trust or who is on a list held by a Consulate General or is a member of an internationally recognized firm 20 of lawyers. It is also worth noting that we know of at least one instance where property has been advertised for sale fraudulently and unsuspecting foreigners have transferred funds to Brazil and the ‘vendor’ then ran off with the money, leaving no trace - and there being no title to the property for sale. One of the Advogados whom we used tried to dupe us into transferring him an extra R$10,000 to pay taxes which he had vastly inflated in order to defraud us of the difference. In the event, he simply failed to account to us for the remaining R$8,000 which he already had. We counted our lucky stars that, for some reason, he had not chosen to run off with much more. When such things happen, there is little point in expecting much redress from the police or the professional organizations. They will take statements and contact details and then, one suspects, file it all in the cylindrical
filing cabinet under the desk or, at best in the tray marked ‘LBW‘ - Let the Blighters Wait.

When you are dealing even with Brazilian professionals, do not be surprised if they do not turn up for a pre-arranged meeting and, even if you travel a couple of hours to keep an appointment, and your adviser does not show up. Do not be surprised either if they do not trouble to call you to cancel. After a stiff protest on an answer phone or by e-mail, after a couple of days, they will reply with a long shaggy-dog story about a dead relative and a mad rush across the country to console an aged widow or something of the kind. The apologies will be profuse and insincere - because some (not all, but some) do this kind of thing as matter of course. If you express disbelief and further disappointment, they may well shrug and smile resignedly and say ‘This is Brazil’.