Great news! Brazil just launched this year a Digital Nomad Visa – the first South American country to do so 🎉 If you’re a remote worker, freelancer, or entrepreneur, and you’d like to enjoy Brazil for longer than the 90-day tourist visa allows it: the new Brazilian Digital Nomad Visa is made for you! ✅
🇫🇷 living in 🇧🇷 for 4 years
Hi there, I’m Milo! I am French 🇫🇷 and I’ve been living in Brazil for more than four years now 🇧🇷 I had four different kinds of Brazilian visas already… and all of them required a special kind of torture to go through 😩
Let me be your guide in the administrative jungle of Brazil! 🧙🏻♀️
Quick summary ⤵️ click or scroll down for details
- How do I qualify for the visa?
- How can I apply for the visa? + full list of required documents and where to get them
- Where, when, and how should I apply for the visa?
- How long is the visa process?
- Is it renewable?
- Can I travel outside of Brazil while on the visa?
- Video interview of a Brazilian immigration lawyer 🎤 taxation, freelancers unstable income, and more!
- I got the visa… What’s next?
Information up to date in June 2022.
How do I qualify for the Digital Nomad Visa?
Who can qualify for the VITEM XIV (Brazilian Digital Nomad Visa)?
- remote workers (i.e. you’re working remotely for a company outside Brazil)
- freelance workers (i.e. you’re a contractor for companies outside of Brazil)
- entrepreneurs (i.e. you have your own company/you’re self-employed)
- in both cases, you earn more than USD 1,500/month OR you can prove you have at least USD 18,000 in savings (convert into your preferred currency)
How can I apply for the visa?
To apply for the visa, you need to first collect all the documents listed below. Once you’ve gathered all of them, you’ll have to book an appointment at your local Brazilian consulate or embassy (depending on the country/city). This appointment is in person, it cannot be done online.
| Document | More information |
| valid passport | Your passport must be valid for six months beyond your date of entry + it needs to have two consecutive white pages available in it |
| one passport photo | The photo must be recent, against a white background, in the local standard specifications (3.5 x 4.5 cm) |
| birth certificate | Most countries have an easy free online process to ask for this document: type on google “birth certificate” in your local language and it will prompt you to a government website where you can ask for it – and sometimes in English. Make sure your passport name matches your birth certificate name ⚠️ |
| the visa online application form | Here’s a direct link to the form. You will have to fill it with basic information (name, parents’ names, passport number, etc) and add the documents mentioned below as scans |
| the contract of international health insurance you contracted | Make sure the insurance you buy is covering the country of Brazil and COVID-related issues. You can find some by googling it. Here’s the one I used to cover one of my visas – a few accidents I had made it 100% worth it 😅 |
| the receipt of payment of the visa fees | This is a part of the visa online application form: at some point in the process, it will ask you to pay by card a fee. It costs $100 / 100€ for most countries. |
| the proof of free criminal record from your country of origin | Most countries have an easy free online process to ask for this document: type on google “criminal record” in your local language and it will prompt you to a government website. The form is simple: names, date of birth, address, etc. Most times, it will offer you an English version of the document. Police checks are valid for up to 3 months from the date of issue ⚠️ |
| legal proof of your digital nomad status | Here are examples of documents you can provide: – employment contract (if you work remotely) OR – contract of incorporation (if you have your own company) OR – declaration of self-employment (if you’re a freelancer: here, it depends on the available legal statuses available in your country – for example, auto-entrepreneur in France, micro-entrepreneur in the USA, etc) OR – if you do not have any of these documents, I encourage you to establish your micro-business (in Europe, it doesn’t cost anything or it costs a minor fee) |
| a declaration attesting to your digital nomad status | Here’s a Google Doc template you can copy and modify with your info ☺️ (yes, the declaration is as simple as that) |
| the proof that you can sustain yourself in Brazil | Here are examples of documents you can provide: – a proof that your company is paying you at least 1500 USD/month (for example, a payment slip) OR – show a minimum of 18,000 USD in your bank account (bank statement + document showing the conversion of the day in USD if your bank account is in a different currency) In both cases, and if your revenues are in a different currency, make sure to include a document (from an official banking website for example) showing the conversion of the day in USD |
When should I apply for the visa?
As soon as you can!
Question: What if I plan to go next year?
↪️ It doesn’t matter. The 1-year duration only starts from the moment you step foot on the Brazilian territory. For example, if you get your visa in December 2022, you will have until December 2023 to use it. After that 1 year period, your visa won’t be valid anymore and you’ll have to apply for a new one.
Question: Can I get it at the last minute?
↪️ Highly, highly, highly, not advisable. The Brazilian administration is well-known for taking their time and nitpicking at any error they will find in your application. Depending on your city, it can get up to one month to get another appointment at the local Brazilian consulate 😰
Question: When should I get it then?
↪️ I highly advise you to get it as soon as possible. Once you get this huge stressor out of the way, you’ll be free to focus on other major details like accommodation or flights.
Where should I apply for the visa?
👉 At your local Brazilian consulate. Here’s a link to the official list of Brazilian consulates throughout the world. Find yours!
How long is the visa process?
Your local consulate will have up to two months to deliver your visa – but usually, it’s delivered in approximately one month.
So, let’s recap! Ideally, your calendar should look like this:
- 5 months before departure: gathering all the documents and information needed to apply; getting an appointment at your local Brazilian consulate.
- 4 months before departure: appointment at the Brazilian consulate; wait for the application to be processed OR go back to step one and try to get the missing documents/info.
- 3 months before departure: one more chance to get your application accepted and processed OR receive your visa 🎉
- 2 months before departure: Congrats! Time to plan your trip! ✈️
This is the ideal plan. If you apply one month before your departure – I actually believe it’s feasible too! I would only advise you to avoid the “Consulate stress” if you can.
Is it renewable?
👉 YES! It is renewable for one more year. So far, no information has been provided by the Brazilian immigration authorities to renew it for more years. In total, you can stay for two years on a Digital Nomad Visa in Brazil.
Can I travel outside of Brazil while on the visa?
👉 Yes, you can! You can easily go back to visit your country for Christmas or visit surrounding Latin American countries during your stay in Brazil, and come back with no issues! But remember that your visa period will start running as soon as you step foot in Brazil. For example: if you’re arriving in January 2023 and you decide to spend 3 months in Argentina, your visa expiration date (January 2024) will not be postponed because you “didn’t use” three months of the visa.
Video interview with a Brazilian immigration lawyer
Timestamps 👉 7:01, who can apply ; 9:10, where to apply ; 10:45, duration of the visa ; 11:24, the required documents to apply ; 16:28, his contact info if you’d like to get in touch with him ; 17:13, a renewable visa? ; 17:35, freelancers and unstable income ; 20:04, can you pretend you have 18k on your bank account? 👀 ; 42:45, taxation for digital nomads in Brazil.
I got my visa 🎉 What’s next?
- Choose your departure date
- Book your flight ticket
- Book a short-term Airbnb to look for a long-term place to live in
- Once you arrived, make sure to register at the Federal Police (all visas have to do this mandatory step) – I’m writing a step-by-step post right now! ☺️
Make sure to sign up to my newsletter as I’ll be posting soon about: what are the best neighborhoods to live in Rio ; how to get around in Rio (metro VS bus VS Uber VS taxi) ; top destinations to travel outside of Rio for the weekend – and more ☺️
First, this is a treasure! It is so hard to find some info for going to Brazil that is somewhat current. Great job! I will definitely be following your blog. If you have the time, I had one quick question, since you are now the expert in this realm; I plan to go to Brazil in about half a year. Is it true since 2019 a US citizen can simply book a ticket and show up to Brazil and stay for the tourist 3 months, without getting a Visa in advanced? Would it then still be possible to get an extension for 6 months? Thank you so much, you are now the authority for the English speaker going to Brazil. There was a vacuum and you filled it!
All the Best : )
Hi! Omg thank you so much for your comment!! 🥺 I’m happy this is useful for someone!!
Yes, I confirm, American tourists do not need a visa to travel to Brazil! Your stay will be limited to 90 days, renewable for 90 more days (total of 180 days in Brazil).
Official source: http://miami.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/traveling_to_brazil.xml
If you’re interested about the daily life in Brazil – feel free to follow the blog on Instagram too ☺️ https://www.instagram.com/miloinrio
I post the costs of everything, fun facts, useful info… But I’ll start posting on this blog every week also! I’ll be writing about accommodations, safety, food, and more ☺️
Thank you for following!
Does the documents like background check, passport, birth certificate need to be apostilled? If so, does it have to apostilled when you submit it in the online application or in person?
Hi Milo! Thank goodness I found your post, this was super helpful. My only question is, do you know of other ways to pay the fee? I’m already in Brazil and completed this process to extend my visitor visa (printing the receipt, going to the bank to pay it, etc.), but I can’t find what the code is for the digital nomad visa. There isn’t anything clear that costs ~$100, so I’m not really sure how to go about paying this. It wasn’t part of the application process, so maybe as a Canadian I don’t have to pay it? Do you happen to know anything about this?
Thanks!