Brazil's real-estate investor residence: R$ 1 million

What the law says about owning and residing

Article 35 of the Migration Law: “The possession or ownership of property in Brazil does not confer the right to obtain a visa or residence authorisation in the national territory, without prejudice to what is provided on a visa for carrying out an investment.” So the question is not whether you own, but whether you meet the investment rule. Since the law of 2017 the official term is “residence authorisation” rather than “permanent visa”; this changes tax residence, covered in tax residency in Brazil for property owners.

Conditions (RN 36/2018, art. 2)

• Who: an individual who intends, “with own funds of foreign origin”, to invest in Brazilian real estate (art. 1, sole paragraph).
• What: acquisition of property “located in an urban area” for an amount “equal to or greater than R$ 1,000,000.00”, either already built or under construction.
• North and Northeast: the minimum “may be lower by up to 30%” for property in these regions (art. 2, § 1). The arithmetic is 1,000,000 × 0.70 = R$ 700,000; the resolution states the 30% ceiling, so confirm the exact threshold applied to your state and city with the authority.
• Several properties: the sum of more than one property owned by the applicant can reach the threshold (§ 2).
• Co-ownership: allowed only if each co-owner has invested the full minimum (art. 3, § 1). A couple buying one R$ 1,000,000 home therefore gets one qualifying investment, not two; see buying with a foreign spouse.
• Financing: a loan may cover only the part above R$ 1,000,000 (art. 3, § 2).

Payotte read the consolidated text on the Ministry of Justice page (including the 2021 amendment) and the wording of Resolution CNIg/MJSP 49/2024 for the documents. It did not verify later changes to the amounts or the thresholds beyond those two texts. Check the Ministry’s page the week you apply.

Documents (art. 3, as worded by Resolution 49/2024)

The application is a prior request for residence authorisation, from which a temporary visa is granted. For a finished property:

• the Registro Geral do Imóvel (the property record, matrícula) showing the investor’s ownership, free of liens;
• a declaration from an institution “authorised or registered in the national territory with the Central Bank of Brazil, attesting the international transfer of capital for the acquisition of the properties”.

For a property under construction: a registered purchase promise, a declaration of the international capital transfer (for the price or the down payment), the building permit (alvará) and the registered Memorial de Incorporação. The resolution adds other documents under CNIg Resolution 01/2017, which Payotte did not read. The Ministry may carry out on-site inspections to verify the investment (§ 3).

This is why the route of the funds matters from the first transfer: see sending money to Brazil. A transfer that cannot be shown as an international capital transfer cannot support the application. The CPF is also needed first; see CPF for foreigners.

Duration and presence

• Four years of initial residence (art. 3, § 4).
• After that, the authorisation can be changed to an indefinite term if the investment conditions are still met, with a copy of the CRNM (the national migrant registry card) and criminal-record certificates (art. 5).
• Presence: the investor “must remain in the national territory for at least 14 days, consecutive or not, in each period of two years”, counted from registration with the Federal Police (art. 6).

Payotte did not read the application fee, the processing time or the handling of the visa by consulates. Check these with a Brazilian consulate and the Federal Police; the consulate pages for Toronto, Montréal, London and New York were behind a CAPTCHA, which Payotte did not bypass.

Tax consequences

Residence is not the same as tax residence, which depends on length of stay and other rules. For the Receita Federal, someone arriving with a permanent visa becomes resident on arrival; one with a temporary visa becomes resident at 184 days in 12 months, or on obtaining a permanent visa (IN SRF 208/2002, art. 2). The text still uses “permanent visa”, and its match to “residence authorisation” is a reading. Becoming resident changes taxes on rent and on sale: see non-resident rental income tax and non-resident capital gains tax.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with the OAB who handles immigration and property can verify that the property, the funds and the documents fit the resolution, and a Brazilian consulate or the Federal Police handle the procedure. A bank authorised by the Central Bank issues the capital-transfer declaration. See the property lawyer page.