Guide · Foreign buyers

Buying in Brazil with a foreign spouse or partner

Which law governs your marital property regime, what the deed records, the consent rule, and effects on rural land, visa and succession.

Checked on against the official sources at the bottom of the page.

In short

Which marital property regime applies to a couple who marry abroad is decided by the law of the country where the spouses were domiciled when they married (LINDB, art. 7, § 4), not by Brazilian rules. The Brazilian notary nevertheless records on the deed each buyer’s nationality, marital status and, where needed, the regime of property and the spouse’s name (Civil Code, art. 215, § 1, III). Both spouses need a CPF if they appear on the deed. Spousal consent (art. 1.647) concerns selling or encumbering, not buying, and Payotte found no text that settles how it interacts with a foreign regime.

Which law governs the regime

Article 7 of the LINDB (the Introduction to the Brazilian Law Rules): the law of the country where a person is domiciled governs “capacity and family rights”. Its § 4: “The regime of property, legal or conventional, obeys the law of the country where the spouses had their domicile, and, if this is different, that of the first marital domicile.”

For an English-speaking couple that normally means the law of the place where you lived when you married, not Brazilian law. Two examples of what this changes: a couple married in a community-property jurisdiction and one married under a separation regime may hold the Brazilian home differently. Payotte did not read either country’s family law here; for the home-country side, ask a lawyer in that country.

What the deed will say

Under art. 215, § 1, III of the Civil Code, the deed shows each party’s name, nationality, marital status, profession, domicile and residence, “with the indication, when necessary, of the marital property regime, name of the other spouse and parentage”. Practical consequences:

  • Who is on the title. A purchase by one spouse alone may still require the notary to record the regime. Whether the other spouse acquires an interest depends on the regime governing the marriage, which the notary will want to see documented (marriage certificate and, if the regime is conventional, the contract).
  • Documents from abroad. Foreign marriage certificates and contracts need an apostille where applicable and a sworn translation; see sworn translation and interpreter and power of attorney from abroad.
  • CPF. The obligation to hold a CPF applies to each person carrying out a property transaction (IN RFB 2.172, art. 4). See CPF for foreigners.
  • Unmarried partners. Payotte read no text on how a notary treats a stable union (união estável) of foreigners. Ask the notary who will draw the deed.

Civil Code, art. 1.647: “neither spouse can, without the authorisation of the other, except under the regime of absolute separation: I – alienate or encumber with a real right the real estate”. That text concerns selling or mortgaging, not buying. Two things follow:

  1. As a buyer, your own marital status matters mainly to what the deed says and to who owns the property afterwards.
  2. As a future seller or borrower, the consent rule may apply to you. Whether consent is needed when the marriage is governed by a foreign regime resembling separation of property is not settled by any text Payotte read; the notary’s practice, and the state’s rules for notaries, answer it. The rule for a Brazilian seller is explained in spousal consent (outorga conjugal).

Where a Brazilian spouse changes the picture

  • Rural land. The one-quarter municipal cap on foreign-owned land does not apply to a buyer “married to a Brazilian person under the regime of community of property” (Lei 5.709, art. 12, § 2, III). The other rural rules (INCRA authorisation, size limits) still apply; see rural land restrictions.
  • Succession. LINDB, art. 10, § 1: the succession of foreigners’ property in Brazil is governed by Brazilian law “for the benefit of the Brazilian spouse or children”, whenever the personal law of the deceased is not more favourable to them. See inheriting Brazilian property from abroad.

Where a couple’s status affects a visa

For the investor route, “each co-owner” must have invested the minimum (RN 36/2018, art. 3, § 1). A couple that buys one R$ 1,000,000 home jointly does not meet that rule for each of them. See the investor visa guide.

Ways to prepare

  1. Gather your marriage certificate and any marital agreement, with apostille and sworn translation.
  2. Decide before signing whether the property will be held by one spouse or both, and tell the notary the regime.
  3. Obtain a CPF for each spouse who will appear.
  4. Ask the lawyer how the foreign regime will be described and whether the notary will accept a declaration.
  5. Review the position on a future sale or loan, and on inheritance, with the lawyer.

What it costs

No extra official fee is attached to a foreign regime in the sources Payotte read. The deed fee follows the state table; see notary and registry fees and the purchase costs calculator. Apostilles and translations are separate costs.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with the OAB with cross-border family and property experience (and a lawyer in your home country for the foreign regime), plus the notary who will draw the deed. See the property lawyer page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Brazilian law decide my marital property regime?

For a couple married abroad, art. 7, § 4 of the LINDB points to the law of the country of the spouses’ domicile at marriage.

Does my spouse have to sign when I buy?

Art. 1.647 covers selling and encumbering. Payotte read no rule requiring the other spouse’s consent to a purchase; the notary decides what it needs for the deed.

Do both spouses need a CPF?

Each person who carries out the property transaction must be registered.

Does marrying a Brazilian let me buy farmland?

It lifts the municipal cap in the case described, not the other rural rules.

Can both of us get the investor residence with one property?

Not if it costs the minimum: each co-owner must have invested the minimum.

More guides on foreign buyers

Sources

All guides · Payotte Brazil