Relocating to Brazil
Understand the country before you commit to the move.
36% verifiedBrazil is a federal presidential republic in South America, the largest country on the continent by area and population, and a founding member of Mercosur.
Ask about moving to Brazil
Answered only from Atlas's verified Brazil guides — if it's not covered yet, we'll say so rather than guess.
Life in Brazil
What will life actually be like?
Where should I live?
Living: Major Cities
What will daily life cost?
Cost of Living Overview
What is healthcare like?
Healthcare: Average Costs
What about schools?
Living: Education
How will I bank?
Banking: Best Banks
How will I get around?
Living: Transportation
Cities
Where should I live?
Brazil's major cities vary greatly in terms of cost of living and lifestyle. São Paulo is Brazil's largest city (city population roughly 12 million, metro area over 23 million), Rio de Janeiro has a city population of about 6.2 million (metro area roughly 12.9 million), and mid-sized hubs like Curitiba (around 2 million) and Florianópolis (city population roughly 500,000, metro area around 1.1 million) are popular with expats for quality of life.
Read the cities guide →Residency
Find your residency route
Your best route depends on how you plan to live, work and invest. These are the guides Atlas currently holds for Brazil.
How do you plan to support yourself in Brazil?
Residency: Citizenship
Brazilian citizenship by naturalization is governed by the Migration Law (Lei 13.445/2017). The ordinary path requires 4 years of continuous legal residency,…
Residency: Digital Nomad Visa
Brazil does have a dedicated digital nomad visa, VITEM XIV (created by Normative Resolution CNIg/MJ), for remote workers employed by or contracting with comp…
Residency Overview (VIPER Investor & Retirement Visas)
Brazil offers several residency pathways for relocating foreigners without a local job offer: an investor visa (real estate or business investment), a retire…
Residency: Permanent Residency
Brazil's residence authorisations are governed by the Migration Law (Lei 13.445/2017) and its regulation, Decreto 9.199/2017; there is not one single permane…
Residency: Processing Times
Brazilian residency processing happens in two stages with different timelines: consular/MJSP approval of the visa itself, and Polícia Federal registration fo…
Residency: Required Documents
Foreign documents apostilled abroad under the Hague Apostille Convention produce effects in Brazil without going through the Foreign Ministry, but formalitie…
Residency: Retirement Visa
Brazil's retirement visa is the temporary visa VITEM XIV for retirees and pensioners (the VITEM XI is the family-reunion visa). The applicant must prove reti…
Residency: Work Visa
Brazil issues the VITEM V temporary work visa in two steps: Brazilian authorisation obtained by the sponsor, then the consular visa; holders register with th…
Property
A home is a relocation decision
Taxes
Understand the cost of your move
Banking
Banking
Healthcare
Healthcare
Lifestyle
Lifestyle
Business
Business
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