Living in Brazil

[Khunjbl]

I have already spent two months in Brazil this year and am planning on going back for a month in June, can anyone tell me what I need to do in order to get the 90 day extension? I understand that you can stay for 90days a year and then get an extension for 90 days, can someone tell me how to go about doing that. Do I go to the American or Brazilian consulate in Brazil or can I do it in America?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks

you only need to get the extension if you are staying more than 90 consecutive days without leaving the country. You have a total of 180 days possible for a 1 year period.

[Katreed]

I have already spent two months in Brazil this year and am planning on going back for a month in June, can anyone tell me what I need to do in order to get the 90 day extension? I understand that you can stay for 90days a year and then get an extension for 90 days, can someone tell me how to go about doing that. Do I go to the American or Brazilian consulate in Brazil or can I do it in America?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks

[Perkele]

I am having an informal job interview in a telecom company in Sao Paulo in June. The post is a middleweight engineering type of job, not too senior, but not too junior either. I have just turned 31 and have quite a bit of experience in this type of work. Any ideas what salary to expect?

Hi!

I would say between R$ 2500 - 3500.

P

[Viper10]

the following is what i found to be the easiest way to stay in brazil all year round. when i first came to brazil, i had no idea you were only allowed to spend 180 days/yr. hopefully with this investor visa, i can spend as many days as i want. here is what you need:


• notarized copy of social contract, registered at ‘junta comercial’,
with foreign investment integralized.

o for social contract, an accountant can do everything. you will be basically opening a firm in brazil. my accountant had a consultant that used to work at the junto comercial and that knows everyone. i paid this consultant $200- to speed up the process and go over my documentation before i sent to get registered- this proved to be very helpful as i had errors on my first documentation. in any case, you will need the following:

 a brazilian that you trust to be available to sign all documentation and be what they call your procurador (which gives them the right to sign documents, etc.) as well as your asocio. this brazilian will have to go with you a few times to the cartorio as well as to open a bank account with you. you can remove your asocio’s name completely from everything once you have obtained your visa. be aware that they will be weary as they are signing documentation that they will answer on your behalf and technically they are to invest a certain amount of money into the business/ possibly be responsible for taxes for your business id number (called cnpj). also be aware that you will have to transfer $150k reales to that bank account where she/he has her name on it- so you have to be sure that they will not try to rob you of your money since they will have access to that company bank account until after you get your visa.

 cpf

 notorized documentation for yourself and your asocio. (id/passport and cpf). to do anything at a cartorio, you will have to abrir uma firma, which is just a way of putting your signature on file.

 punto local- business location- you have to have what they call an iptu for the location. i used a friend of mine’s business location. be aware that many banks when you open an account in the company’s name (which you will have to do) will physically go out to check out the location.

 more of a permanent address with your name on a light/gas/fixed phone bill (this is helpful, but sometimes not necessary, to establish a bank account)

 with a copy of social contract, you and your asocio will have to do a “procuracao para recibir citacoes”- a good cartorio will know what this is. they should be able to do it immediately. i had one cartorio claim they need my birth certificate and it will take 3-4 days- this is not true.

 apply for your cnpj at the same time as you are registering at the junto comercial.

 your accountant will explain, but with the social contract you will have to reconhece a firma at a cartorio.

 the social contract will have to include a few key ideas/points:

• you have to say your are going to invest a minimum of $150k
reales, so whatever the investment amount in the social contract, it has to show you (excluding your asocio) will be investing $150k. so for example, you can put $160k reales, you will be responsible for 95% and your asocio for 5% of that.

• at the beginning, a social contract will have your name and the name of the asocio. there you have to make sure that it says that you are giving your asocio the right to sign as your procurador. then at the end of the document, your asocio has to sign twice. once where her name is. and the second, sign where your name is, and put a pp next to it to show that they are signing on your behalf.

• the brazilian has to be put as the administrator in the document.

• the wording as to what your business is has to be in the area of “produtivas ou de transferência de tecnologia” they like things that demonstrate that you will be employing brazilians.

• power of attorney - you need to give someone authorization to use this documentation to get your visa. i am sure you can do it on your own, but i used a consulting firm that specialized in visas to do this. they helped me along the whole process and explained everything from the beginning for $2500r (60% upfront and 40% when you actually successfully realize visa) and went physically to brasilia to apply for my visa. i used www.centralexpat.com. their initial price was $3000r but i negotiated the $2500. name of lady was claudia- she seemed decent and knowledgeable. she also spoke english in case you don’t speak portuguese.

• open a bank account in the name of the company (you will have to bring your asocio with you). once opened you will have to transfer money and get a notarized copy of sisbacen, or exchange contract showing that you transferred minimum r$ 150.000,00

• notarized or simple copy of scholarship certificates (if possible)- if you have a copy of a diploma(s), which you can certify at a cartorio.

• simple copy of your professional resumé (optional)

• inform complete name of mother and father

• inform brazilian consulate or embassy where the visa will be taken- you will have to go and pick up your visa outside of brazil.

• a criminal record consularized. this document must remain with the foreigner, because it will be necessary by the time to have the visa stamped on the passport . this is like a record from the police saying that that no one is trying to arrest you in the states. if you are in brazil, you will have to have someone pick up the copy and consularize it at the brazilian embassy in the states.

my total costs (approximately)
- accountant- $600r (they will do social contract and go to junto comercial to register your firm and apply for cnpj)
- consultant that used to work at junto comercial- $200r. he was able to find mistakes in my documentation before i sent to get registered. he also speeded up the process- only took 1 day once i had documentation in order
- visa consultant- $2500r (60% upfront, 40% after obtain visa)- this was worth it to me since she does the application and knows the system and explained everything to me
- various trips to cartorio- $200-300r
- register at junto comercial- $330r
- cost of trip outside of brazil to pick up visa

total time needed:
-obtaining documentation for social contract- 1 week (varies dramatically)
-writing social contract- 4 days
-registering social contract and obtaining cpf- 1-3 days
-open bank account- 3-4 days
-transfer money- up to 2 weeks
-send visa application to brazilia and wait for response: 30-45 days
-while doing all paperwork and waiting for response, you will need that police record- this could take up to month or more.
-they rarely outright reject you- they will usually ask for more paperwork and give you another 30 days to provide it.
-so it’s pretty tight to try to get everything done one a 90-day tourist visa. (almost impossible if you don’t already have a cpf number). you can extend your tourist visa for another 90 days by going to the federal police at the international airport in rio. you are only allowed to stay 180 days total/ year in brazil on a tourist visa. however, you can overstay, and when you go to register with the federal police after you obtain your visa, they will see you overstayed your visa and charge you a fee of r$ 8,28 per day you stayed without a visa being the maximum amount to be charged = r$ 827,75.

thanks,
viper10

[Viper10]

I was able to open a bank account very easily. The following is the steps needed:

Opening a Bank Account in Brazil you need the following documentation:
1) Passport
2) CPF
3) Proof that you make a minimum amount of money/month. Citibank for example is $3000R. Any accountant can do this for you. There are many accountants that will write you one without proof if you give them a "tip". Sometimes they will just want to be able to call a number and talk to someone that verifies that you make this money. In another words, even if you don't have proof that you make a certain amount of money/month, there are way around it.
4) Proof of residency- this usually comes in the form of your name on a light/gas bill. If you are renting a place for an extended period of time, you can easily ask the owner that you would like to shift bill in your name for the period you are renting.

Now I don't get hit with the $21 in ATM fees!!

Viper10

[Marcoooo]

I am having an informal job interview in a telecom company in Sao Paulo in June. The post is a middleweight engineering type of job, not too senior, but not too junior either. I have just turned 31 and have quite a bit of experience in this type of work. Any ideas what salary to expect?

[Poucolouco]

... As for brazilian bank accounts. I obtained a cpf protocol. R$5. 50 at the post office. Take your passport with you and fill in a form. It takes about 28 days to receive it. To open a bank account you not only need a cpf number, but you will need a utility bill and proof off perminent residence (according to the man at citi bank on ns copacabana). Will be returning to Rio for 6 weeks in August, then moving to Rio to live 6 months or so after that.

See this HSBC web page for full requirements on opening a bank account. If you don't have the correct visa, don't even think about opening a bank account.

http://www.hsbc.com.br/1/2/portal/en...ving-to-brazil

[JohnnyBraz]

Do not use a bank to change this amount. It would involve a lot of paper work and questions. I would take an hour out of the day and go to maybe 4 different cambios, break the amount down into $5000 per cambio.

Very well said. I have just returned to brazil after spending 1 month there. I took 10000 euro in 500 euro notes and 5000 us dollars in 100 notes. Everytime I cashed the 500 euro notes I had to fill in a currency form and show my passport. I cashed 3000 us dollars in one hit and didn't have to show anything. As for brazilian bank accounts. I obtained a cpf protocol. R$5. 50 at the post office. Take your passport with you and fill in a form. It takes about 28 days to receive it. To open a bank account you not only need a cpf number, but you will need a utility bill and proof off perminent residence (according to the man at citi bank on ns copacabana). Will be returning to Rio for 6 weeks in August, then moving to Rio to live 6 months or so after that.

[Member #3427]

I am thinking about moving to Rio for a month. I want to try to learn some Portuguese. Anyone know of a good program near Ipanema where I can do 2 hrs a day in a group setting? I speak English so I guess would be best if geared to teaching English speaking people.

Thanks

I visited an office that was downtown, very near the subway station. It is easy to take subway from copacabana to downtown. Nice office and people. I was more impressed with them than I was with the office in Copacabana.

[Poucolouco]

Hi, seeking comments from fellow travelers.

I have a valid Visa to Brazil but my U.S. passport is expired. I am going to get a new U.S. passport and the passport agency will void then return the expired passport to me.

Question: can I bring the expired/voided passport with the Visa (which is still valid) along with my new passport to enter Brazil? OR do I need a new Visa from Brazil on my new passport?

Appreciate the help. Thanks.

This happens all the time. You need to carry both passports. When the old passport is cancelled by the Passport Office, notice that they do not stamp any visas you may have. The visas are valid until they expire or are cancelled.

[Johan]

Hi, seeking comments from fellow travelers.

I have a valid Visa to Brazil but my U.S. passport is expired. I am going to get a new U.S. passport and the passport agency will void then return the expired passport to me.

Question: can I bring the expired/voided passport with the Visa (which is still valid) along with my new passport to enter Brazil? OR do I need a new Visa from Brazil on my new passport?

Appreciate the help. Thanks.

[Poucolouco]

actually, i didn't recommend taking large sums of money into brazil: i was simply commenting on the customs requirement of having to report any cash and cash-like instruments in excess of r$ 10,000.00. when i said nothing will happen, what i meant is that declaring it at customs means that nothing special happens at customs, they just record it and that's it. i think that's safe advice considering that if you fail to report it and they catch you, you might very well have it confirep001ed right there and then.

now, what will happen once you leave to the airport is anyone's guess, and you are right, robberies on the way from the airport into town are common. as a matter of fact, i have posted extensively on that in the rio crime and safety section. whether declaring your money at customs upon entry into brazil possible increases your chances of getting held up (because customs agents or other airport personnel tip of robbers) or not is pure speculation, imho; i certainly would not exclude the possibility of insiders cooperating with the ladroes. in any case, i don't recommend bringing cash in the first place (if you need to bring more than r$ 10,000, bring travel checks, cashiers' checks... iow, cash-like instruments, but not cash).

ea

i also don't recommend carrying large sums of money but i have done it several times. in each case i declared it and i was directed to a small private room where an agent actually examined the instruments and even handled them to count and verify my declaration. even with traveller's checks, it was very discomforting, knowing that the federal police could be involved in a scheme for someone to follow me afterward. in each instance i prearranged for a private driver to meet me as i exited the customs area. fortunately, i now have a brasilian bank account and i can wire transfer money to brasil.

perkele is right that retrieving money through the atm is the safest and best exchange to bring money to brasil. however, the daily limits on atm withdrawls make it difficult to quickly assemble a large amount of money even with several foreign bank accounts.

[El Austriaco]

i would advise a bit of caution taking a large sum of money into brasil. robberies on the way from the airport to copa are not uncommon, and there have been accusations of police/customs involvement.

actually, i didn't recommend taking large sums of money into brazil: i was simply commenting on the customs requirement of having to report any cash and cash-like instruments in excess of r$ 10,000.00. when i said nothing will happen, what i meant is that declaring it at customs means that nothing special happens at customs, they just record it and that's it. i think that's safe advice considering that if you fail to report it and they catch you, you might very well have it confirep001ed right there and then.

now, what will happen once you leave to the airport is anyone's guess, and you are right, robberies on the way from the airport into town are common. as a matter of fact, i have posted extensively on that in the rio crime and safety section. whether declaring your money at customs upon entry into brazil possible increases your chances of getting held up (because customs agents or other airport personnel tip of robbers) or not is pure speculation, imho; i certainly would not exclude the possibility of insiders cooperating with the ladroes. in any case, i don't recommend bringing cash in the first place (if you need to bring more than r$ 10,000, bring travel checks, cashiers' checks... iow, cash-like instruments, but not cash).

ea

[Abzsafado]

Nothing happens when you actually declare it. You are given a receipt, that's all. I did it the last time I went to Brazil, everything went without a hitch.

ET is absolutely right. It's R$ 10,000, not USD 10,000.00.

EA

I would advise a bit of caution taking a large sum of money into Brasil. Robberies on the way from the airport to Copa are not uncommon, and there have been accusations of police/customs involvement.
Don't tell anybody you are taking money in, especially your "girlfriend".I remember a report in O Globo a couple of years back of a gringo taking $10000 in to Rio to buy an apartment, his girlfriends apartment was robbed the same night he arrived, strange coincidence that.

[Sperto]

I would NEVER EVER send money outside to anyone in Brasil that I don't know really well.

I agree on that one.

A couple of years ago there was a scandal in Fortaleza.

Something between a private bank and casa de cambio allowed gringos to open an account to put in their dollars. The interest rate was very good. Lots of gringos put a lot of money in the "bank".

Suddenly one day, surprise surprise, the bank was closed. The owner had left the country and all the money were gone.

A lot of gringos got a very long nose.