Brazil digital nomad visa: savings can replace the income, never the contract abroad

Brazil's rules accept either a monthly income from a foreign source or a bank balance instead, so pay that varies from month to month need not rule you out. Neither path replaces the contract with an employer abroad, and anyone who works for an employer in Brazil, employed or not, does not qualify at all.

The savings path helps a freelancer whose months go up and down, and it does nothing for someone who has money but no foreign work. Brazil's immigration council resolution asks every applicant for three things together: your own declaration that you can work remotely, a job or service contract with an employer abroad, and proof of means. Only the third can be met two ways.

The two ways to prove means

The figure above is the monthly income route. The pay must come from a source outside Brazil. The second route, shown as also on file, is a bank balance available to you instead of the monthly figure.

Consulates do not always state these the same way. The resolution sets both amounts in US dollars, while the embassy in Berlin, for one, asks for them in euros. Read the page of the consulate you will use, not a general guide.

How long it lasts

The first residence is for up to one year, and the resolution allows a renewal for the same period. The renewal asks again for proof of your status as a digital nomad, means included, so the path you pick has to hold a year later too. If you are already in Brazil, you can apply to the Ministry of Justice instead of a consulate. If you arrive on the visa, you register with the Federal Police within 90 days of entry; if you were approved inside Brazil, within 30 days of the approval being published. The resolution's text names no extra amount for a spouse or child.

Paid to the Brazilian state:

• The visa fee at the consulate, which depends on your nationality and the consulate.
• In Brazil, the Federal Police fees for the residence and the identity card.

Paid to an agency:

• Its service fee, kept apart from the state's.

Questions to settle before paying anyone:

1. Which path are you using, monthly income or a bank balance, and do your documents prove that one?
2. Is your contract with an employer or client outside Brazil, and does all the pay you are counting come from abroad?
3. Will you apply at a consulate or from inside Brazil?
4. In which currency does your consulate state the amounts?
5. Will the same path still be met when you renew?

Has a visa agency quoted for this visa or sent a service agreement? Say yes in the box above and the agency's lines are set against Brazil's published rules and the prices firms on file publish for this route. An employment or service contract with your employer abroad is not something the box reads; with only that, say no, enter your monthly pay from abroad and choose the month as the period. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.

General information, not legal advice.