Brazil is a country that has featured frequently in the pages of Sovereign Man as an excellent potential Plan B destination – and with good reason. Wrapping up our recent focus on Latin American Residency By Property Investment options, today we take a look at this exciting country’s Residency By Investment options…
Brazil: An exciting country with a reasonably priced Residency By Property Investment program…
One of the truest aphorisms in the investment world is that Brazil is the country with the MOST potential… and always will be.
There are few other countries on the planet blessed with such an abundance of resources — fertile land, plenty of water, a huge population, incalculable mineral deposits, and ample natural resources.
And yet Brazil can’t ever seem to get out of its own way to realize its potential.
Nonetheless, the country ticks a lot of interesting Plan B boxes: The people here are among the friendliest, most welcoming, and fun loving on the planet. And the country is a veritable cultural melting pot.
In Brazil, everyone blends in easily. That makes it a fantastic country in which to obtain a second residency and/or a second passport (after a few years of residency).
And we’ve also previously written about the country’s appeal as a birth tourism destination – giving your newborn baby the gift of a B-graded passport. Plus, as the parents of a newborn Brazilian citizen, you can obtain temporary residency there, too.
And after one year of residency, you can apply for Brazilian citizenship as well. (You will, however, be required to pass a financial means test and a Portuguese language exam to qualify.)
The country also offers a very attractive residency program for retirees (although you have to be retired to apply).
But if you’re not retired, and having a baby is not on the cards for you, there are still other options for obtaining Brazilian residency… And getting on the path to potential citizenship by naturalization – within just six years.
One such path is the country’s Residency By Property Investment Program, priced from BRL 700,000+ (∼$144,500+).
Let’s have a look at its key requirements below:
The Brazilian Residency By Property Investment Program at a glance
Brazil allows you to become a resident after purchasing any type of property in the country, subject to a minimum investment amount.
The investment requirements are fixed (i.e. they don’t adjust each year to account for inflation), and will depend on the region of the country you’re investing in:
BRL 700,000+ (∼$144,500) — in the Northern and Northeastern regions of Brazil
BRL 1 million+ (∼$206,500) — elsewhere in Brazil.
How much time will you need to spend in Brazil each year?
The good news is that Brazilian residency can work as a pure Plan B play — a second residency you have “just in case”.
Initially, Brazil will issue you with a four-year temporary residency permit. During that time, you have to spend just 14 days in the country every two years (or 28 days over four years).
You will need to maintain your property to retain the temporary residency.
The good news is, Brazil allows you to bring your entire family with you. Your spouse, children of any age, your grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and siblings up to 21 years of age can all apply for residency alongside you.
And after holding your temporary residency for two years, you can upgrade your residency permit to a permanent one.
So, you could spend just 14 days in Brazil every two years, and then obtain a permanent residency.
That’s a rather generous offer.
And Brazilian permanent residency is a great asset to have. It does not expire, and there is no need to renew it. (You will still need to renew your ID card every nine years if you are under 60, though.)
However, you must still visit Brazil once every two years (even if just for one day) for your permanent residency permit to remain active. And you still have to keep your property.
Our trusted service providers there tell us that the entire process of purchasing a property and obtaining residency can be done online. The only time you will need to visit Brazil will be to present yourself to the Federal Police and pick up your local ID cards.
(Sovereign Confidential members, reach out to us if you’d like us to share our providers’ contact details with you.)
Can your Brazilian residency lead to a passport?
Yes, it can. And as a citizen, you can sell your Brazilian property if you wish. And you won’t have to visit the country every two years anymore.You can apply for naturalization in Brazil after four years of permanent residency there.
This means that in the case of real estate investment, your total timeline to naturalization will be six years – two years of temporary residency, plus four years of permanent residency.
And while it’s enough to visit Brazil every two years to keep your permanent residency active, the rules for naturalization are stricter.
In this case, you will need to spend at least six months per year on the ground during your permanent residency stage. (Brazil’s immigration officials still don’t care how much time you spend there during your temporary residency period.)
And again, if you have no plans of applying for citizenship, you can just keep visiting Brazil once every two years to keep your permanent residency active.
The bottomline…
No country is perfect – and Brazil has its fair share of problems.
But when it comes to both its temporary and permanent residency options, Brazil packs a punch as a pure Plan B destination. And whilst the requirements for naturalizing there are more onerous, it is still fairly doable, should an eventual second passport be a non-negotiable.
