Visa de Investidor: Investor Visa to Brazil

The military conflicts in the center of Europe and in the Middle East may make one think of leaving the troubled region and moving to a faraway land. Brazil is far enough and it welcomes foreign nationals. Brazil especially welcomes foreign investors as it allows establishing legal residence in the country by purchasing real estate there or putting money in a business venture. The local Visa de Investidor em Propriedade no Brasil (VIPER) program is attractive by the ‘price’ of the visa in the first place. Below we describe the requirements of the program and discuss the process of obtaining an investor visa to Brazil.

Financial and other conditions of acquiring legal residence in Brazil by investment

You can invest into business or real property in Brazil to qualify for an investor visa. Each ‘golden visa’ option has specific requirements but some requirements are common. These include the following ones:

• Credibility of the applicant. The applicant for an investor visa has to bring police clearances from the countries of his/ her recent residence and citizenship.  
• Legality of the investment capital. The foreign investor has to supply evidence that the investment capital has been obtained from legal sources. The money has to come from outside Brazil.
• No loaned money. Borrowed money cannot be used for investments in Brazil if you are to qualify for an investor visa. The required investment capital has to be yours.

Visa to Brazil for investments into business

• If you invest in a regular business venture, the required investment amount is R$ 500,000 (R$ is the symbol for the Brazilian real; the current exchange rate is 20 US cents for 1 Brazilian real).
• The investment amount can be R$ 150,000 if the money is invested into an innovative business venture that can stimulate the local economy. The applicant for the visa has to create at least 10 jobs for the local people (citizens and legal residents of Brazil).

Regardless of the investment option that you choose, you will also have to demonstrate having enough money to sustain yourself (and your family, if you are filing a family application for the visa: see below). In addition, you will have to have some residential accommodations in Brazil. You can buy a place or rent one. A hotel suite is acceptable too.

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Visa to Brazil for investments into real estate

If you would like to acquire legal residence in Brazil by investing into real property in the country, the investment amount has to be at least R$ 1,000,000. You can invest in any piece of property including:

• Apartments, villas, houses, and other types of residential accommodations;
• Agricultural lands and facilities;
• Building plots;
• Offices, logistic complexes, trade centers, manufacturing facilities, and other types of commercial property.

You have one more choice to make:

• You can invest into a completed and usable piece of real property in Brazil; or
• You can invest into a building under construction.

If the investment amount is sufficient in the second case, you will also qualify for an investor visa. Besides, the investment amount can be 30% lower if you put money into real property located in the Northern and Northeastern regions of Brazil. Please see the table below.

You can buy part of the property and become its co-owner and you can buy several pieces of property in Brazil. The important requirement to meet is to reach (or exceed) the investment threshold if you are to qualify for a ‘golden visa’.

Family applications for investor visas to Brazil

The following family members can be added to the application for an investor visa to Brazil:

• Grandparents;
• Brothers and sisters below 21;
• Grandchildren;
• Children of up to 24 years of age;
• Parents;
• Spouse.

You will have to prove the relations of kin if you are filing a family application for the investor visa. Besides, all adult family members will have to supply police clearances.

The optimal financial route to legal residence in Brazil

Technically, an investment of R$ 150,000 (US$ 30,000) is sufficient but it can be made only in exceptional cases. Most foreign nationals ‘buying’ residence permits in Brazil invest R$ 500,000 (US$ 100,000) into business or R$ 700,000 (US$ 140,000) into real property.

Regardless of the financial route to Brazilian residence that you choose, your application for an investor visa is going to be processed within 4 to 6 months on the condition that you have supplied all the required application documents and made an investment in the required amount.  

Documents required for apply for a ‘golden’ investor visa to Brazil

• The official application form, completed and signed by the applicant or his/her legal representative ;
• Certificate of legal representative appointment (if applicable);
• Power of Attorney, if an immigration lawyer represents the applicant in Brazil;
• Receipt confirming payment of the immigration fee;
• Police clearance or an equivalent document issued by the police authorities of the applicant’s country (or countries) of citizenship and residence;
• Applicant’s passport and its copy;
• Confirmation of legality of the sources of investment capital;
• Applicant’s résumé (if applicable);
• Legalized copies / originals of birth certificates (if applicable);
• Legalized copy / original of marriage certificate (if applicable);
• Education documents (a university diploma, for instance);
• Proof of residential address (a recent utility bill, for instance);
• A bank statement showing the financial standing of the applicant;
• Two passport-size photographs;
• Additional documents for the foreign applicant who has chosen to invest into business in Brazil:
  • A business plan approved by the Brazilian National Immigration Council;
  • Company registration certificate and other corporate documents (if applicable);
  • Consent from the Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment;
  • Confirmation of payment of taxes by the legal entity in Brazil receiving the investment (if applicable);
  • A bank statement from the Central Bank of Brazil confirming the foreign direct investment or a statement from the commercial bank that services the legal entity in Brazil receiving the investment;
• Additional documents for the foreign applicant who has chosen to invest into real property in Brazil:
  • A statement from a Brazilian financial institution or an institution registered with the Central Bank of brazil confirming the international money transfer for purchase of real property in Brazil;
  • A properly registered property purchase agreement;
  • Construction permit issued by the Brazilian authorities (if the applicant is investing into an incomplete development project).

All documents issued outside Brazil have to be notarized or legalized in the Brazilian consulate in the foreign country. All documents in foreign languages have to be translated into Portuguese by a sworn translator in Brazil.

The process of acquiring a ‘golden’ investor visa to Brazil

• Investment into business. The application process normally involves establishment of a corporate entity in Brazil, opening a bank account, and transferring the investment capital there. After that, you have to submit your business plan to the Ministry of Labor. When your business plan is approved and when the legality of the investment capital as well as your intention to invest into business in Brazil is confirmed, you will qualify for the visa.
• Investment into property. The application process is different from the one described above: you have to purchase the property before you can apply for an investor visa. When the purchase deal is completed, you have to supply bank statements confirming that you have transferred the money to the seller’s account with a Brazilian bank.

Whichever option you choose, you can apply for a VIPER visa on your own or hire a local lawyer who can do it on your behalf. In both cases, the MigrantWeb system developed by the Brazilian authorities will come in handy. The system allows monitoring the application processing and quickly reacting to the requests made by the immigration authorities.  

Investor visa extension in Brazil

Your investor visa can serve as a permanent residence permit in Brazil because it can be extended. However, you cannot withdraw from the investment if you want to have your visa extended. The main additional requirements include the following ones:

• Investment into business. When filing an application for visa extension, you will have to prove that the company that you have financed keeps functioning and keeps employing local people. You will also have to spend more than half a year (at least 183 days) in Brazil. The countdown begins when you register as a resident with the federal police authorities.
• Investment into property. The personal presence requirements are laxer if you choose this investment option. The property owner has to spend at least 14 days in Brazil within every two years. You can spend two weeks in the country on a single visit or you can visit Brazil 14 times during two years: the choice is yours.

Please note that the Ministry of Justice and Public Security may inspect the construction project or the business company that you are financing when it finds appropriate.   

If you withdraw from the investment (sell the property or close the company) before the investor visa expires and the local authorities find you out, your ‘golden’ visa is going to be annulled.

Advantages of the investor visa to Brazil

• From legal residence to citizenship. The foreign investor putting legally earned capital into the Brazilian economy can ‘upgrade’ his/ her residence permit and become a citizen of Brazil after a few years.
• All family members are welcome. Your relatives are eligible for visas if you qualify for an investor visa as head of the family. If a child is born in Brazil to an investor visa holder, the child becomes a Brazilian citizen by default.
• Simple procedures of visa acquisition. Many tasks involved in the process of acquiring an investor visa to Brazil can be performed remotely. For instance, you can register a company in Brazil from the comfort of your home if you contact us and request our assistance in the matter.  We can also help you purchase real property in Brazil online. Professional support is important when applying for a Brazilian investor visa because you cannot know all the laws and regulations governing the process. If everything works ideally, you will have to visit Brazil only once to have a personal interview with a police officer and pick your Brazilian ID card.
• Fast integration and cultural enrichment. Brazil is a South American ‘melting pot’. Locals are used to foreigners and they treat them in a friendly and hospitable manner.
• Low ‘price’ of the residence card. The Brazilian residence-by-investment scheme offers several routes to residency to foreign investors, which is already an important advantage. However, what makes the scheme different from other similar programs is the modest ‘price’ of the investor visa in Brazil. For the sake of comparison, the required investment amount is 250,000 euros in Greece and it is 500,000 euros in Spain.

Citizenship of Brazil for investor visa holders

After living on the investor visa in Brazil for 3 years, you can apply for a permanent residence permit if the property remains in your possession or if your company in the country keeps on working.

Those holding permanent residence permits have to extend them every 9 years if they are younger than 60. Besides, you have to visit Brazil at least once every two years to keep the permit (a 1-day visit will suffice). Again, you cannot withdraw from the investment if you want to keep extending your residence permit.

A Brazilian permanent residence permit is a powerful document that gives the holder all the rights that native Brazilians enjoy except for the right to elect and be elected. You cannot use it as a travel document, however, if you want to go to a foreign country.

A Brazilian passport, on the other hand, will let you run for a public office and freely travel around the world. An investor visa holder can qualify for Brazilian citizenship if he or she permanently resides in Brazil on the investor visa for four years. However, if you purchase property that is worth more than R$ 1,000,000 (US$ 200,000), you can apply for citizenship of Brazil after three years.

Dual citizenship is allowed in Brazil. A Brazilian passport is a very powerful travel document indeed: it gives visa-free access to 169 destinations including the Schengen zone countries.