On 27 October 2025 the legal information portal JusBrasil published a detailed explainer on Brazil’s temporary visa and residence permit for digital nomads, formally created by Normative Resolution 45 of the National Immigration Council (CNIg). The article answers a surge of practical questions that local consulates and relocation providers have been receiving since the April reinstatement of visa requirements for citizens of Australia, Canada and the United States.
Under the scheme, foreign professionals who work remotely for an employer located outside Brazil can apply for a one-year visa that is renewable once, giving up to 24 months of lawful stay. Applicants must show either a minimum monthly income of US $1,500 from foreign sources or bank savings of at least US $18,000, together with proof of health insurance valid in Brazil and a clean criminal record. The visa can be requested entirely online through the government’s MigranteWeb system; once in the country, holders have 90 days to register with the Federal Police and obtain a residence card.
The JusBrasil guide emphasises several recent clarifications issued by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security: (1) dependent spouses and minor children may be included in the same application; (2) digital nomads are considered non-tax-residents unless they spend more than 183 days (consecutive or not) in a 12-month period, although Brazilian-sourced income is still subject to withholding tax; and (3) applicants no longer need to present an apostilled employment contract if they can provide notarised proof of freelance income paid by foreign clients.
For multinationals with remote-friendly work policies, the clarification is significant: it allows Brazilian subsidiaries to host foreign employees temporarily without triggering local payroll or corporate-tax obligations, provided the employment relationship stays outside Brazil. Global mobility managers are therefore re-evaluating Brazil as a cost-effective base for project teams covering Latin America time-zones, particularly in tech and creative industries drawn to hubs such as Florianópolis and Recife.
Relocation consultants nonetheless warn of practical hurdles: e-consulates still require paper originals to be mailed for visa stamping, processing times vary from two to six weeks, and applicants must bring translated, apostilled documents—services that add roughly US $400 to upfront costs. Despite those friction points, interest is brisk: the Ministry processed more than 3,800 digital-nomad requests in Q3 2025, up 47 % quarter-on-quarter, suggesting that the visa is poised to become a mainstream mobility option in Brazil’s post-pandemic talent strategy.
Under the scheme, foreign professionals who work remotely for an employer located outside Brazil can apply for a one-year visa that is renewable once, giving up to 24 months of lawful stay. Applicants must show either a minimum monthly income of US $1,500 from foreign sources or bank savings of at least US $18,000, together with proof of health insurance valid in Brazil and a clean criminal record. The visa can be requested entirely online through the government’s MigranteWeb system; once in the country, holders have 90 days to register with the Federal Police and obtain a residence card.
The JusBrasil guide emphasises several recent clarifications issued by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security: (1) dependent spouses and minor children may be included in the same application; (2) digital nomads are considered non-tax-residents unless they spend more than 183 days (consecutive or not) in a 12-month period, although Brazilian-sourced income is still subject to withholding tax; and (3) applicants no longer need to present an apostilled employment contract if they can provide notarised proof of freelance income paid by foreign clients.
For multinationals with remote-friendly work policies, the clarification is significant: it allows Brazilian subsidiaries to host foreign employees temporarily without triggering local payroll or corporate-tax obligations, provided the employment relationship stays outside Brazil. Global mobility managers are therefore re-evaluating Brazil as a cost-effective base for project teams covering Latin America time-zones, particularly in tech and creative industries drawn to hubs such as Florianópolis and Recife.
Relocation consultants nonetheless warn of practical hurdles: e-consulates still require paper originals to be mailed for visa stamping, processing times vary from two to six weeks, and applicants must bring translated, apostilled documents—services that add roughly US $400 to upfront costs. Despite those friction points, interest is brisk: the Ministry processed more than 3,800 digital-nomad requests in Q3 2025, up 47 % quarter-on-quarter, suggesting that the visa is poised to become a mainstream mobility option in Brazil’s post-pandemic talent strategy.
