Brazil’s statutory minimum wage rose to R$ 1,621 per month on 1 January 2026 under Decree 12.797/2025—an increase of 6.7 % over 2025. While largely framed as a domestic social-policy move, the jump ripples straight through the immigration system because several visa categories peg their salary thresholds to multiples of the minimum wage.
The popular VITEM V local-hire visa, trainee permits, and certain technical-services authorisations must now satisfy at least twice the new minimum (R$ 3,242) or meet prevailing-wage tests, whichever is higher. The Labour Ministry reminded employers on 5 January that Brazil’s eSocial payroll portal does not adjust contracts automatically; HR teams must update every foreign and local employee record before the first 2026 payroll closes. Non-compliance can trigger fines and cause the Federal Police to refuse visa renewals.
If your HR or mobility department would rather not navigate these adjustments alone, VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers step-by-step checklists, document-assembly tools and on-the-ground specialists who verify that proposed salaries meet the new 2×-minimum benchmark before submissions go to the Labour Ministry—saving time and reducing the risk of costly rejections.
![Minimum-Wage Hike Raises Salary Floors for Brazil Work-Permit Applications]()
For global mobility programs this is more than a clerical exercise. Assignment letters that include cost-of-living allowances, hardship premiums or shadow-payroll gross-ups often reference the wage floor. Companies will therefore need to re-price allowances, adjust host-country budgets and amend posted-worker contracts to remain compliant.
Household staff employed directly by expatriate executives are also covered. Employers must raise domestic-worker pay in the eSocial Doméstico system, and immigration auditors have flagged wage-and-hour violations as a 2026 enforcement priority. Budget holders should add roughly R$ 100–150 per employee per month to cover statutory benefits—FGTS, 13th-salary accruals and vacation pay—that scale with the minimum wage.
Practical tip: before filing any new work-permit application after 1 January, attach an updated employment letter reflecting the higher salary and be ready to show that the figure still exceeds local market medians for the occupation. Early action will avert rework when Ministry of Labour examiners perform cross-checks against tax and payroll databases.
The popular VITEM V local-hire visa, trainee permits, and certain technical-services authorisations must now satisfy at least twice the new minimum (R$ 3,242) or meet prevailing-wage tests, whichever is higher. The Labour Ministry reminded employers on 5 January that Brazil’s eSocial payroll portal does not adjust contracts automatically; HR teams must update every foreign and local employee record before the first 2026 payroll closes. Non-compliance can trigger fines and cause the Federal Police to refuse visa renewals.
If your HR or mobility department would rather not navigate these adjustments alone, VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers step-by-step checklists, document-assembly tools and on-the-ground specialists who verify that proposed salaries meet the new 2×-minimum benchmark before submissions go to the Labour Ministry—saving time and reducing the risk of costly rejections.
For global mobility programs this is more than a clerical exercise. Assignment letters that include cost-of-living allowances, hardship premiums or shadow-payroll gross-ups often reference the wage floor. Companies will therefore need to re-price allowances, adjust host-country budgets and amend posted-worker contracts to remain compliant.
Household staff employed directly by expatriate executives are also covered. Employers must raise domestic-worker pay in the eSocial Doméstico system, and immigration auditors have flagged wage-and-hour violations as a 2026 enforcement priority. Budget holders should add roughly R$ 100–150 per employee per month to cover statutory benefits—FGTS, 13th-salary accruals and vacation pay—that scale with the minimum wage.
Practical tip: before filing any new work-permit application after 1 January, attach an updated employment letter reflecting the higher salary and be ready to show that the figure still exceeds local market medians for the occupation. Early action will avert rework when Ministry of Labour examiners perform cross-checks against tax and payroll databases.
