On 16 January 2026 the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) web portal listed more than a dozen new notifications of foreigners who have lost, or risk losing, their residence permits after remaining outside Brazil for over two consecutive years. Each case file cites Article 33 of the Migration Law (13.445/2017) and gives the individual ten days to appeal before the record is inactivated.
While such notices have long existed, lawyers say the PF is now batch-publishing them every weekday and has automated e-mail alerts to airlines, making it harder for overstayers to re-enter undetected. Companies employing foreign nationals on Mercosur or family-reunion permits should check travel history carefully; an assignee who spent extended periods abroad during the pandemic may unknowingly be in breach.
![Federal Police publishes daily online notices of residency-loss cases as enforcement tightens]()
For those needing assistance in confirming travel records, filing appeals or securing fresh residence authorisations, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end online service that keeps both travellers and employers compliant with Brazilian regulations. The platform’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) provides real-time status tracking, document checklists and expert support, helping to prevent costly disruptions caused by permit cancellations.
If a permit is cancelled, the foreigner must obtain a fresh residence authorisation from outside the country—often a months-long process. Businesses are therefore urged to institute quarterly audits of exit-and-entry stamps and to schedule ‘‘legal presence’’ trips back to Brazil for staff on long assignments overseas.
The PF emphasises that the crackdown supports its wider digital-governance reforms ahead of the gov.br system migration. Attorneys expect an initial spike in cancellation notices through March as legacy files are digitised.
While such notices have long existed, lawyers say the PF is now batch-publishing them every weekday and has automated e-mail alerts to airlines, making it harder for overstayers to re-enter undetected. Companies employing foreign nationals on Mercosur or family-reunion permits should check travel history carefully; an assignee who spent extended periods abroad during the pandemic may unknowingly be in breach.
For those needing assistance in confirming travel records, filing appeals or securing fresh residence authorisations, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end online service that keeps both travellers and employers compliant with Brazilian regulations. The platform’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) provides real-time status tracking, document checklists and expert support, helping to prevent costly disruptions caused by permit cancellations.
If a permit is cancelled, the foreigner must obtain a fresh residence authorisation from outside the country—often a months-long process. Businesses are therefore urged to institute quarterly audits of exit-and-entry stamps and to schedule ‘‘legal presence’’ trips back to Brazil for staff on long assignments overseas.
The PF emphasises that the crackdown supports its wider digital-governance reforms ahead of the gov.br system migration. Attorneys expect an initial spike in cancellation notices through March as legacy files are digitised.
