Overstaying in Brazil: daily fines and how to pay them

If you stay in Brazil past your permitted date, the Polícia Federal fines you for each extra day. Brazil’s Migration Law caps fines for individuals at R$ 10,000 (about US$1,970, checked Oct 2026) per infraction. You then get at least 60 days to regularize your status or leave before deportation can start.

This page covers visitors from the US, UK, Canada and Australia, on an e-visa or a visa waiver. It explains how the fine is set, how and when to pay, how to contest it, and how to avoid an overstay in the first place.

The rules at a glance

The table sums up the rules as of 18 Oct 2026. Each line is explained below.

What the law says

Overstaying is an administrative infraction, not a crime. Article 109 of the Migration Law (Lei 13.445 of 2017) lists the infractions. Item II covers anyone who stays in Brazil after their migration document’s legal deadline. The sanction is a “fine per day of excess,” plus deportation if you do not leave or regularize within the deadline set.

Article 108 sets the fine range. For an individual, each infraction carries a fine between R$ 100 and R$ 10,000. The law says the amount must consider your economic condition, any repeat offense and the gravity of the infraction.

The clock that matters is your permitted stay. Visitors get up to 90 days, extendable by the Polícia Federal by up to 90 more, within 180 days per migratory year (Decree 9.199, art. 20). The migratory year runs 12 months from your first entry (art. 1). Any day past your permitted stay counts as a day of excess.

How much you pay per day

The Polícia Federal sets the daily amount under its Instrução Normativa 198 of 2021 and calculates it at your appointment. In practice, the amounts charged vary from case to case.

Recent Polícia Federal decisions have applied R$ 25 (about US$5, checked Oct 2026) a day. One visitor who overstayed 12 days after a 90-day extension was fined R$ 300 (about US$59, checked Oct 2026). Other cases have been charged R$ 100 a day; a 21-day overstay drew a fine of R$ 2,100 (about US$413, checked Oct 2026). Fines can also be cut to the legal minimum: one 667-day overstay was reduced to R$ 100 (about US$20, checked Oct 2026).

For planning, budget for up to R$ 100 a day, capped at R$ 10,000 per infraction. At R$ 100 a day the cap is reached after 100 days. At R$ 25 a day it takes 400 days.

Check before you go: ask the Polícia Federal unit that handles your case for the written calculation of your fine before you pay. Check the number of days it counts against the stamps in your passport.

Long overstays reach the cap. These Polícia Federal decisions show the pattern:

Conversions use US$1 = R$ 5.08, the reference rate for 16 Oct 2026.

When and how you pay

You do not have to pay before you board. You can pay the daily fine when you leave Brazil or on your next visit.

The Migration Law adds a third option (art. 107, para. 2). A fine charged per day of excess can be converted into an equal cut to your permitted stay on your next entry as a visitor. So the days you overstayed can come off your next 90.

The Polícia Federal issues the fine notice when you exit or when you regularize. The usual payment steps are:

1. Generate a GRU payment slip on the Polícia Federal website.
2. Pay it at an authorized bank within 30 days of the final decision.
3. Bring the receipt to the Polícia Federal unit.

Ask the Polícia Federal unit that issues the notice how and where to pay, including whether airport payment is possible. Pay only with a GRU that the Polícia Federal generates for your case. Fake payment links exist.

Keep the payment receipt with your passport.

The 60-day notice and deportation

An overstay does not mean removal on the spot. A visitor who overstays is fined and notified to regularize or leave the country within 60 days.

The Migration Law sets the rules for that notice (art. 50):

• It must be personal and list the irregularities found.
• It gives at least 60 days to regularize, extendable once for the same period.
• You can still move freely in Brazil, but you must report your address and activities.
• Leaving on your own counts as complying with the notice.
• If the deadline passes without regularization, deportation can go ahead.

Regularizing means getting a legal basis to stay, such as a residence permit. If you have a Brazilian spouse, a Brazilian child or a job offer, see every visa and residency route before the 60 days run out.

How to contest a fine

You can challenge the fine. The Migration Law gives a right to reconsideration and appeal, with due process (art. 110). It also tells officials to respect the migrant’s or visitor’s economic hardship.

You have 10 days to file a defense, counted from the infraction notice (Decree 9.199, art. 309, para. 4). Miss it and the fine stands. If the defense fails, you have 10 days from its publication to appeal (Instrução Normativa 198/2021, art. 8).

Attach proof to your defense. Examples are a flight cancellation, a hospital record, or an extension request filed on time. Ask for a reduction on grounds of economic hardship if it applies to you. For a large fine, ask a Brazilian immigration lawyer.

Other fines visitors run into

A missing entry stamp can cost you. Make sure the officer stamps your passport on arrival, since an unstamped passport may mean a fine when you leave. Officials may inspect the stamp on departure.

Avoiding migration control at entry or exit is a separate infraction, with its own fine (Migration Law, art. 109, VII). If you cross a land border, stop at the Polícia Federal post and get stamped.

Residents face late-registration fines too. Those apply to temporary visa holders who miss the 90-day registration deadline (art. 109, III). The digital nomad visa page covers that deadline.

Does an overstay affect future trips

An overstay that ends with the fine paid or converted is not a legal ban on returning. It stays on your migration record, though.

Check before you go: if you have an unpaid or converted overstay fine, ask a Brazilian consulate whether it affects a new e-visa or visa application before you apply.

Americans, Canadians and Australians need a valid e-visa for each entry. Answer every question on the form truthfully. Keep your fine receipt and any Polícia Federal letters, and bring them on your next trip.

How to avoid an overstay

Most overstays come from miscounting days. A simple routine prevents them.

1. Find your first entry date. It is stamped in your passport. Your migratory year starts that day.
2. Count your days. The count pauses while you are out of Brazil (Decree 9.199, art. 20, para. 1).
3. Set a reminder at day 75. That leaves time to book a Polícia Federal appointment.
4. Extend before day 90. The request must be filed before your stay runs out (art. 20, para. 4). The fee is R$ 110.44 (about US$22, checked Oct 2026).
5. Leave before day 180. No extension takes you past 180 days in one migratory year.

If a flight is cancelled or you fall ill near your last day, go to the Polícia Federal before your stay ends. Bring the airline notice or medical record. Acting before the deadline puts you in a far stronger position than explaining afterward.

Who this page is not for

Residents and long-stay visa holders follow different rules. If you hold a CRNM or a temporary residence visa, your deadlines come from that permit and from registration rules, not from the visitor count. See registering with the Polícia Federal for those.

Related routes

To add up to 90 days legally, follow how to extend your stay in Brazil. For longer stays, compare every visa and residency route. Entry rules by nationality are on the pages for US citizens and UK citizens.