Brazil retirement visa for Americans: the pension rule explained

Brazil’s retirement route asks you to prove you can transfer at least US$2,000 a month (about R$ 10,160, checked Oct 2026) in pension income to Brazil. It rests on CNIg Normative Resolution 40 of 2 October 2019, published in the Diário Oficial on 27 November 2019. The first residence term is two years.

This page covers US citizens. British, Canadian and Australian retirees use the same resolution, filed through their own consulate. It explains the income rule, dependents, documents, where to apply, registration, renewal and tax.

Who this route suits

The retirement route suits people with a steady pension who want to live in Brazil for long stretches. You do not need to buy property, invest in a company or have a Brazilian relative. The income threshold is modest compared with many countries’ retirement visas.

It suits fewer people if your income is mostly savings or investments. The rule is built around a recurring pension. If you have a Brazilian spouse or child, family reunification has no income threshold at all.

The legal basis

The Migration Law (Lei 13.445/2017) does not name retirees anywhere in its articles. The route comes from a resolution of the National Immigration Council (CNIg), which used its power to rule on cases the law does not expressly cover. That power came from article 11 of Decreto 9.873 of 2019.

Resolution 40 is dated 2 October 2019. It appeared in Diário Oficial no. 229, Section 1, page 70, on 27 November 2019. Its Article 6 revoked the older Resolution 45 of 14 March 2000, and Article 7 put it in force on publication.

A change to watch. Decreto 12.657 of 7 October 2025, published in the Diário Oficial on 8 October 2025, revoked Decreto 9.873 of 2019, the decree that organized CNIg. The 2025 decree created a National Migration Council (Conselho Nacional de Migração) for social oversight, monitoring and evaluation. It makes many visa and residence rules in Decreto 9.199 depend on joint acts of the Justice and Foreign Affairs ministers. It has no article on retirees.

The Ministry of Justice still lists Resolution 40 on its labor immigration portal, with no amendment or revocation note and no joint act in its place (checked 18 Oct 2026). For now, Resolution 40 is the working rule.

Check before you go: before you build a file, email the Ministry of Justice immigration office (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) to ask whether Resolution 40 still governs retiree residence. Have a Brazilian immigration lawyer read the official text of the resolution before you file.

The income rule

You must prove a pension that lets you transfer at least US$2,000 a month to Brazil. Article 1 offers a temporary visa to a retiree or a survivor’s pension recipient (pensão por morte). The transfer must be in foreign currency.

Article 3 lists the proof:

• Your retirement or pension income
• Your ability to transfer the US$2,000 to Brazil each month
• Other steady income sources, if you need them to reach the amount

Complementary income can come from invested money, property or rental income, and survivor’s pensions. Before 2019, the income had to come from retirement pay alone.

Two further points matter in practice:

• A one-time lump sum or a large savings balance does not meet the rule. The income must recur.
• Other passive income can top up a pension, but it generally cannot be the only basis.

For Americans, good proof of income at source includes a Social Security benefit letter, a pension statement, a 1099-R or an annuity statement. A bank statement alone is not accepted as pension proof.

Dependents

Plan to show about US$1,000 more a month for each dependent. That means about US$3,000 a month for a couple. Dependents are a spouse, a minor child or a dependent parent.

Resolution 40 itself has no article on dependents. Some consulates still apply the per-dependent amount from the older rules.

Check before you go: ask your consulate or the Ministry of Justice immigration office (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) whether you need the extra amount for your spouse or children. If you can show it, include it anyway.

A second path exists in the regulation. Decreto 9.199, article 153, gives family reunification residence to the spouse, partner, child or parent of an immigrant who holds a residence permit. When the sponsor’s permit has a fixed term, the relative’s permit expires on the same date. Your spouse can file at the same time as you. See residency through family.

Documents

The resolution has two lists: one for a visa at a consulate (Articles 2 and 3) and one for residence requested inside Brazil (Article 4).

Article 4 points to items I to III and VII to XI of Normative Resolution 1 of 2017 for the in-country list. Those items are:

• The signed request form (Annex I)
• A valid travel document
• Proof of parentage, legalized and translated by a sworn translator, unless your passport shows it
• A power of attorney, if an agent files for you
• The GRU slip for the processing fee, with proof of payment
• The documents a specific CNIg resolution requires, here the Article 3 proof of pension
• Criminal record certificates for the places you lived in the last five years
• A sworn statement of no criminal record in any country in the last five years

Resolution 51 of 14 March 2025 amended Resolution 1. Ask the Ministry of Justice for the current in-country list before you file, and buy health insurance anyway. You will want it in Brazil whatever the list says.

Decreto 9.199, article 49, also lets consulates ask for proof of means of subsistence and, where it applies, proof of transport out of Brazil.

Documents issued abroad need an apostille and a sworn translation into Portuguese.

Where and how to apply

You can apply at a consulate before you travel or at the Ministry of Justice once you are in Brazil.

At a Brazilian consulate. You apply for the temporary visa before you travel. A US tourist e-visa does not cover residence. Ask the Brazilian consulate that serves your US address for the current retiree visa fee and the visa category to request.

Inside Brazil. Article 4 lets you ask the Ministry of Justice and Public Security for residence if you are already in Brazil. Ask the Ministry of Justice immigration office (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) which online system takes retiree requests before you start.

Fees on the gov.br residence service, as of 23 July 2026:

Allow up to 180 days for the service.

Register with the Polícia Federal

With the temporary visa, you must request registration within 90 days of entering Brazil (Decreto 9.199, article 64). If the ministry approves you inside Brazil, you have 30 days from publication of the approval (article 66).

Registration gives you the CRNM card. You fill in the online form, pay by GRU, book an appointment and give biometrics at your local Polícia Federal unit. Read the full process on registering with the Polícia Federal.

Validity and renewal

The first residence term is two years on the visa route (Article 3) and up to two years on the in-country route (Article 4). Article 5 says renewal will be the subject of a specific resolution.

The Ministry of Justice lists Resolution 30 of 2018, which covers renewal of a residence term or a change to an indefinite term. Resolution 41 of 2 Oct 2019 amends it.

Check before you go: about six months before your term ends, ask the Ministry of Justice immigration office (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) which resolution governs your renewal or change to an indefinite term, and what it requires.

Put the expiry date in your calendar on the day you receive your CRNM.

Taxes

Receita Federal sets the day you become a Brazilian tax resident:

• Temporary visa: the day you complete 184 days in Brazil, consecutive or not, within 12 months
• Permanent visa: the day you arrive

The retiree visa is a temporary visa, so the 184-day rule applies at first. Once resident, Brazil can tax your foreign pension. The United States taxes its citizens wherever they live, and it has no income tax treaty with Brazil. Talk to a Brazilian accountant and a US tax adviser before you move. See Brazil tax residency for foreigners.

Practical tips

The paperwork is simple, but the timing matters.

• Use a recent pension letter. Order it close to your filing date, so it shows your current benefit.
• Set up the transfer route early. Open a Brazilian bank account or a transfer service once you have a CPF, so you can show the money moving.
• Plan health care. Private health plans in Brazil can be expensive for older applicants. Compare plans before you move.
• Keep your US address. You may still need one for Social Security, Medicare and banking.

Who should skip it

Some retirees are better served by another route:

• Your income is mostly savings. A lump sum does not qualify.
• You have a Brazilian spouse or child. Family reunification has no income rule.
• You want property anyway. The real estate route ties residence to the purchase instead.
• You only want winters in Brazil. A visitor stay of up to 90 days a year may be enough.

Step-by-step checklist

1. Add up your monthly pension and any steady top-up income in US dollars.
2. Confirm you can transfer at least US$2,000 a month to Brazil.
3. Ask the Ministry of Justice (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) or a Brazilian immigration lawyer whether Resolution 40 still applies.
4. Order your Social Security letter or pension statement.
5. Get a criminal record check, then an apostille.
6. Buy health insurance valid in Brazil.
7. Apply at your consulate, or at the Ministry of Justice if you are in Brazil.
8. Register with the Polícia Federal within 90 days of entry, or 30 days from approval.
9. Count your days in Brazil for tax residency.
10. Plan your renewal well before the two-year mark.

Before you apply

Retirees with a Brazilian spouse or child may find family reunification simpler, since the law sets no income threshold for it. If you plan to stay for good, read Brazilian naturalization, which counts years of indefinite residence. Compare every option on Brazil visas and residency: every route.