Brazil work visa: temporary residence for employment

To work for a Brazilian employer, you need a job offer and a residence authorization from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The consulate then issues your work visa (VITEM V). The ministry charges R$ 168.13 (about US$33, checked Oct 2026) and aims to decide complete files within 30 days. After you arrive, you have 90 days to register with the Polícia Federal.

This page covers US and UK citizens. The residence rules are the same for every nationality; consular visa fees differ.

The legal basis

The Migration Law (Lei 13.445 of 2017, art. 14) lists work among the purposes of a temporary visa. Paragraph 5 requires a formal job offer from a Brazilian legal entity. It allows the offer to be waived for people with a higher education degree or equivalent.

Decree 9.199 of 2017 sets the detail. Article 38 covers the work visa. Article 147 covers the residence authorization for work. Both narrow the waiver to “strategic professional skills” that a joint act of the ministers defines.

No joint act has yet published a list of those skills. Plan on needing a job offer, and ask the Ministry of Justice immigration unit (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) before you rely on the waiver.

Decree 12.657 of 7 October 2025, published on 8 October 2025, rewrote these articles. Rules are now set by a joint act of the Justice and Foreign Affairs ministers, after hearing the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Before, the National Immigration Council (CNIg) set these rules by resolution, and the Minister of Labor joined the joint act. The decree took effect on publication. It also revoked Decree 9.873 of 2019, which governed the CNIg, and created a National Migration Council (Conselho Nacional de Migração), whose makeup an act of the Justice minister will set (Decree 12.657, arts. 14 and 20).

The Ministry of Justice still lists the CNIg normative resolutions as the working rules. The general rule for employment contracts is Resolution 02 of 1 December 2017. Resolution 51 of 14 March 2025 amended the procedure rule (Resolution 01/2017) to name the Ministry of Justice as the deciding body. The ministry’s resolutions page, checked 18 October 2026, lists Resolution 02/2017 with no replacement and no joint act.

Check before you go: before your employer builds a file, ask the ministry’s labor immigration office (imigrante.cgil@mj.gov.br) to confirm that Resolution 02/2017 still governs your case, or whether a joint ministerial act has replaced it.

Two kinds of work residence

The decree splits work residence into two groups.

With an employment contract (article 147, paragraph 1). You sign an individual employment contract or a services contract with a Brazilian employer. This is the standard route for a job.

Without an employment contract (article 147, paragraph 2). You keep your foreign employer and come for a defined activity. The list includes technical assistance, technology transfer and training at a Brazilian subsidiary or parent company. It also covers professional internships, foreign press correspondents, and audit or consulting stays over 90 days.

Since Decree 12.657, technical assistance or technology transfer under a contract between a foreign company and a Brazilian company falls under the visitor visa, within the visitor stay limits (Decree 9.199, art. 29, paragraph 3). The work visa article now excludes that case (art. 38, paragraph 2, III).

Each activity has its own resolution. These are the ones most people ask about:

If your employer and your clients are all abroad and you work remotely, look at the digital nomad visa instead. It excludes anyone with a Brazilian employer.

Who qualifies for a job with a Brazilian employer

The employer must show that your training and experience fit the job. Resolution 02/2017, article 2, paragraph 1, accepts one of six profiles:

1. A master’s degree, doctorate or higher, compatible with the job
2. A postgraduate course of at least 360 hours, plus 1 year of experience in the field
3. A university degree, plus 2 years of experience after graduation
4. Technical-level training, plus 3 years of experience
5. At least 12 years of schooling, plus 4 years of experience, for jobs that need no technical or university training
6. At least 3 years of experience in an artistic or cultural activity that needs no formal schooling

The contract must follow Brazil’s labor code (CLT) and include the minimum clauses in the resolution’s annex. Ask your employer’s immigration lawyer to check your profile and the contract clauses against the current text of the resolution before filing.

Applying from abroad or from inside Brazil

The Ministry of Justice handles two kinds of request.

Prior residence, from abroad. The ministry grants a residence authorization to someone outside Brazil. Consulates usually require it before issuing a work visa. Once approved, the decision is published in the Diário Oficial da União. You show the publication or the MigranteWeb receipt at the consulate. The consulate checks it in the system, so no separate letter is needed.

Residence, from inside Brazil. If you are already in Brazil, no consulate is involved. After a favorable decision is published, you go to the Polícia Federal to register.

The Ministry of Justice decides. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues the visa. The Polícia Federal registers you.

Who files and how

The request goes through MigranteWeb 2.0, the ministry’s online system. You log in with a gov.br account. A digital certificate is no longer required.

The employer or the immigrant can request prior residence. For residence inside Brazil, the company or institution files, or the immigrant can file if already in Brazil. Files must be PDFs of no more than 10 MB each.

Every request includes:

• The basic documents listed in Resolution 01/2017
• The residence request form
• The documents the activity’s own resolution requires
• The GRU payment slip and proof of payment

For a job with a Brazilian employer, expect to provide these items: the signed contract, parentage proof with translation, company documents and CPF or CNPJ numbers, and criminal record certificates for the past five years. Missing documents can lead to denial. Documents issued abroad need legalization or an apostille, and a sworn translation where required.

Fees and processing time

Ask the Brazilian consulate that serves your address for the current VITEM V fee. Consular fees differ by nationality and change with exchange rates.

The ministry aims to decide a complete file within 30 days. If it puts the file “em exigência” (pending corrections), the limit is 60 days. Both can be extended. You can track the case on the public MigranteWeb lookup.

If the ministry denies you, you can ask for reconsideration within its process. You pay a new GRU and file through the ministry’s electronic petition channel. The ministry does not accept new documents at that stage and analyzes the request in up to 30 days. You can also start a new request.

After approval: visa, entry and registration

1. If you applied from abroad, collect the VITEM V at the consulate.
2. Enter Brazil.
3. Request Polícia Federal registration within 90 days of entry (Decree 9.199, art. 64).
4. If the ministry approved you inside Brazil, register within 30 days of publication instead (art. 66).
5. Attend the biometrics appointment and collect the CRNM card.

Late registration brings a fine (Migration Law, art. 109). Individual migration fines run from R$ 100 to R$ 10,000 (about US$20 to US$1,970, checked Oct 2026) (art. 108). For the full process, see registering with the Polícia Federal.

Changing jobs or cities

You can move to another city within the same company or economic group. You notify the Ministry of Justice (Decree 9.199, art. 147, paragraph 6).

A new employer needs approval. During a fixed-term residence, you ask the Ministry of Justice and give reasons and the new employment contract (paragraph 7). The ministry then tells the Polícia Federal to update your record (paragraph 8). The authorization moves to the new employer and keeps its original expiry date.

How long it lasts

Work residence with a contract is granted for up to 2 years (Resolution 02/2017, article 4, sole paragraph). Under Resolution 30 of 12 June 2018, the ministry can renew the term for up to two years, or change it to indefinite residence. The change to indefinite needs a new open-ended employment contract between the parties. Start the renewal well before your term ends, and confirm the current renewal rule with the ministry at that point.

Your CRNM card for a temporary residence expires when the authorization does (Decree 9.199, art. 73).

Family members

Your spouse or partner and children can apply for family reunification. The Polícia Federal counts children as economic dependents until 18, or until the calendar year they turn 24 if they are students. Read residency through family for the route.

Practical tips

Most delays come from paperwork that arrives late or incomplete.

• Start the criminal record checks first. They cover five years and every country you lived in, and each needs an apostille.
• Get a CPF early. Your employer, bank and landlord will ask for it. See how to get a CPF.
• Keep PDFs small. MigranteWeb rejects files over 10 MB, so scan at a sensible resolution.
• Watch for “em exigência”. Check the case status often and answer correction requests quickly.
• Book the Polícia Federal early. Appointments in big cities can be weeks away.

Who should pick another route

• Remote workers with only foreign employers or clients. Use the digital nomad visa.
• Students. A student visa allows paid work compatible with your class hours.
• People with a Brazilian spouse, partner or child. Family reunification needs no job offer.
• Short business trips. Visitor rules may fit. Check every route.

Before you apply

Ask your employer which resolution fits the job, and who will file in MigranteWeb. Order criminal records and apostilles early. A Brazilian job can affect where you pay income tax, so talk to a Brazilian accountant and read Brazil tax residency for foreigners. Compare all options on Brazil visas and residency: every route.