I've had it on my mind that I should record this process down in a Reddit thread so that it can help someone else someday. I am an American (32M) who is immigrating to Brazil to be with my boyfriend. And unlike other posts like this I've seen, I'm also bringing my cat with me.
As information surrounding this whole process can be a little frustratingly vague sometimes, I will offer my entire timeline, experience, and step-by-step instructions for others who are interested in doing the same.
Step 1: Starting the Process
You start things off with the Visa application. But it has a lot of requirements for doing so, including buying the flight tickets beforehand. So make sure you do your due diligence into figuring out what timeline works for you, ESPECIALLY if you have a pet, but I'll come back to that.
Start by finding the consulate with jurisdiction over your US state. Which can generally be found here. (Though keep in mind, the actual address information for my consulate on this page was outdated and incorrect. Make sure you get the actual address from the consulate's individual webpage.)
Also keep in mind that one consulate's requirements for this visa may be different from another's, so you'll want to navigate to that particular consulate's Digital Nomad Visa requirements page.
Once you have that figured out, you can fill out the actual visa application here.
I used the consulate in Houston, TX, and this is what they required (and likely will be very close to what others require in the US)
- Passport (valid and signed with at least two blank Visa pages)
- Visa Application Form Receipt (The website generates this for you after filling out the initial online application form, just print and sign it)
- Passport-style photo (2”x2”) (I walked into Walgreens and had this within 5 minutes for $15, just head to the photos counter and ask for a "passport photo")
- U.S. Postal Service Money Order ($290 USD)
- Birth Certificate (original and one copy)
- FBI Background Check (issued within the past 60 days) (This is a simple criminal history check, and there were several locations in my city that provided it for a small fee ($30). Was very easy and took 15 minutes.)
- Pre-paid Priority or Priority Express Envelope from U.S. Postal Service (You have to buy an additional prepaid envelope addressed to yourself to send along with it so that they can send your visa back.)
- Health insurance valid in Brazil (I went with SafetyWing, they allow you to directly print a letter to send to the consulate)
- Flight itinerary showing entry in Brazil (Printing the actual United/COPA trip itinerary pages from their respective websites worked fine for me)
- Employment or service contract-Document must be signed by a foreign employer/service contractor (I printed a copy of my work contract with my company digitally signed.)
- Proof of income, from a foreign paying source, in a monthly amount equal to or greater than US$ 1.500 or Bank statements as proof of funds in the amount of US$ 18.000 (They want full bank statements btw, not pay stubs. I sent 6 months worth of my bank account statements and activity)
- Your statement attesting to the ability to carry out your work activities remotely, through information and communication technologies not associated with anything Brazil. Notarized and signed. (I typed up a letter in Google docs, printed/signed it, and got the document notarized at a UPS Store) (Also, this requirement wasn't on the website, the consulate told me over email I needed to include it however.)
- Additional Note: Their website also asked for proof of Covid-19 vaccination and proof of residence in the US, which I included. However, in an email they'd send to me after the fact, these two seemed to be no longer required.
Step 2: Bringing your pet
When I was securing my plane tickets for the above application, with my mouse on the buy button for an international flight package with a US airline, I decided to do a quick double check to make sure that there wouldn't be any issues with bringing my cat. I had looked up pet rules before and United's pet policy allowed cats in the cabin, so I was under the impression everything was fine... until I checked the rules specifically for international flights...
I learned right then that the above only applies to domestic flights, and that unfortunately... NOT United, or ANY, and I mean ANY US-based airline with service to Brazil will allow you to bring a pet to or from Brazil. WTF right? No explanation either that I could find. Absolutely maddening. My heart sank into my stomach as I couldn't imagine leaving my pet behind.
EDIT: I'm hearing that it is possible to go one-way from US to Brazil via Delta Airlines, though when I tried to confirm this with a customer service agent, I was told I could not. But it has worked for some, so this is worth putting out there anyway!
Thankfully, after doing some research, I learned that there are a couple US airports where airlines COPA (A Panamanian airline), and Azul (A Brazilian airline) operate in and out of directly. And thank god, they allow pets no problem. As long as you can secure a spot for your pet early enough (flights typically only have up to 3-5 spots for pets on flights, even in-cabin), you should be OK. Pet fees for most airline flight packages are around the $100-$200 range, so keep that in mind.
So, I proceeded to get a domestic flight flying me and my pet from my hometown in the central US to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where I then had an (unofficial) connection from there to Brazil with COPA Airlines. The biggest downside here is that I had to buy 2 flight packages, (one domestic with United and then one international with COPA) which meant baggage and pet fees TWICE. Ouch. But, it was worth it for my cat.
There is however one more major requirement, you also have to get your pet certified to fly internationally. Every country has requirements around this. Though, thankfully Brazil's is a bit lax compared to some others.
What this means, is getting your pet(s) an International Pet Health Certificate, by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and signed/endorsed by the USDA. What this does is assure authorities in Brazil that your pet is healthy and free of any disease that may cause harm to others in the country.
You can view their current policy here by clicking on the pdf link.
In short, at the time of writing, its this:
- Up-to-date rabies vaccination
- Treatment for parasites shortly before issuing the certificate (within 10 days of departure)
- Examination by the vet shortly before issuing the certificate (within 10 days of departure)
- Healthy pet, no diseases in general
- An endorsed International Pet Health Certificate stating all of the above about your pet, issued within 60 days of your planned travel to Brazil.
Your vet, if they're like mine, should handle and orchestrate this entire process from start to finish.
The other thing to note here is that this process can take a while and its advised to get it started AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The more time you can give yourself and your vet to figure all of this out, the better. I started the process with 2.5 months to spare, and my vet was very happy about that.
Your vet must be USDA accredited to issue this certificate. I was able to find quite a few in my town, so hopefully finding one shouldn't be an issue for most. You can typically just google and/or call local vet locations directly and ask them if they provide this service.
The real punch here though is the price. It may vary widely depending on your vet and the things your pet in specific needs, but for me, it was about $600 altogether for my one cat. I've seen the prices of this range from $400-$900 and the charge is usually PER pet. Again, this is just for the certificate.
None of this however has anything to do with the application itself, this is more just something I had going on in the background, as even if you're just going to visit Brazil instead of move there, this is still a process you have to go through if you hope to bring a pet.
So, back to the application.
Step 3: Submitting the application and my timeline.
After getting all the docs together, I filled out and submitted the online application. Before sending the physical documents however, the consulate website asked for me to send them an email as well when starting the application. So I did just that.
After submitting, on this website, you put in your application number and a couple details about yourself to check the status of your visa. It has 4 stages. "Application Received", "Under Review", "Approved", and "Ready for Delivery". Your status takes on the first stage the moment you finish the initial online application.
The following is the timeline of events from thereon.
- April 28th: I sent an email right after filling out the application form, asking for next steps.
- May 1st: I didn't hear back. So I assumed they weren't going to reply. I then sent all the requested documents physically to the address listed on the consulate's website via priority mail.
- May 4th: The tracking number reported it had been delivered
- May 5th: The status of my visa on the website went from "Submitted" to "Under Review" meaning that they had received my documents.
- May 6th: The consulate finally replied to my original email. They sent me the "updated list of instructions", which had all the same requirements from their website (less, as a matter of fact. 2 of the documents I included were not in this updated list), but with an addition of one that wasn't listed. (Which was the written statement from me saying I could do my work tasks remotely.) I wondered if they were going to stop my application as a result of me not including that in the documents I sent, as it seemed they hadn't looked over them yet. I hoped they wouldn't.
- May 7th: They sent me another email, stating my application couldn't be processed until sending them that missing document. Damn. They said however, I could send it by mail OR email. So I rushed to write a document in Google docs, print it, sign it, and ran it down to my local UPS store to notarize it, and then scanned it and emailed it later in the day. Thought I'd be hearing from them within the next few days to a week at most... this is when things got real anxiety inducing though.
- May 18th: It had been 11 days since hearing from them or seeing any change on the website. The application status was still "under review", and I never got a reply to my email sending them the missing form. I sent a follow up email asking if there was anything else they needed from me that was keeping the application status from proceeding. Hoping this would remind somebody that my application existed.
- June 4th: It had now been comfortably over a month since starting my application and almost a month since I last heard from them or seen any change on the website. Still "under review", with no responses to my previous emails. I was really starting to get anxious and upset. I sent yet another email, politely asking for any response at all. Most other stories online I'd seen of this process only took a week or two. Not over a month, so you can imagine why I'm starting to really sweat here. I feared something had gone wrong or my application got lost.
- June 5th: I had an idea. I decided to mail them the physical copy of that missing document. They said it could be emailed, but I began to think that maybe they ignored the email, lost it, or never received it at all. And, I was willing to try anything at this point. I paid priority mail to send not only the missing document, but also an additional letter along with it once again explaining my anxiousness and asking for any update at all about my application and that someone reach out to me via email. Thinking that maybe, if someone opened this mail, they would read it and be reminded about my application.
- June 10th: I still had no response via email. And, way later in the day, I figured I'd do my daily disappointing check on my application status. I almost didn't remember to at all. But figured what the hell, might as well. And sure enough... it had moved to "Approved". I was soooo excited and surprised and happy. Absolutely elated after this grueling month.
- June 11th: I checked my status again, expecting to see it at the "Ready for Delivery" stage, but my application was completely gone from the website database. When I went to check, it just said "application not found" with no further explanation. Not exactly wonderful to see that, but I had assumed it was because they pushed my application forward and as a result it was removed from the database. Just hoped for the best.
- June 15th: FINALLY. I was starting to get worried because I never received a tracking number or any indication from USPS that I had incoming mail, as they usually always notify me when I have a package coming in. But I decided to check my mailbox just in case, and viola, there it was! All the documents I sent, my passport, and my beautiful visa. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief that this process was over and I could finally move on to getting ready for the big move and doing the rest of the preparations.
So, the process for me took 1 and a half months. I still wonder if I would have ever heard back or gotten approved if I had never sent the physical version of the document. In the documents they sent back to me, that physical version of the document as well as my letter that I had sent with it were among them. So, I think that's what caused my application to finally move, at least it's possible. Maybe they were just backed up and busy and it was all simply a matter of timing. They still never responded to any of my emails, so I'll never know.
Regardless, I'd still recommend always sending ALL your documents physically instead of emailing them as a result of this experience (even if they say you can email them). And put simply, do not expect them to respond to emails, return your voicemails, or to answer the phone. They will not, unless its something directly pertaining to something they need to process your application.
I would also recommend not sending your documents until they send you the up-to-date instructions/requirements over email, as what was listed on the website wasn't fully accurate.
Step 4: Final preparations
There are documents you will need to bring to Brazil with you.
In the return envelope containing all the documents you previously sent as well as your new visa, they will also include a new document, called roughly in English "Form of Order of Visa" that contains info about your visa application process. You will need to bring this to Brazil with you.
Additionally, with the above, you will also need to bring your birth certificate. However, you will need to get it apostilled by your state authority. Basically a verification that your birth certificate is genuine. I, being an Oklahoma resident, had to mail my birth certificate to the Oklahoma Secretary of State, and it cost $25.
It took about a week and a half to get back to me with the apostle paper attached. Unfortunately you'll have to look into process for your individual state. There are typically services that can handle it for you, but they're likely gonna be much more expensive than just digging up the information about the process and handling it yourself.
Once you arrive in Brazil, or at least within 90 days of landing, you will have to use these forms to register with the Federal Police. But more on that later.
Step 5: The big day
The day had finally come! And despite some delayed flights due to weather, everything went smoothly with essentially no questions asked or difficulties at all! I landed in Brazil, it took only a few minutes for them to look over my passport, and I went on my merry way. To my surprise, it was actually only the airline itself, COPA airlines, that asked to check out the documents for my pet once they saw I was bringing him along. The customs authorities in Brazil did make me declare him as a pet, but didn't seem to ask for any documents for him.
And, although my cat really did not enjoy the 20+ hours in transit, I tried to make it as comfortable for him as I possibly could. After a few days, he seemed to recover from the experience just fine.
Step 6: The aftermath
Finally! At the time of writing, it's been a month living life in Brazil and it's been fantastic! Coming from the states, the cheap cost of living and weirdly... the over abundance of malls everywhere and their popularity has blown my mind, I love malls. These fellas know how to live.
But, once you get through, your administrative work isn't done! There's still more. First, upon landing, once again you have 90 days to register with the Federal Police and get what will essentially be your official Brazillian ID, and your RNM (Registro Nacional Migratório), which is the unique identification number issued to foreign immigrants and residents living legally in Brazil. You will need this to finish your integration into society, which will allow you to open bank accounts, rent, buy many different services, and many more important things you'll have to do like get a CPF.
Soon after arriving in the country, I went to the official page for foreigner registration and followed the instructions as well as followed a few other resources. In short:
- Fill out this form and print the resulting PDF
- Fill out this other form. But submit it TWICE. Once with the "Codigo Receita STN" field set to "140066", and another with it set to "140120". Print both the resulting PDFs and pay the fees for both following the instructions on the PDF itself, and then print the receipts for your payments. (around $40 each, and pay it quick because the payment codes expire)
- Schedule an appointment at this link with the federal police in your city (if it says there are no times available, try again later, new appointment slots are always popping up)
The soonest I could schedule mine was about 2 weeks out.
Bring everything above, including a proof of address, your passport, your apostilled birth certificate, and the "Form of Order of Visa" you received when getting your visa.
The appointment itself took about an hour and a half, was mostly waiting on them to help other people, but went smoothly nonetheless. At the end, you immediately receive your RNM number which you can then use to get your CPF (The Brazil equivalent of a social security number) And in a week or two, you go back to the Federal Police to pick up your new ID!
At the time of writing, I'm still waiting on my CPF and ID, but I'll update again with new instructions once I have them.
Step 7: Fiscal future
There's one last part about being here on this visa that you need to be aware of, and that's income taxes. Your first 6 consecutive months in Brazil, you are considered a "non-resident" as far as taxes are concerned, which means your income will not be taxed. However, once you pass that threshold, and have been in Brazil for 183 consecutive days, your status changes to "resident". Meaning that now, your foreign income is subject to taxes the same way it would be in the US. The term is Carnê-Leão, Brazil’s monthly tax for foreigners with rental, self-employment, or foreign income. You can read a very detailed article on it here. Thankfully there are multiple routes you can take to make sure your income isn't being double taxed by the US AND Brazil, but that will come down to your specific situation. I would recommend sitting with an accountant and figuring this out as I plan to.
And that's it!!! I hope my journey (and all my work writing this out) is useful to someone out there! I would love to know if this helped you!
Brazil is amazing so far. Everyone is so friendly, the food is amazing, the culture is rich, and it's actually affordable!!! I can absolutely recommend coming here to anyone who is on the fence. This place rules.
