Changing status
Changing your status without leaving Brazil
Visitors and residents can apply for residence from inside Brazil, whatever their current status, as long as they meet the new route's requirements. Apply before your current stay ends.
In short
Yes. Visitors and residents can apply for residence from inside Brazil, whatever their current status, if they meet the new route's requirements. Apply before your stay ends; while the request is pending you can stay, leave and come back. Once it's granted and published, register with the Federal Police within 30 days.
- Who can
- Visitors and residents already in Brazil
- Your status
- Any current status, if you meet the new route's requirements
- While you wait
- You can stay, leave and come back
- Then
- Register within 30 days of the grant's publication
Routes you can apply for from inside Brazil
- Digital nomad, for remote work for employers or clients abroad.
- Work, with a job offer from an employer in Brazil.
- Company director or manager, with a foreign investment in the company.
- Investor, in a Brazilian company.
- Family reunion, to join a Brazilian or a resident relative.
- The Mercosur and CPLP agreements, for their nationals.
- Study, with a place at a Brazilian institution.
How it works
- Pick the route whose requirements you meet, and gather its documents before your current stay ends.
- File with the Ministry of Justice, preferably online. Some requests, such as family reunion, study and Mercosur residence, are still made at the Federal Police.
- Pay the R$168.13 processing fee and the R$204.77 residence card fee, plus any fine you already owe.
- Wait for the decision: the Ministry of Justice estimates 130 to 180 days. Keep your request receipt.
- Once the grant is published in the Diário Oficial, register with the Federal Police within 30 days.
Find the Federal Police unit for where you live →
Documents
- A valid passport
- Criminal record certificates, as the route asks
- The route's own proof: a contract, income, investment, relationship or enrolment
- The fee receipts (GRU)
Each route has its own list. A new route means a new authorization and giving up the old one: you can only hold one at a time. A request made after your stay or residence has expired brings an overstay fine.
Have an attorney handle your change of status
An OAB-registered lawyer who works on immigration cases checks which route you can switch to, files it before your stay ends and follows it until you register. You choose them from Emigro's directory of independent lawyers.
See lawyers who handle change-of-status cases Or talk to a lawyer firstRather talk to an immigration lawyer first?
Send a short note to an independent immigration lawyer who uses Emigro. If they offer a paid call, you can pick a time on their calendar right away; otherwise they reply by email.
Official sources
Decree 9.199/2017, arts. 123 to 142 ↗
Residence authorization, Ministry of Justice ↗
Residence authorization, Federal Police ↗
Migration Law 13.445/2017, art. 4 ↗
Checked against official sources on October 25, 2026. Emigro gives preliminary guidance, not legal advice. Emigro is a private company, not affiliated with the Brazilian government, the Federal Police, Itamaraty, the Ministry of Justice or the Receita Federal. Emigro is not a law firm and does not provide legal services. Lawyers listed are independent, registered with the OAB, and solely responsible for their advice.
Common questions
Can I switch from a tourist visa to residence without leaving Brazil?
Yes. A visitor can apply for residence from inside Brazil, and a visit visa can be converted, as long as you meet the requirements of the route you apply for.
What if my tourist stay runs out while my residence request is pending?
While a residence request is pending, the law lets you stay, leave and come back. File before your stay ends: a request made after it has expired brings an overstay fine.
Can I change from one residence route to another in Brazil?
Yes, by applying for a new residence authorization on the other basis. You give up the old one when you do, because you can only hold one basis at a time.
More free tools
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- Residency and citizenship guidesTourist stay extensionUp to 90 more days from the Federal Police: who can, the fee and the overstay rules.
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