Checklist
Your first month in Brazil
What to set up after you arrive with a residence visa, roughly in the order it has to happen. Tick things off as you go.
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Within 90 days of arriving on a temporary visa. You get your RNM number, and later the CRNM card.
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Brazil's taxpayer number. Banks, phone companies, landlords and online shops ask for it.
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One login for federal services, from the Federal Police to the Receita Federal, tied to your CPF.
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Banks ask for your CPF and an ID document. Many also ask for your RNM card or proof of address, so this often comes after registration.
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Carriers register each line to its owner, usually with a CPF. Banks and many apps send verification codes to a Brazilian number.
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SUS care is open to everyone in Brazil. Register at the health post (UBS) near you for your Cartão SUS, which now uses your CPF as its number.
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Depending on your visa, you become a Brazilian tax resident on the day you arrive or after 183 days, and then declare your income from everywhere.
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A foreign licence covered by an agreement with Brazil is valid for 180 days from your entry, with an International Driving Permit where required. After that you need a Brazilian CNH from the DETRAN.
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Need your visa first?
Answer a few questions to find your route, then book a licensed immigration attorney, with their fee shown up front.
Find my attorneyGeneral information from official Brazilian sources, checked October 23, 2026. It is not legal advice.
More free tools
- Document toolsCPF for foreignersWhat a CPF is, how to get one yourself, and how to have it done for you.
- Document toolsRNM registration guideYour deadline to register with the Federal Police, the documents and the fee.
- Visa toolsPassport visa checkHow long you can visit Brazil, whether you can extend, and the residence agreements your nationality opens.
- Visa toolsDigital nomad visa checkWhether you qualify for Brazil's VITEM XIV: the income rule, who counts as a foreign employer, and the documents.
- Visa toolsInvestor visa calculatorWhether your investment in a company or in property reaches the minimum for residence.
- Tax toolsTax residency checkThe date you become, or stop being, a Brazilian tax resident, and what has to be filed.
- Tax toolsTax treaty checkWhether Brazil has a treaty with your country to avoid double taxation.
- Tax toolsTax return checkWhether you have to file Brazil's annual income tax return, and the deadline.
- Residency and citizenship guidesHow to get Brazil residencyEvery route to live in Brazil, side by side, and which one fits you.
- Residency and citizenship guidesMercosur residenceTwo years' residence for nationals of Mercosur countries, then indefinite.
- Residency and citizenship guidesCPLP residenceTwo years' residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries.
- Residency and citizenship guidesFamily reunion visaResidence to join a Brazilian or a resident relative in Brazil.
- Residency and citizenship guidesRetirement visaResidence for retirees with a pension they can transfer to Brazil.
- Residency and citizenship guidesBrazilian naturalizationWhen you can apply for citizenship, with a calculator for your date.
- Residency and citizenship guidesCitizenship by descentBrazilian nationality for children of a Brazilian parent born abroad.
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