VITEM XIV Retirement Visa (Brazil): Requirements
Brazil residence route
VITEM XIV Retirement Visa
Retirees with a documented pension of at least 2,000 dollars a month.
- Income threshold
- $2,000 / month
- Minimum age
- None
- Validity
- The consular visa leads to a residence authorisation, initially granted for two years.
- Permanent residence
- Permanent residency is available after the initial residence period, typically after two to four years.
- Processing
- 4 to 9 months to registration with the Federal Police
The legal basis
Law 13.445 of 2017 (Migration Law) and Normative Resolutions of the National Immigration Council.
The financial test in detail
A minimum of 2,000 U.S. dollars per month in retirement or pension income, plus 400 dollars per month for each dependant. The income must be verifiable through official documentation such as Social Security, a survivor pension or a private pension fund.
Savings
None.
What the status gives you
- Renewal
- Renewed on proof that the pension continues and is being transferred into Brazil.
- Work rights
- The retirement category is not a work route, but holders may invest and receive investment income.
- How much time you must spend there
- You must not be absent from Brazil for more than two consecutive years.
- Citizenship
- Four years of residence for most applicants, reduced to one year for those married to a Brazilian or with a Brazilian child, plus a Portuguese language requirement. Brazil permits dual nationality.
- Government fees
- Visa: 290 USD. Residence permit: 50 USD. Consular visa fee for U.S. nationals is set on a reciprocity basis. Registration with the Polícia Federal after arrival carries a separate fee.
- 1 Apply at the Brazilian consulate for your state Brazil has consulates in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington. Jurisdiction is by state of residence.
- 2 Authenticate and translate documents Apostille the FBI check federally and vital records through the issuing state, then have everything translated by a tradutor público juramentado, a sworn public translator registered in Brazil.
- 3 Enter Brazil and register with the Federal Police within 90 days This is where the residence authorisation is actually issued and the CRNM foreigner identity card is produced. The 90-day window is enforced.
- 4 Get a CPF and open a Brazilian bank account The CPF tax number is required for essentially every transaction in Brazil, including buying a phone plan. Then open the account into which the pension must be transferred each month.
Your action Documents and authentication Government processing
Your document checklist for this route
9 documents in total, of which 5 need authentication: 2 through the U.S. Department of State and 3 through a Secretary of State. All authenticated documents also need certified translation into Portuguese.
- U.S. passport Identity and the physical book the visa is placed in. Lead time: Routine renewal takes weeks; check current published times
- Passport-format photographs Every application. Specifications differ by country and are enforced strictly. Lead time: Same day
- National long-stay visa application form The core filing. Almost always country-specific and often only valid if printed from the consulate portal. Lead time: Same day
- FBI Identity History Summary (background check) U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille Almost every retirement and long-stay residence visa requires a national-level police clearance. For Americans that means the FBI Identity History Summary, not a local police letter, because consulates want a federal record covering all 50 states. Lead time: 1 to 10 days to obtain, then federal authentication
- Certified birth certificate Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Proves identity, nationality and, where relevant, family relationships for dependants. Lead time: 3 to 20 days depending on state
- Certified marriage certificate Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Required whenever a spouse is included as a dependant, and to prove joint income or joint savings. Lead time: 3 to 20 days
- Social Security benefit verification letter U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille The single most-used proof of "guaranteed lifetime pension" for pensionado-style visas. Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador all key on it. Lead time: Same day online
- Private pension, annuity or 401(k)/IRA income letter Secretary of State for the issuing state Apostille Used where Social Security alone does not meet the threshold, or where the visa requires a lifetime guaranteed payment. Lead time: 5 to 20 days
- Certified translation of the authenticated set Non-English-speaking destinations require the document and its apostille translated by a translator they recognise. Lead time: 2 to 7 days
Why applications on this route fail
- The monthly transfer condition. This is not optional and it means your income runs through the Brazilian banking system and the exchange rate.
- Missing the 90-day Federal Police registration window after arrival.
- Using a translation not produced by a Brazilian sworn translator.
- Underestimating how central the CPF is; get it early, ideally through the consulate before you travel.
Apply here
- Ministério das Relações Exteriores: visa portal Official visa categories and requirements.
- Polícia Federal: migration services Registration and the CRNM residence card.
- 1 Obtain the record Order certified copies from the issuing authority. Do not use photocopies, scans or hospital souvenir certificates.
- 2 Notarise if required Letters and affidavits need a notary acknowledgement before any state can authenticate them. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk (some states) A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or legalise Hague Convention destination: an apostille finishes the chain. Non-Hague destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate for legalisation. For Brazil the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille. Translating first means paying twice.
- 7 File with the consulate Book the appointment at the consulate with jurisdiction over your state of residence and bring originals plus copies.
The expensive mistake: translating before the document is authenticated. The apostille or legalisation certificate is itself part of what the receiving government reads, so it has to be inside the translation. Do it the other way round and you pay for the same translation twice.
VITEM XIV Retirement Visa: common questions
How much income do I need for the VITEM XIV Retirement Visa?
The published threshold is about $2,000 a month for a single applicant. A minimum of 2,000 U.S. dollars per month in retirement or pension income, plus 400 dollars per month for each dependant. The income must be verifiable through official documentation such as Social Security, a survivor pension or a private pension fund.
Do I need savings as well as income?
None.
Can I work on this visa?
The retirement category is not a work route, but holders may invest and receive investment income. This is the field applicants most often misread, and in several countries remote work for a U.S. employer counts as work performed locally.
What documents need an apostille?
For this route we count 5 documents needing authentication: 2 federal, through the U.S. Department of State, and 3 state-issued, through the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Brazil is a Hague Convention country, so an apostille completes the chain.
How long does it take?
4 to 9 months to registration with the Federal Police
How much time must I spend in the country?
You must not be absent from Brazil for more than two consecutive years.
Does it lead to permanent residence?
Permanent residence: Permanent residency is available after the initial residence period, typically after two to four years.. Citizenship: Four years of residence for most applicants, reduced to one year for those married to a Brazilian or with a Brazilian child, plus a Portuguese language requirement. Brazil permits dual nationality..
Verified Sep 7, 2026
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This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Immigration rules, income thresholds, fees and processing times change frequently and often without notice, and consulates apply them differently. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific consulate that has jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence before you act. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
