Are some of us violating the terms of our Brazil visa?

[imrthr]

I just had a telephone conversation with an American friend who returned to Brazil today. This is my friend’s fourth trip to Brazil this year. As of today, he has been in Brazil during his prior three trips, a total of 45 days.

 

While my friend was going through Brazil immigration, he was treated courteously. However, what surprised my friend was the statement made to him by the officer who cleared him through immigration. The comment was “you can stay only 45 days more this year unless you get a 90-day extension.” After my friend reached his hotel, he counted the days he had been in Brazil this year. Indeed, the immigration officer was correct in his count of the days.

 

My friend said the entire immigration process took only about thirty seconds and that the Brazilian immigration officer did NOT count the actual days in Brazil based on arrival and departure dates shown in my friend’s passport. All entry and exit stamps are on different pages of my friend’s passport. The immigration officer merely “swiped” the passport through some sort of reader and immediately knew how many days my friend had been in Brazil this year.

 

I was under the (mistaken?) impression that as long as we did not stay in Brazil more than 90 days EACH VISIT (or 180 days if we obtain a 90-day extension - with a maximum of 180 days in a calendar year) we were okay with Brazilian immigration.

 

I know that my passport is not always stamped when I enter or leave Brazil. However, my passport is always run through some type of reader by the immigration officer. I go to Brazil every month and have stayed more than 90 days on an accumulated basis this year but I have not stayed more than 180 days this year. I did not knowingly violate Brazilian immigration. I am aware of other Americans who visit Brazil almost as often and I know that their accumulated days since January 1 exceed 90 days although their accumulated days are over several trips.

 

In the past when I raised this question to other Americans who visit Brazil on a regular basis I often got a cavalier answer which implied that "the Brazilian immigration system is so flawed" that one "would never get caught" or answers such as "who can read all the illegible stamps in a passport" or answers similar to that. Those responses are foolish and would not be satisfactory to Brazilian immigration if I were asked why I overstayed my visa. This is, of course, assuming that the immigration officer who processed my friend today is correct.

 

I looked at my Brazilian visa and it is ambiguous. My visa states, among other things, “Stay up to 90 days. Renewable for 90 days - Maximum 180 days per year.” This language can be interpreted in several different ways. What is the correct answer?

 

I want to visit Brazil legally without concern of a problem with immigration. Could it be that Trilingual might have the answer to this query?

[trilingual]

If the Policia Federal (Brazilian Immigration) has actually implemented a computerized tracking system, a lot of us may be in trouble! :-(

 

This is what I understand:

 

Tourist visas are good for five years from the date of first entry into Brazil (and not the date of issue). The visa must be used for the first entry within 90 days of being issued, otherwise it's no longer valid and you have to get a new visa beginning on the 91st day! Once you've used the visa to enter Brazil within the initial 90 days, it's then valid for the five-year period. Citizens of many countries (including the Schengen countries) DO NOT require a visa to visit Brazil as a tourist. However, Brazil is very strict about visa reciprocity. If your own country requires a visa from Brazilian visitors, you will need a visa to visit Brazil.

 

Each entry into Brazil as a tourist (whether or not you need a visa, depending on your nationality) is good for 90 days. This can be renewed within Brazil at the Policia Federal for another 90 days. However, there is some bureaucracy and running around involved, including some fees. Alternatively, you can leave Brazil before your 90 days expire (even if it's just a quick flight to Buenos Aires) and return to get a new entry stamp. It's simple for the PF to monitor the 90-day period because the entry date is stamped on both copies of the white form (tourist card) every foreigner has to complete upon arrival in Brazil. The date stamp is clearly visible to the immigration official who picks up the second (exit) sheet when you leave Brazil. It's easy to determine if the holder has stayed more than 90 days.

 

There is a separate requirement that tourists cannot stay in Brazil for more than 180 days in a calendar year. If you think about it, you'll realize that this requirement and the 90-day entry rule don't entirely overlap. For example, under the two rules you could manage to stay in Brazil for a full year (with a brief exit every 90 days) if you arrive in Brazil after July 1 and leave shortly before June 30 of the following year. That way you'd have been in Brazil for 180 days in the first year, and 180 days in the following year. Then you'd have to leave Brazil and not return until at least the beginning of the third year, when you'd be allowed another 180 days.

 

The 180-day requirement is the one that has been difficult for Brazil to track in the past. The entry-exit data evidently was not being entered into a computer system, so the only way to determine an overstay was for the PF to actually examine a person's passport and read the (often blurred or smudged) stamps. If that entry-exit data has now been computerized some of us may be in trouble because we have observed the 90-day requirement scrupulously, but not the 180-day total.

 

I discovered the reason for the 180-day limitation, by the way,while I was doing my recent research on Brazilian income tax liability. Brazilian tax law classifies anyone who has been in the country for more than 180 days in the calendar (tax) year as a resident for tax purposes, regardless of the kind of visa the person has (or doesn't have, in the case of people who are exempt from the visitor visa requirement). If the tax authorities find out you've exceeded the 180-day requirement, you'd be subject to income tax. In Brazil, you'd owe tax on your world-wide income, unless there is a tax treaty between Brazil and your own country with provisions that exempt some of your income (typically some pensions) from taxation in Brazil. There is no tax treaty between Brazil and the U.S. Brazil does have tax treaties with many European countries and with Canada. A complete list (and other information, some in English) can be found on the Brazilian tax authority's website: http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br If you don't read Portuguese, you should be able to get the text of a treaty in your own language from the tax authority in your home country.

 

If you plan to be in Brazil for more than 180 days every year, you may want to consider permanent residence, even if you become liable for Brazil's very high income tax (in my own case Brazilian residence would cost me almost twice as much in taxes as I currently pay residing solely in the U.S.). You'll have to consult with a reliable accounting firm (I used Ernst & Young's office in Rio) for a breakdown and estimate of what your own tax liability would be in Brazil. Some of the additional cost in taxes would be offset by the fact that as a Brazilian permanent resident you no longer have to leave every 90 days, so you can save a significant amount of airfare. However, this would probably not offset all of your Brazilian tax liability unless you've been flying to Brazil in premium class (and paying for it yourself)! Americans who currently pay state income tax would also save by not having to pay state tax any more. (Similar savings might apply for Canadians or others who pay local taxes in addition to their federal taxes.)

 

The only general exemption I know of to paying Brazilian income tax is if you have a major medical condition (serious heart disease, for example) certified by a Brazilian government doctor. In that case, your PENSION income is exempt from taxation in Brazil (but not other kinds of income, like rents). However, to avoid immigration problems, you probably shouldn't get such certification until AFTER you've received your Brasilian permanent residence visa.

 

I hope this explanation is clear! To the best of my knowledge it's an accurate description of the immigration/tax situation as it currently stands. And it's virtually everything I know on the subjects!