Buying property in Brazil as a foreigner

Can a foreigner buy property in Brazil?

For an apartment or house in a city, yes. The Constitution only tells the law to regulate and limit the purchase of rural land by foreigners (art. 190), and we found no federal law that forbids a foreigner from buying urban property.

• Rural land follows Law 5,709/1971: it is reserved for foreigners who reside in Brazil, with size limits.
• Border strip (150 km from Brazil's land borders): transactions with rural land by foreigners need prior approval (Law 6,634/1979). The coastal cities covered on this site are far from the land border.
• Federal coastal land (terrenos de marinha, near the shore): selling it to a foreigner needs federal authorization, but an apartment in an urban condominium is exempt as long as foreigners' fractions don't exceed one third of the total area (Decree-Law 9,760/1946, art. 205). Ask the notary to check the property's registration record (matrícula).

1. Get a CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID)

Anyone who buys or owns real estate in Brazil, resident or not, must have a CPF (IN RFB 2,172/2024, art. 4, II, "a" and "d").

• Abroad, foreigners apply in person at a Brazilian consulate, booking through the e-consular system. The service is free.
• Foreigners with an address abroad, aged 16 or older, must update their CPF details every year in the Receita Federal app (art. 23-A, added by IN RFB 2,236/2024). If you don't, the CPF can be suspended.

2. Money: prices in reais and the transfer from abroad

Property prices on this site and in the listings are set in Brazilian reais (R$). The amounts in US$ are approximate, converted at the Central Bank's PTAX rate: the final amount in dollars depends on the exchange rate on the day you transfer.

• Bringing money into Brazil goes through a bank or broker authorized by the Central Bank to operate in the foreign exchange market, which identifies the client (Law 14,286/2021, arts. 3 and 14). Foreign capital gets the same treatment as domestic capital (art. 9).
• The exchange contract has its own code for the purchase of property in Brazil (“Compra e venda de imóveis no País”, code 72911, in Resolution BCB 277/2022). Keep the exchange contract: it proves where the money came from.
• Ask the bank that handles your exchange whether the transaction must also be registered with the Central Bank, and keep every receipt it gives you.

3. Bank account in Brazil

Banks authorized to operate in foreign exchange may open accounts in reais for non-residents, under the same conditions as for residents (Resolution BCB 277/2022, art. 67; Law 14,286/2021, art. 5, §4). No rule forces a bank to open one: each bank decides and asks for its own documents. An account is not a legal requirement for buying, but it makes paying taxes and fees in Brazil easier.

4. Visa and residence

Buying a property does not give you a visa. The Migration Law says that owning property in Brazil does not grant the right to a visa or residence permit (Law 13,445/2017, art. 35).

If you want to live in Brazil, the visa or residence permit is a separate process with its own requirements. I'm a real estate broker, not an immigration lawyer: for a visa, talk to a specialist.

5. Deed (escritura) and registration

• For property worth more than 30 times the minimum wage, the sale must be made by a public deed (escritura pública) signed at a notary's office (Civil Code, art. 108).
• You only become the owner when the deed is registered at the real estate registry office (Cartório de Registro de Imóveis) (Civil Code, art. 1,245). Until then, the property is still in the seller's name.
• Documents from abroad (for example, a power of attorney) need an apostille if your country is part of the Apostille Convention (Decree 8,660/2016; CNJ Resolution 228/2016), and must be translated into Portuguese to have legal effect in Brazil (Civil Code, art. 224; Law 6,015/1973, art. 148).

6. ITBI (property transfer tax)

The ITBI is a municipal tax on the transfer of property (Constitution, art. 156, II): each city sets its own rate, and it is usually paid before the deed is registered. Ask the city hall (Prefeitura) or your notary for the rate and the exact amount before you close. Also budget for notary and registry fees.

7. The broker's role

In Brazil, brokering the purchase, sale or rental of property is the job of a real estate broker registered with the regional council, CRECI (Law 6,530/1978, art. 3; Decree 81,871/1978, art. 1). You can check any broker's registration in CRECI-SC's public search.

I'm Marcelo, licensed real estate broker (CRECI-SC 78667). I help you find and check the property, ask for the registration record (matrícula) and the seller's certificates, and follow the deal until the deed is registered. I don't give legal, tax or immigration advice: for that, I'll tell you when you need a lawyer or an accountant.

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