Brazil Retirement Visa for US Citizens: The US$2,000 Rule, Documents and the Path to Staying

The short version

Brazil's retirement route is CNIg Resolution 40/2019, published in the Diário Oficial on November 27, 2019. It has seven articles.

Point	What the rule says	Where
Who	A retiree, or someone receiving a survivor's pension	RN 40 art. 1
Money	Proof of the ability to transfer at least US$2,000 a month to Brazil, in foreign currency	RN 40 arts. 1 and 3
Top-up	Other regular income may complete the amount	RN 40 art. 3, III
Age	No minimum age in the text	RN 40, whole text
Term	Up to 2 years at first	RN 40 arts. 3 and 4
After that	Renewal, or a change to an indefinite term	RN 30/2018 as amended by RN 41/2019
Apply	At a consulate, or from inside Brazil	RN 40 arts. 2 and 4

This is general information as of November 3, 2026, read in the official texts on that date. The Ministry of Justice's list of normative resolutions shows no amendment to Resolution 40. If you are comparing routes, the hub lays them out side by side: Moving to Brazil from the US.

The income test, word for word

Article 1 grants the temporary visa to a retired immigrant or a survivor's pension beneficiary "que comprovar a transferência mensal ao Brasil da importância, em moeda estrangeira, em montante igual ou superior a US$ 2.000,00": who proves a monthly transfer to Brazil, in foreign currency, of at least US$2,000.

Article 3 lists what proves it. You present one of:

1. proof of retirement and of the capacity to transfer at least US$2,000 a month to Brazil in foreign currency; or
2. proof of receiving a survivor's pension ("pensão por morte") of at least US$2,000;

and, if needed, other regular sources of income to complete the amount.

Three points the text settles:

• It is a monthly figure in dollars, not a lump sum. There is no savings alternative in Resolution 40.
• There is no age requirement. "Aposentado" means retired; the text does not ask for a minimum age.
• The pension is the anchor. Other income may top up the US$2,000, but the route starts from a retirement or survivor's benefit.

Where "R$6,000" comes from

Many pages still say a retiree needs R$6,000 a month, sometimes "with two dependents". That figure belongs to the previous retiree rule, Resolution 45 of 2000, which Resolution 40 revoked (art. 6). Do not confuse it with Resolution 45 of 2021, the digital nomad rule, which is in force. Some consulate pages outside the US may still quote the old figure; the resolution prevails.

Documents

At a consulate

Article 2 lists:

• a valid passport;
• an international vaccination certificate, when Anvisa (the health regulator) requires one;
• health insurance valid in Brazil;
• the consular fee receipt;
• the visa application form;
• proof of transport into Brazil;
• a criminal record certificate from your country of origin, or an equivalent at the consul's discretion;

plus the income proof of article 3. For the digital nomad visa, US consulates ask for an FBI background check as the criminal record certificate, with apostilles; check your consulate's own list for the retiree visa. The apostille and translation steps are explained in Brazil Digital Nomad Visa for Americans, and the document fees in Brazil Digital Nomad Visa Cost.

The Chicago consulate's fee table lists US$290 for US citizens for temporary visas VITEM II, V, IX, X, XI, XII and XIV, and US$250 for VITEM I, VII and VIII (read November 3, 2026). Resolution 40 does not name a VITEM number, so confirm with your consulate which category and fee apply.

From inside Brazil

Article 4 lets you request the residence from the Ministry of Justice while you are in Brazil, through MigranteWeb, with the general documents of CNIg Resolution 1/2017 and the income proof of article 3. The Ministry's processing fee is R$168.13, and its official estimate is up to 30 days for a correct file and up to 60 days if corrections are requested, both extendable.

After you arrive

Holders of a temporary visa register with the Federal Police within 90 days of entering Brazil; a residence granted inside Brazil is registered within 30 days of its publication. The card fee is R$204.77. The full procedure is in Brazil Federal Police Registration.

Two years, then renewal or an indefinite term

Resolution 40 sets an initial term of up to two years and says renewal "será disciplinada em Resolução Normativa específica", will be governed by a specific resolution (art. 5). That resolution exists: CNIg Resolution 41/2019, signed the same day and published on January 3, 2020, added two annexes to Resolution 30/2018, the CNIg rule for renewals:

• Annex XXVII, renewal: proof that you are still retired or a survivor's pensioner, with the capacity to transfer at least US$2,000 a month (topped up by other regular income if needed).
• Annex XXVIII, change to an indefinite term: the same proof, plus the receipt for the residence processing fee.

Resolution 30 itself allows the initial term to be renewed for up to two years or changed to an indefinite term, with a request form, a copy of your CRNM card and a declaration of no criminal record (art. 1). It says the decision comes within 30 days of the file being complete, extendable once with reasons (art. 1, §1). The text does not say when a retiree gets one option rather than the other; that is the deciding authority's call.

Why the indefinite term matters: periods of residence count toward naturalization only once your residence is for an indefinite term (Decreto 9.199, art. 221). Ordinary naturalization then needs four years of residence (art. 233). All the routes to an indefinite stay are compared in Brazil Permanent Residency.

Your spouse or partner

Resolution 40 does not mention dependents. A spouse, partner or child applies for family reunion (Decreto 9.199, art. 153; Portaria Interministerial 12/2018):

• the request may be filed at the same time as yours, but is granted only after yours (art. 153, §§8 and 9);
• if your residence has an end date, theirs ends on the same date (§5); when the sponsor's residence is for an indefinite term, the family member's is too (§4);
• the family member may work in Brazil, including paid work, on the same terms as a Brazilian (§10).

The details, including how an unmarried partner proves the relationship, are in Brazil Spouse Visa.

Health cover

Resolution 40 requires "seguro de saúde válido no território nacional" (health insurance valid in Brazil) for the visa, and defines nothing more. On the US side, Medicare.gov says Medicare "usually doesn't cover health care while you're traveling outside the U.S.", with some exceptions, and that Medicare drug plans do not cover prescriptions bought outside the US. Plan your Brazilian cover with that in mind.

Taxes on a pension in Brazil

The visa does not decide your tax position; the Receita Federal's residency rules do.

• When you become a Brazilian tax resident. The Receita's rules are written in visa terms: on a temporary visa, generally on your 184th day in Brazil within 12 months; with a permanent visa, from arrival. How the Receita applies the old "permanent visa" wording to an indefinite-term residence is not stated in its text.
• What residency triggers. A US pension received by a Brazilian resident is income from abroad, which goes through the monthly carnê-leão.
• The US side continues. US citizens keep filing US returns on worldwide income. There is no US-Brazil income tax treaty, but there is a credit by reciprocity and a Social Security agreement in force since October 1, 2018. See The US-Brazil Tax Treaty and Brazil Tax Residency for Americans.

Myths checked against the text

• "You need R$6,000 a month." Revoked in 2019. The current figure is US$2,000 a month.
• "You must be over 60." Resolution 40 sets no age.
• "The retirement visa can't be renewed." Resolution 40 left renewal to a later resolution, and Resolution 41/2019 supplied it, including a change to an indefinite term.
• "A big bank balance qualifies you." Not under Resolution 40: the test is a monthly pension-based transfer, not savings.

Where to go from here

• All the routes to an indefinite stay: Brazil Permanent Residency.
• When Brazilian tax residency starts: Brazil Tax Residency for Americans.
• What the missing treaty means for a US pension: The US-Brazil Tax Treaty.
• To lay out your residency start date, a carnê-leão calendar and the US filings that follow you, the US-Brazil Tax Basics for Movers: Workbook gives you the worksheets. It computes no one's tax.