Brazil · Permanent Residence
Brazil Indefinite Residence for Investors
Brazilian immigration law speaks of residence for an indefinite term rather than permanent residence. The 2024 amendments to the investor resolutions set that indefinite term directly, while keeping checks on the business plan or the promised new jobs.
- Startup route
- Innovation investor residence (CNIg Normative Resolution 13/2017)
- Minimum capital
- BRL 150,000 for innovation; BRL 500,000 otherwise
- Permanent residence
- Residence granted for an indefinite term
- Citizenship
- 4 years of residence, plus Portuguese
Indefinite-term residence for individual investors (CNIg Normative Resolution 13/2017)
Under Resolution 13/2017 as amended in 2024, an individual investor's residence is granted for an indefinite term. That status is conditional: the investor must give the Ministry of Justice and Public Security evidence that the investment or business plan is being executed, filed no later than 90 days before the end of the period granted. The ministry can inspect the company's premises and activities, ask for extra documents, and in exceptional cases weigh the economic context, the purpose of the activity and its continuing potential to create jobs or income when deciding whether residence continues.
- Term
- Indefinite (prazo indeterminado)
- Condition
- Proof that the business plan is being executed
- Deadline
- Up to 90 days before the granted period ends
- Checks
- Site visits and extra documents possible
- Flexibility
- Economic context weighed in exceptional cases
- Leads to
- Ordinary naturalization after 4 years of residence
Requirements
- Keep the investment and the business plan active.
- File proof of the plan's execution with the ministry on time.
- Allow ministry inspections and answer document requests.
- Maintain lawful residence in Brazil to build time toward naturalization.
How to apply
- Track business plan milestones from the start of residence.
- Assemble evidence of execution, such as accounts, contracts and payroll records.
- File the evidence with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security within the deadline.
- Respond to any inspection or request for documents.
Indefinite residence and its limits
Residence for an indefinite term is one of the conditions Brazilian law sets for ordinary naturalization, alongside civil capacity, the ability to communicate in Portuguese and the absence of criminal convictions. Investors who obtain it through Resolution 11 or 13 therefore meet that condition from the start, and the remaining question is time: four years of residence in the standard case, with shorter periods for applicants with a Brazilian child or spouse, or who come from a Portuguese-speaking country.
Residence can still be lost or cancelled. Interministerial Ordinance No. 6 of March 8, 2018 governs the loss and cancellation of residence authorizations, and the investor resolutions add their own conditions, such as proving the promised jobs under the executive route or the execution of the business plan under Resolution 13. Founders who expect long periods abroad should check how those absences interact with the ordinance before leaving, since ordinary naturalization requires holding that residence when applying.
Questions and answers
Does Brazil have permanent residence?
Brazil's migration law uses the term residence for an indefinite term, which works as the country's permanent residence. Investors under Resolutions 11 and 13 of the National Immigration Council receive that indefinite term directly, subject to conditions such as executing the business plan or creating the promised jobs.
Can indefinite residence in Brazil be lost?
Yes. Loss and cancellation of residence authorizations are regulated by Interministerial Ordinance No. 6 of 2018, and investor residence also depends on meeting the conditions of its resolution. An investor who cannot prove the plan's execution or the promised jobs risks losing the basis for continued residence.
How long until a Brazilian investor resident can apply for naturalization?
Ordinary naturalization requires four years of residence in the standard case, together with indefinite residence, civil capacity, Portuguese communication and no criminal conviction. The period falls to two years for relevant service or recognized professional, scientific or artistic ability, and to one year in specific family and language cases.
Official sources
- Resolução CNIg/MJSP nº 49, de 25 de junho de 2024www.gov.br
- Legislação - Migraçõeswww.gov.br
- O que é Naturalização?www.gov.br
Reviewed October 2026. Immigration rules change often. Confirm the current requirements with the official authority or a licensed adviser before applying.
Your path in Brazil.
Startup visa
Prior authorization for a BRL 150,000+ innovation investment, then VITEM IX
02Temporary residence
Register with the Federal Police and receive the CRNM migrant card
03Permanent residence
Indefinite term under RN 13, conditional on executing the business plan
04Citizenship
Ordinary naturalization after 4 years; 2- and 1-year reductions exist