Sergio Botinha: [00:00:00] We have these two types of investment visas, golden visas in Brazil. So one of them, the real Estate investment Visa, is a program that is directed only purchasers of real estate in Brazil. So investors that want to invest their money in real estate, in properties in Brazil. And there is another type of program, which is the investment visa, the generic investment visa in Brazil. And this one is not directed only to real estate. It is directed to any kind of investment in the country.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:00:52] Welcome to the Investment Immigration podcast by you Uglobal.com with weekly in-depth interviews with the world's leading investment immigration professionals. Welcome to another episode of the Investment Immigration podcast brought to you by Uglobal.com. I'm your host, Salman Siddiqui. Today in this episode, we are going to focus on Brazil and the investment immigration options there. Not a lot of people know this, but actually Brazil has a golden visa program for investors and it is not something that many people talk about or know about. Usually people just talk about the digital Nomad program, which has been popular for the past few years, but there are some very good options there in this episode. We are going to try to also find out about whether there are any restrictions to that program because there's a lot of conflicting information about whether you can invest in the big cities or is it just in certain parts of the country. We're going to try to clarify those points in this episode. So to discuss all of this, I have a very special guest who is in Brazil right now. His name is Sergio Botinha. He's the head attorney at Botinha and Cabral International Law Assistance. Welcome to the show, Sergio.

Sergio Botinha: [00:02:09] Thank you so much. It's my pleasure to be here with you today.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:02:14] Fantastic. So without further ado, let's talk about Brazil's golden visa, what it entails and how it has been attracting foreign investors. So please share with us.

Sergio Botinha: [00:02:25] Well, indeed, Brazil has a program that is sort of a golden visa program. It's not entitled that. It's called the Investment Visa or the Real Estate Investment Visa. We have these two types of investment visas, golden visas in Brazil. So one of them, the real Estate investment Visa, is a program that is directed only purchasers of real estate in Brazil. So investors that want to invest their money in real estate, in properties in Brazil. And there is another type of program, which is the investment visa, the generic investment visa in Brazil. And this one is not directed only to real estate. It is directed to any kind of investment in the country. We can talk about these two types of investment visa. Again, it's going to be my pleasure to to inform you of all all the questions you might have about these programs.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:03:20] So talking about the real estate route that the program offers, if you could shed more light on that, how does that work and how long has this option been there, If you could tell a little history as well.

Sergio Botinha: [00:03:31] This real estate program is not a process that exists for a long time. It's around five years that we have a little bit more that we have it, if I recall correctly, six, seven years. And it's a more straightforward investment program through which you buy real estate and then you make the application and then you are granted a permanent visa. It's more straightforward than the generic investment because the generic investment would require you to actually incorporate a company or buy an existing company. But then of course you can invest in any area of the country. The real estate is more straightforward. There is the bureaucracy that is involved, of course, but it's more straightforward. So you buy real estate and then you can gathering all the documentation and the real estate being in proper legal condition, you can apply for the investment visa in Brazil. So the minimum threshold, the amount that is required for you to be eligible for that real estate visa is it varies within the country depending on the region of Brazil that you purchase the real estate. So if you are talking about the south of Brazil, that with the south east of the country, you have to invest a million reais, which today is around 200,000 USD, 200,000 USD. If you are in the South or the Southeast, that would comprise Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Minas Geraes or the states in the South, Santa Catarina and Parana. If you were talking about the north of the country, the northeast and the north, then the investment is lower. You don't have to invest 1 million reais. You have to invest at least 700,000 reais, which is 30% less of the amount that is required in the south and in the southeast. Okay. So we are talking the states in the northeast and the beaches in the northeast, which are very famous, Salvador, Bahia, Recife, Ceara, of course, the Amazon and Manaus. So the investment there that is required is less than in the states in the south, because there is an interest of in the country to develop those regions more in the north of the country.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:05:44] What is the incentive for a foreign investor to put their money somewhere which is less developed than, say, the south of Brazil? Why would they choose that option apart from the fact that they will have to pay a little less or 30% less? What's the attractive bit there for a foreign investor who is listening to our show right now?

Sergio Botinha: [00:06:02] We do have two kinds of foreigners that would like to invest. In the country, the ones that have a link with the country, family, girlfriend, something like that, that will then they will go to the places that they normally come to Brazil when they come to Brazil. So, I mean, it's a huge country. It's a continental country. If the foreigner has already a destination in the country that he's more used to it, he will buy there, he will invest there. So that's the logic behind this type of foreigner. But also there are other people that they don't still have a link. They have come here once or twice and they like a place better than a type of place, better than the rest that would be more open type of foreigner. The whole country is developed. It is a country that it is a high GDP. We have places that the GDP per capita is lower than the rest, but it still is a country of a great GDP numbers. So in the Northeast, what you have is the beaches are wonderful. So it's really tropical. It's very, very warm. It's sun all over the year. So have Sierra, Fortaleza and Natal. So there is a community of Europeans that go to Natal. There is a bunch of people there that you might know or at least be more acquainted with the area and in the south, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and of course Florianopolis in Santa Catarina from Argentina, there's a lot of people that goes to Florianopolis in Rio and Sao Paulo are well known international cities. So if you want more tropical, you go to the Northeast. If you want more multicultural cities, you go south. You would go to Sao Paulo or Rio. That's more or less the logic behind it.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:07:47] What about the factor about return on investment? If somebody is looking for a better return on investment where they should go, in your opinion?

Sergio Botinha: [00:07:55] In my opinion, I think the Northeast would provide more because you would buy properties with lower amounts. So there is still a more roof for growth. That is higher than in the southeast. But of course, if you do a good purchase in Rio de Janeiro, it's a market. I mean, real estate is a market that in Brazil is always developing. It's always increasing all over the country. If you want more infrastructure, you would go to south commenting a little bit on the other response as well. But if you want tropical beaches, you go to the north. But both of the areas there is going to be growth no matter what. That's my opinion.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:08:32] I also want to understand from you the type of properties that are commonly sought by foreign investors. So what's the trend? Do people mostly go for residential properties or do they look for commercial properties like maybe trying to acquire a hotel or some other commercial property?

Sergio Botinha: [00:08:48] Well, definitely the residential properties are more sought after in Brazil. Definitely. I would say that the trend is following that first question that the person knows has a link with the country. I mean, you go to Rio, the capital, or Sao Paulo, the capital, you would normally buy a flat or a very urban apartment in good regions of that capital. But if you are going for a more tropical investment, if I could say so, people would buy beachfront houses in the northeast. That would be the trend. Normally they would go for beachfront properties.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:09:22] In terms of buying commercial properties. Is that option there on the table or one can only buy residential type of properties.

Sergio Botinha: [00:09:29] You are free to buy any of type of property that you would like to buy. You can actually buy properties that are being under construction, that are under constructions of the plan. If you want the requirements, the bureaucratic requirements are that you have to buy properties that have registries. The deeds, the titles are clean, are okay. If you buy under construction, there has to be a formal plan in place registered in the real estate registry office. So that would be the requirement. You have to invest the amounts of a million reais, 200 zero zero 0 USD or 700,000 reais in the Northeast or in the Amazon. You have to put that money within Brazil. So you have to send from your personal account to the seller in the country you can actually finance. But what you can finance has to be on top of the million reais of 700,000 reais because you have to put that money within the country to be eligible for the visa so you can find finance. But it's on the top of that. And the requirements are that, well, the real estate registry is the title and the deeds are everything fine as it should be, I would say, in any real estate purchase.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:10:47] Right. And in terms of the currency used to buy those properties, is there a requirement or any restrictions in the foreign currency that one can use to buy a property? Does it has to be only in dollars or euros, or can one even use the local currency and be eligible for. The investment visa.

Sergio Botinha: [00:11:06] In Brazil, we have a currency legal framework that is very specific. So you will buy from abroad using your currency euros or US dollars or whatever is the currency that you're going to use. So when you make the international payment using a commercial bank, you will send that money. Your money will send the money to the seller in Brazil because the seller will also provide the national payment information that the Swift Code or the Iban, whatever is the code that is used. And in that process, the Brazilian bank will convert the amount sent wherever the currency is to his, which is the national currency, using the currency exchange rate of the day. The banks are authorized to earn a little bit on the transaction as everywhere they will apply 1 to 5% in terms of fee in the currency exchange transaction. So, well, it's good that the seller has a good bank in that regard. Actually, sometimes advise the buyer and the seller in the operation before the transaction is signed that the seller has to provide a bank that applies a good rate or in the contract you put the amount in dollars because you can do that. You can make a private contract negotiating the amount in dollars so mean the seller will be interested in having a good bank in the transaction. The system will convert. I mean the seller will receive in his because that is the legal framework in Brazil. But you can buy, you can pay in whatever currency you want.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:12:38] I'm asking this question first. I'll give you a background like we see in Portugal that, you know, certain areas foreign investors cannot invest anymore. Certain parts of some big cities, there are some restrictions. Is there something like that in Brazil as well, where certain parts of the country or certain big cities cannot qualify or you are not encouraged to buy property there? Because you mentioned that you know already that in certain parts of the region you pay less. But are there any restrictions or no goes that you cannot do in certain cities?

Sergio Botinha: [00:13:08] What we have there are some specific restrictions for foreigners to buy, such as, for instance, land that are entitled land of the Navy. So there are some lands in the coastline that they have that denomination. So you have to have an authorization from the Navy to buy. If it's rural land in the countryside that is not in the cities, even in the rural area, but it's really, really a farm or a place that is far from the urban area. So it's denominated rural land. There are restrictions for foreigners to buy. So you have a certain limitation of acres of size to buy. Foreigners cannot buy certain percentage of that municipality. So there is a limit that has to be checked case by case, but it's not a restriction. If you buy within the acres that are allowed for a foreigner to buy and you meet a million reais threshold or 700,000 reais threshold you are authorized to buy. So these would be the generic restrictions for a foreigner to buy property real estate in Brazil.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:14:15] So once somebody buys property there, what kind of trend are you seeing? Are people actually moving in in those properties that they buy with their families or it's just purely like an investment? You know, they buy properties and put it up for Airbnb or put it up for rent. What's the trend that you observed?

Sergio Botinha: [00:14:32] Well, I see the two ways to use people using and people putting in Airbnb, so it's very common. And I was helping a foreigner the other day from New York. He was purchasing a place, Beachfront and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. He was using for Airbnb because he can use it when he wants. So he found a person in Rio that is specialized in helping administer this, manage these properties in Airbnb. And then he tells the guy, I want to use it in January, I want to use it in July, so please don't rent it in July or January. I want to go. But also there are other types. There is not a specific, very clear trend. There are people that come and use. They have families in Brazil, they have links or they would like to come certain days in the country. Real estate will accrue in value in Brazil. So it's a place that is always trendy. Brazil is beautiful. There are a number of ways to use your investment here.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:15:26] Definitely Great. And also now talking a little bit more about the processing times. So what kind of timeline are we looking at here? Once somebody decides on a property and wants to invest, is it like a six month timeframe or is it like a year long timeframe when they get this visa? How long does it take?

Sergio Botinha: [00:15:43] We have two golden visas, right? The real estate, the one that is very straightforward for real estate and you have the one that you can invest in any area, which is the generic investment visa. That visa actually the amount that you need to invest is less. You can invest 500,000. There is a specific type that is for technology that is 150,000 reais. So it's around in. Today would be like $30,000 technology, the startup or 500,000 copies, which is 100,000 USD for the generic investment visa. For these business investment visas, you have to set up your own corporation. Normally, we advise that the foreigner incorporates his her own company and LLC. It's better to have your own original LLC because the processing time for changing owners is going to be the same. And then you don't have any liability. If you have your own corporation, then you can invest 100,000 USD or 30,000 USD, depending on the type forming companies in Brazil. For foreigners, that would take some time. It's not very straightforward. Like other places you were talking about eight months, nine, ten months. Realistically speaking, for that type of visa, if you are going for the real estate straightforward investment visa, you are applying your money into real estate.

Sergio Botinha: [00:17:01] It's less time, although it's more money. But still, you have to do diligence. You have to make a private contract. You have to set up a way to sign the contract, whether that could be virtual meeting. But you have to set up with the registry for certification of identity and things like that. It is not a very easy process. You have to be helped. Normally it's good to be to have help. Also, you have to make the due diligence in the property. You have to check whether the title is valid. Are there any taxes due? Any liabilities? Check the ownership if there is any problem with the owner because there are some legal points that you have to go through. So still, it's a process that can take some three months more or less. My experience that I can say a little bit less, it's more straightforward, but you have to go carefully, you have to gather documentation, you have to check that the documentation will meet the requirements of the immigration authorities. So I would say some three months, more or less by experience. That's what I see normally.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:17:58] After that, like once you buy a property or you are able to invest in some company or business, what happens then? Do you get a visa for one year? Is it a permanent visa? Is it for five years? If you could explain that a bit.

Sergio Botinha: [00:18:11] In the real estate investment program, you receive a two year visa and then it is renewed for an indefinite period of time. The requisite is that you have to stay 30 days in the country within those two initial years and then you can renew and then it's going to be for an indefinite period of time ahead. So you receive a foreigner ID card, which is called was used to call RNA, but they change the name. So the requisite today is this one. You have to stay 30 days in the country within two years. If we are talking about the generic investment visa, then you are going to be already granted for an indefinite period of time of valid visas. Permanent visas.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:18:55] Now, say, for example, what happens after, say, five years? Does one become ineligible for citizenship? And is this something that foreign investors even look for in Brazil?

Sergio Botinha: [00:19:05] Yes, the Brazilian passport is sought after by some specific nationalities. We have some nationalities in the Middle East, for instance, in Asia, that they are very interested in the Brazilian passport. So, yeah, after four years, you are eligible for citizenship, Brazilian citizenship, if you get married in Brazil or if you have a child in Brazil, it's one year. The thing is that you have to live in the country. If you are just a tourist, you're not going to be granted the nationality. You have to actually live in the country for these four years. You can go out on vacations. You can do that. It's not that you cannot leave the country, but you have to have a permanent stay in the country.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:19:44] And what about the language requirements? Does one have to clear some test for that or.

Sergio Botinha: [00:19:49] Yeah, it's a very simple and easy test. You have to read the part of the Constitution, and if you are in the country for four years, you will know how to do it. It's not very complicated.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:20:01] Now let's talk a little bit more about the generic investment visa route that you were just mentioning before. So say, for example, somebody wants to acquire a hotel in Brazil or any other business. How does this usually pan out in terms of the paperwork that's required? Is it a very complicated process or is this something which you are seeing a trend for people applying from abroad?

Sergio Botinha: [00:20:24] Well, some people, they want to invest in the country. And Brazil, again, has a very diverse market and economy. So you have a lot of things that you can invest in the country if you are really interested in doing a business, in operating a business in Brazil, well, that's the way to go. It's less money that you need. It's 500,000 reais. And if you go for the startup, it's even less. Of course, the startup. You have to prove that it's innovative also. So there is this requirement, the bureaucracy, the paperwork is that I mean, it's still in the real estate. You have to do due diligence. You cannot buy property without doing due diligence. Here. You have to form a company. So you have to provide an attorney with a power of attorney to do so. That. Has to go through the trade Board. Okay. Then you have to set up a bank account in a country, then invest. You have to send money from your account. The company's bank account, and prove the investment of 500,000 or 100,000 USD. So there is the bureaucracy involved in having a company. You will have an LLC, you have a corporation, and you have to have an accountancy, something that normally people are not aware. You have to have an accountant in Brazil because you have to provide a tax returns every month, even if you're not running a very active company. And then you can invest, you can invest in any area. You can invest in Treasury bonds, which are very profitable in Brazil. Brazil is paying 14, 15, 13% a year in very safe Treasury bonds. And Brazil has never had a default in the past. Never. Free market has always been a free market all the time. Brazil has defended free market.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:21:53] And one thing I want to understand from you, the main concerns that I hear from foreign entrepreneurs who are, you know, setting up a startup or a business in a new country, how do they get their business plans approved? What is the government really looking for there, and how do you advise your clients to come up with a successful business plan.

Sergio Botinha: [00:22:11] If you portray correctly in the business plan, if you demonstrate that you are investing in the country in a way that is going to generate wealth and the will of the economy is going to run because of that, it's going to flow more because of that. Well, it's going to be granted in any area. There is no specific area like in the real estate. There's no specific region here as well. There is no specific area.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:22:34] We are now coming close to the end of our show. But before I let you go, I also want to learn some more trends from you, particularly about investors from the US. What kind of trends are you observing from there?

Sergio Botinha: [00:22:45] Well, there has always been a flow to Brazil. Brazil has been trending with the Olympics and World Cup, but there has always been that aura of Brazil being a friendly country. And it is a friendly country. It is hot, people are warm. So, I mean, there has always been a trend about Brazil. People come with their families. People come from Asia, from Middle East. In the US. They like to have relationships with Brazilians. Brazilians are friendly in terms of markets, sectors. Real estate is always good. I mean, people are going into foreclosure market as well, which is good. Development of land is very interesting, very, very interesting and profitable market. And also to have businesses, shops in the country will have a lot of Asians that like to start a coffee shop or a trendy place within a nice neighborhood. And of course, the startups, startups has ever been has been a trend for some time already.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:23:39] And are you seeing any investors from China?

Sergio Botinha: [00:23:42] China is a growing number, is a growing number, definitely. Today we will see much more from China coming to Brazil. Definitely.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:23:49] I've talked to so many people from different parts of the world for this show, and they also mentioned that since the Ukraine war started in Europe, they are seeing a lot of people from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine also joining their programs. Is that something a trend in Brazil as well?

Sergio Botinha: [00:24:04] That's something that I saw as well. I mean, since the Ukraine war, I mean, there was a number of requests from Ukrainians and from Russians as well from both countries. That's a fact. Yes, I.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:24:16] See. So we've come to the end of our show. So thank you so much for being part of this show, part of our episode. But before I let you go, I can give you 30s to make your pitch for Brazil and, you know, talk about the program that you want to highlight. The floor is yours, please.

Sergio Botinha: [00:24:32] Definitely. And it can be very safe if you do things correctly. So come to Brazil, enjoy, invest, earn money. It's a country that is very safe for investors and is fun as well and nice to be in the show. Thank you.

Salman Siddiqui: [00:24:44] Thank you so much, Sergio. And in the end, I would just want to shout out to our listeners that please stay tuned to our program. We'll be bringing you more guests from around the world. So thank you so much for staying tuned. You've been listening to the Investment Immigration podcast by you Uglobal.com. Join us again soon for more in-depth conversations exploring investment immigration opportunities from around the world.

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