Brazil work visa for Americans: the VITEM V, track by track
Who pays your salary decides your track, how long you can stay and what you file. What Americans pay, how long approval takes, and where files get stuck.
For Americans hired by a Brazilian company, or sent by a U.S. employer to install, repair, train or hand over technology at a Brazilian client. It isn't built for freelancers or remote workers with U.S. clients.
How it starts
Nothing moves until a Brazilian company files
The VITEM V isn't a job-hunting visa. A company in Brazil has to sponsor you and get your residence approved by the Ministry of Justice before the consulate issues anything. The only exception is media correspondents.
Three tracks under one visa
Brazilian employment contract
A Brazilian company hires and pays you. Residence is granted for up to 2 years at first. You'll need a qualifying mix of education and experience, such as a degree plus 2 years in the profession.
Technical assistance
Your U.S. employer sends you to a Brazilian client. Your salary stays abroad; the client can cover travel, lodging, meals and a daily allowance. Up to one year, or 180 days per migration year on the urgent route.
Technology transfer
Tied to a contract between a foreign and a Brazilian company to pass on know-how. Law firms describe stays of up to one year.
Work/Technical Assistance or Technology Transfer Visa
For U.S. citizens engaging in work, technical assistance, or technology transfer activities in Brazil.
- Government cost
- $290
- Processing time
- ~15 days
- Timeline
- Varies by purpose
- Difficulty
- Easy
What our summary gets wrong
Our visa data lists an "employment contract or invitation letter" as if you apply on your own. You don't. The Brazilian company files your residence authorization first, and the consulate acts only after approval. Practitioners report up to 30 days for a clean file and up to 60 if the ministry asks for more.
What you'll pay
US$290
Consular visa fee, U.S. passports
Non-refundable, as of December 2025
R$168.13
Residence authorization fee
Paid by the company's filing
R$204.77
Migration ID card (CRNM)
Federal Police, after arrival
90 days
To register after you land
In person, with the Federal Police
The process
From offer letter to ID card
Most delays happen in step one. Contracts without a sworn translation, a missing apostille, or no proof of the link between the companies all send a file back.
- The Brazilian company files on MigranteWeb with the contract, your diploma or experience letter, apostilled and translated by a sworn translator in Brazil.
- The ministry decides in filing order. Urgent technical assistance is decided within 5 business days; a declared emergency, within 2.
- You apply at the Brazilian consulate that covers your U.S. state. Washington takes fees only by USPS money order.
- You register in person with the Federal Police and get your CRNM card.
The money side after you land
Brazilian income tax
Working under an employment arrangement, you're a Brazilian tax resident from arrival. Otherwise it starts after 184 days in Brazil within 12 months. The 2026 top rate is 27.5%, on monthly income above R$4,664.68.
U.S. taxes
You still file on worldwide income. The foreign earned income exclusion is $132,900 for 2026 if you pass the 330-day physical presence test or the bona fide residence test.
Social Security
If a U.S. employer sends you for an assignment expected to last five years or less, you stay on U.S. Social Security only. Hired locally, you pay into Brazil's system.
Family
A spouse or partner and your children can come on family reunion visas. U.S. passport holders pay US$290 per visa.
Honest fit check
Who should look elsewhere
This visa is narrow on purpose. It fits a specific job with a specific company, and not much else.
- Managers and admin staff hoping for the technical track: purely administrative, financial and managerial roles don't count as technical assistance.
- Technicians who end up on a Brazilian payroll: once a Brazilian company hires and pays you, it's the employment track.
- Anyone planning to settle on a technical track: staying past the extension means the Brazilian company has to hire you under Brazilian labor law.
- Remote workers with U.S. clients: Brazil's digital nomad visa is the better fit.
People who can help
Rodrigo Martinez
Brazil Local Guide
Rodrigo Martinez is a local guide in Brazil for Americans getting their bearings.
MyExpatTaxes
U.S. Expat Tax Service
MyExpatTaxes prepares U.S. tax returns for Americans living outside the country.
VITEM V questions Americans ask
How long does the VITEM V process take?
Practitioners report up to 30 days for the Ministry of Justice to decide a well-prepared file, and up to 60 days if it asks for more documents. Urgent technical assistance is decided within 5 business days, and a declared emergency within 2. Then comes the consular visa, and after arrival you have 90 days to register in person with the Federal Police.
Can I do a short technical job in Brazil on a visitor visa?
Americans have needed a visa just to visit Brazil since April 10, 2025, and hands-on work for a Brazilian client belongs on a work track. For short, urgent jobs, the technical-assistance route allows 180 days per migration year and is decided within 5 business days, or within 2 business days in a declared emergency.
How long can I stay in Brazil on a VITEM V, and can I extend it?
It depends on the track. A Brazilian employment contract gets residence for up to 2 years at first. Technical assistance runs up to one year, extendable with a detailed justification, or 180 days per migration year on the urgent route, which doesn't rule out a later ordinary application. Law firms describe technology transfer stays of up to one year.
Can a Brazilian company pay me while I'm on a technical assistance visa?
Not your salary. Your pay stays with your employer abroad, and the Brazilian client can cover only travel, lodging, meals and a daily allowance for local costs. If a Brazilian company hires and pays you, you need the employment track instead.
Do I need a college degree for Brazil's work visa?
For the employment track, you need one of several combinations: a master's or doctorate; a bachelor's degree plus 2 years in the profession; a 360-hour postgraduate course plus 1 year of experience; technical training plus 3 years; or 12 years of schooling plus 4 years. For technical assistance, a technical or university diploma or an experience letter from your foreign employer is the usual proof.
Why do Americans pay more for a Brazilian work visa than other nationalities?
Brazil sets its fee by reciprocity, charging U.S. passport holders what Brazilians pay for U.S. visas. As of December 2025 that's US$290 for a VITEM V, against US$100 for most other passports. The fee follows your passport, and consulates don't refund it, even for incomplete or withdrawn applications.
Can I apply for the VITEM V on my own?
No. A company in Brazil has to start the process by filing for your residence authorization with Brazil's Ministry of Justice. The consulate issues the visa after that's approved. The only exception is media correspondents.
Can I get Brazilian work residence without leaving Brazil?
Yes, in some cases. Brazilian rules allow residence authorization to be granted to someone already in the country, so a company can file for you without a consular visa step. You still register with the Federal Police once it's approved.
Weighing a job offer in Brazil?
Talk through the track, the timing and the taxes with an Expatsi advisor before you sign.
Why not you?