Questions here: 43. Each answer comes from the guide's article, with a link to the section and the check date.
This page is only for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. For every other nationality, see the Brazilian foreign ministry's general visa table, listed in this page's sources.
The general rule in Brazil: 90 days on entry, plus one extension at the Polícia Federal of up to another 90 days, but a total of no more than 180 days per "migration year". The day counter does not reset when you leave the country: it pauses and continues on return.
Opening a bank account; Any real estate transaction; Lease agreement, utilities, internet; SIM card with operators that require identification.
Free — via the Receita Federal online form, by e-mail or at its offices; by e-mail the reply arrives on average within 48 hours. Paid (R$ 7) — at partner points: cartório de registro civil, Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal and Correios.
Through a Brazilian consulate: Find the consulate of your consular district on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and book the service via the e-consular system (econsular.itamaraty.gov.br); Prepare documents; completed and signed FCPF form; identity document.
Holders of a temporary visa (any VITEM); Those whose residence permit has been approved and the decision published in the official gazette (Diário Oficial)
The application is filed online through the Federal Police services portal (servicos.pf.gov.br), where the GRU payment slip is also generated; Payment of fees.
The progress of the application is viewed in the SISMIGRA system at https://servicos.pf.gov.br/sismigra-internet/faces/restrito/atendimento/pesquisarRequerimento.seam — this is the “Consultar Requerimento” section of the police portal. The police page “Consultar andamento de processo/solicitação” also leads there.
A child born in Brazil is Brazilian by birth, even if both parents are foreigners. The only constitutional exception is children of those who are in the country in the service of their state. The birth must be registered at the cartório within 15 days; registration and the first certificate are free by law.
Residence. The Migration Law 13.445/2017 allows residence for the purpose of family reunification (art. 30, I “i”), and art. 37, II directly includes among beneficiaries the immigrant who has a Brazilian child.
A foreigner may drive on their national license no more than 180 days, counting from the date of entry into the country, not from the car rental date. You must carry four documents: the license itself, the International Driving Permit (PID), an identity document and proof of the date of entry.
Celpe-Bras — the only certificate of Portuguese as a foreign language officially issued by the Government of Brazil. It is administered by INEP, taken at accredited testing sites (posto aplicador) in Brazil and abroad. Two parts: written 3 hours and oral 20 minutes.
Admission to a Brazilian university; Revalidation of a foreign diploma; Naturalization.
There are three testing sites in the state in the INEP register as of 19 Aug 2026: UFSC in Florianópolis (70 seats), UNIVALI in Itajaí (30 seats) and UFFS in Chapecó (100 seats).
In Florianópolis there is a free Portuguese course for migrants at the state university UDESC; at UFSC courses for foreigners are paid.
Since 7 Aug 2023 low-risk births under SUS are assigned by territory: the maternity hospital is determined not by choice or by distance, but by the health center you are registered with. Two institutions divide the city.
Regulation requires a minimum of seven.
List from the Caderneta da Gestante: photo ID or birth certificate, CPF; the Caderneta da Gestante itself; completed plano de parto; comfortable clothes for yourself, pads and hygiene items.
Percentages of cesareans. At the insured person’s request the operator must provide the percentage of cesarean sections and vaginal deliveries — for the operator itself, for the named medical facilities and for the named physicians (art. 2).
Art. 10 of Lei 8.069/1990 (ECA) for public and private facilities: keep individual records and store them for 18 years; identify the newborn by footprint and fingerprint, and also by the mother’s fingerprint; perform newborn screening tests for metabolic disorders and provide explanations to parents; issue a…
Emergency care in Brazil is provided to a foreigner free of charge — the public system SUS is obliged to accept any person in the country, including a tourist without documents. But the quality and queues in SUS are a lottery, so insurance is needed: it gives access to private clinics.
Centro de Saúde (CS) — the local primary clinic; Policlínica — specialists: cardiologist, endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, dermatologist; UPA — 24-hour urgent care: fever, trauma, pain, stitches, x-ray, tests, ECG; Hospital — inpatient care and emergency assistance when life is at risk.
The procedure is the same across the city and does not depend on the neighborhood: Appointment at the health center for your address — addresses in Health care in Florianópolis — health centers, clinics, UPA and hospitals by neighborhood; The referral goes to the municipal regulation service, which places it in a…
Zero via SUS. Exams through the public route are free, and this applies to a foreigner just as to a Brazilian. The price is time: the referral is issued by the health center doctor, and the date is set by the municipal regulation service. The procedure is explained above.
What they will sell you without a prescription is decided not by the pharmacy but by the stripe on the packaging: no stripe — over-the-counter sale, red — by prescription, black — special control.
A CPF is always mandatory — without it, no conversation with a bank can start. From there, it is residency, not citizenship, that matters: the law divides people into residents and non-residents by place of residence, not by passport.
A CPF is always mandatory — without it, no conversation with a bank can start. From there, it is residency, not citizenship, that matters: the law divides people into residents and non-residents by place of residence, not by passport.
Brazil is an almost cashless country, but Pix is unavailable to a tourist: it requires a Brazilian bank account, and that is opened only with CPF and, as a rule, proof of address. CPF is issued to foreigners in Brazil too, but CPF by itself does not open an account.
The only single metric for cost of living that can be named honestly and with a date is the DIEESE food basket: in August 2026 in Florianópolis it cost R$ 850.90, placing it fourth among 27 state capitals, at 56.75% of the net minimum wage.
Art. 11: a resident status is required, not permanent status. Registration of the entrepreneurial act involving an immigrant is accompanied by a photocopy of a document issued by a Brazilian authority confirming the condition of resident; an active RNE also suffices for this.
The tenancy law allows the landlord to require a guarantee, but only one of four — and demanding two at once is expressly prohibited under penalty of nullity, and under art. 43 this is also a criminal contravention.
The grounds in art. 47 — a closed list: the cases in art; termination of the employment contract, if the lodging was linked to employment; for the owner's own residence, or that of their spouse or cohabitant, or for an ascendant or descendant relative who does not have their own housing; for demolition and permitted…
A foreigner can buy urban real estate in Brazil — there are no citizenship restrictions, only a CPF and the standard set of documents at the notary are required.
IPTU here gets cheaper if you pay early: a single payment in early January gives a 20% discount, in February 10%, in March 5%, after that only installments in 10 payments on the 5th of each month. The discount does not apply to the waste collection fee (TCRS): it arrives with its own tariff and without discounts.
Objectively verifiable, without advertising: Santa Catarina — the state with the lowest rate of violent deaths in the country; as the state capital, it also hosts federal and state bodies, courts and the Defensoria; transport connectivity with the rest of the state and the FLN airport.
Constituição, art. 208, I: the state is obliged to ensure basic education, compulsory and free, from age 4 to 17, including for those who did not receive it at the proper age.
A child must be admitted to school regardless of migration status and even without documents. This is a federal norm established by Resolução CNE/CEB nº 1 of 13 Nov 2020.
The city is connected by a network of buses with transfers inside terminals: you get to a terminal, transfer to another bus and do not pay a second time. There are six terminals, and the main one is TICEN in the Centro, Av. Paulo Fontes, 701.
No one publishes how many Russians live in Floripa. The closest thing to an answer is registrations of foreigners with the Federal Police (SISMIGRA database): from 2022 through August 2026 there were 1558 citizens of Russia registered in Florianópolis.
The most durable are religious communities: their address and schedule do not change for years. The Orthodox Parish of Saint Nicholas is at Rua Tenente Silveira, 494 in Centro, the Islamic center at Rua Felipe Schmidt, 291, and the Jewish community AIC has a headquarters in Florianópolis.
IMA SC takes samples at 88 points in Florianópolis: weekly from October to March, once a month from April to September, the report is released on Fridays.
Steps recommended directly by the Corpo de Bombeiros: Do not panic and do not fight the current — it is stronger than you; Wave your arm to call a lifeguard; Swim parallel to the shore — across the “corridor”, not against it; Or simply stay afloat and wait for help.
A spot in Brazil is a beach with an organized scene: it has its own surf association, competition stages and people who negotiate with the city hall.
This is a reference guide, not advice. Answers update together with the articles.