Anyone who entered on a temporary visa or received a residence permit is required to register with the Federal Police. The deadline is 90 days from the date of entry for those who entered on a temporary visa and 30 days from the date of publication of the decision for those who received a residence permit while already in the country. There are two fees, not one: issuance of the card costs R$ 204.77, and consideration of the residence application is separately R$ 168.13 (as of Aug 2026). Those who obtain residence pay both, about R$ 373; those who only register under a temporary visa do not pay the second. In the end a person receives an RNM number and a plastic CRNM card, the main document of a foreigner in Brazil.
You can check the stage yourself: the “Consultar Requerimento” section of the SISMIGRA system on the police portal — servicos.pf.gov.br/sismigra-internet/faces/restrito/atendimento/pesquisarRequerimento.seam. It also shows that the card has been produced and is waiting at the unit, and from there an appointment for collection is arranged. Keep the application number from the submission at hand.
⚠️ Rules and amounts change. Before applying check the Federal Police website.
Who must register
- Holders of a temporary visa (any VITEM)
- Those whose residence permit has been approved and the decision published in the official gazette (Diário Oficial)
- Refugees, stateless persons and those granted political asylum — the procedure for filing and renewing the protocol is explained in Asylum — application in Sisconare, protocol and CONARE decision (in Russian)
An ordinary tourist on a VIVIS or visa-free entry does not register, because their regime is different; see How long you can stay in Brazil and how to extend the period.
Deadlines
| Situation | Deadline for submission |
|---|---|
| Entry on a temporary visa | 90 days from the date of entry |
| Residence permit approved | 30 days from the date of publication in the Diário Oficial |
Deadlines are set by Decreto nº 9.199/2017, and sanctions by Art. 109 of the Migration Law:
- Art. 109 III — failing to register within 90 days from entry, when identification is mandatory: fine.
- Art. 109 IV — failing to register within 30 days, when so indicated by the competent authority: a fine for each day of delay.
Specific fine amounts are set by regulation, not by the law itself.
How the procedure works
- 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. There are two, and this is what is often confused:
| Fee | Amount | STN code | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuance of the CRNM card | R$ 204.77 | 140120 | initial issuance, replacement, duplicate, late re-registration |
| Consideration of the residence application | R$ 168.13 | 140066 | only for residence permit applications |
Those applying for residence pay both — about R$ 373. Those who entered on a temporary visa and simply register do not pay the second. Both are waived for certain categories under international agreements and humanitarian programs — the list is on the fees page.
- Booking an in-person appointment at a PF unit: biometric data collection, photo, submission of originals. Addresses of units in Santa Catarina are in Where to go to the Polícia Federal in Florianópolis and Santa Catarina — addresses of its offices (in Russian); addresses for other states are not listed.
- Card issuance. According to the official service description, around 30 working days are allocated for card issuance, and the overall procedure time is up to 180 days.
The appointment itself, the visit and collection of the card are not separately charged: fees are paid for consideration and issuance, not for the visit.
The procedure in item 1 does not apply to all grounds. From October 2025, for six grounds — work, investments, research and teaching activity, activities of special significance, religious activity, volunteering — the initial application is filed not at the police but electronically through MigranteWeb 2.0, and the police are engaged only after the ministry's decision. This path is fully explained in Where the residency application is submitted — MigranteWeb or Polícia Federal (in Russian).
What registro is and why it is a separate event
Art. 62 of Decreto nº 9.199/2017 defines registration as the entry of data into the police system by means of civil identification through biographical and biometric data. This is what generates the unique RNM number. Hence an important consequence: a residence permit and registration are different events with different consequences, and a person who has received a positive decision is not yet registered.
The applicant must respond to notifications, and silence costs the process
Art. 72 of the same decree places on the immigrant the obligation to properly complete the registration request and to respond to notifications. A notification is sent primarily electronically and is simultaneously published on the police website, and monitoring correspondence is the applicant's responsibility.
The sanction is direct: if there is no response within 30 days from the date of publication the assessment process is terminated. Previously submitted documents, if still valid, can be used in a new process, but that is already a new process. Which document at which stage confirms a person's status is explained in Протокол, номер процесса и запись на приём — что из этого защищает, а что нет.
What the timing depends on and what it does not
The frequent question “where is it processed faster” stems from a wrong premise: deadlines are set normatively and apply to the whole country, not by city. The decision on residence is taken centrally by the Ministry of Justice, the application is filed online, and the official service description allocates around 30 working days for card issuance within an overall procedure time of up to 180 days. Moving to another state to speed up these figures does not change them.
The city decides exactly one step, the in-person appointment: in which unit to submit biometrics and when a free date will be available there. Appointments are booked through the police services portal, where available times are shown; the police do not publish aggregate data on which unit has a shorter queue, neither by unit nor by state. Addresses in Santa Catarina are collected in Where to go to the Polícia Federal in Florianópolis and Santa Catarina — addresses of its offices (in Russian).
It makes sense to compare not cities but available appointment dates at the moment of filing, and to check them on the portal itself.
How to check what stage the case is at
Filing and tracking use different addresses.
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.
Through it you can track the residence permit, foreigner registration, replacement and duplicate card. The card's readiness is visible there as well: when the status reports that the document has been produced and is waiting at the unit, an appointment for collection is arranged from there.
Which exact data the form will ask for — application number, CPF or RNM — is not written on the police page; it is visible only after logging in. Keep the application number received at submission at hand.
RNM, CRNM, RNE — what is what
- RNM (Registro Nacional Migratório) — the registration number itself. It is assigned once and used in all document operations.
- CRNM (Carteira de Registro Nacional Migratório) — the plastic card, the physical confirmation of status.
- RNE — the former name of the document, before the Migration Law of 2017. Old RNE cards remain valid until expiry; the name still appears in texts and on company websites.
The CRNM is needed for almost everything: banks, employment contracts, driver’s licenses, company registration.
Sources
- T2Decreto nº 9.199/2017 — obligation of the immigrant to complete the registration request and respond to notices; notice is primarily electronic and published on the police website; if silent for 30 days the assessment process is terminatedmodeloinicial.com.br · secondary source
- T2Decreto nº 9.199/2017 — registration as the insertion of data into the police system of biographical and biometric data, generating a unique RNMmodeloinicial.com.br · secondary source
- T1gov.br — registration of a foreigner in Brazil: deadlines, documents, feegov.br · primary source
- T1Polícia Federal — application progress check: SISMIGRA system, section «Consultar Requerimento», address servicos.pf.gov.br/sismigra-internet/faces/restrito/atendimento/pesquisarRequerimento.seam; tracks residency, registro de estrangeiro, replacement and duplicate of the cardgov.br · primary source
- T1Polícia Federal — issuance of CRNM: when status reports the document is produced and awaiting at the unit, the appointment for collection is also made therepf.gov.br · primary source
- T1Lei nº 13.445/2017 — sanctions for failure to registerplanalto.gov.br · primary source
- T1Polícia Federal — fee table: two separate ones, not one. Issuance of CRNM card R$ 204.77 (código STN 140120) — initial issuance, replacement, duplicate, late re-registration; analysis and evaluation of residency permit application R$ 168.13 (código STN 140066). Certain categories are exempt by international agreements and humanitarian programsgov.br · primary source
T1 — primary: law, agency site, price list. T2 — secondary: press, specialist sites. T3 — other.
Build a personal moving plan with deadlines