How long you can stay in Brazil and how to extend the period

How the period is calculated

All this is regulated by Decreto nº 9.199/2017, the regulation under the Migration Law.

Migration year (art. 1, item VIII) — literally:

"ano migratório — período de doze meses, contado da data da primeira entrada do visitante no território nacional"

That is, 12 months from the date of the first entry, and not the calendar year and not a rolling 180-day window.

Counting of the period (art. 19 and art. 20 §1):

"§ 1º A contagem do prazo de estada do visto de visita começará a partir da data da primeira entrada no território nacional e será suspensa sempre que o visitante deixar o território nacional."

Days accumulate. If you leave for Argentina for a week, the counter pauses; when you return, it continues from the same point. Leaving does not give you a new 90 days.

Basic limit (art. 20):

"O visto de visita terá prazo de estada de até noventa dias, prorrogáveis pela Polícia Federal por até noventa dias, desde que o prazo de estada máxima no País não ultrapasse cento e oitenta dias a cada ano migratório"

A border officer may grant less than 90 days (art. 20 §3): the Polícia Federal has the right both to issue a shorter period on entry and at any moment to reduce an already issued one. The stamp in the passport is what counts.

Extension (prorrogação)

Reciprocity condition (art. 20 §2) — literally:

"A prorrogação do prazo de estada do visto de visita somente poderá ser feita na hipótese de nacionais de países que assegurem reciprocidade de tratamento aos nacionais brasileiros."

The extension is available only to nationals of countries that ensure reciprocity of treatment to Brazilian nationals. The PF service page puts this in terms of the Itamaraty table: extensions go to those whose nationality allows them under the QGRV. For Russians and Ukrainians the problem lies elsewhere — in the bilateral agreement itself, which limits stay to 90/180 (below). PF does not publish refusal statistics by these nationalities: "they will always refuse" is an inference from the text of the agreement, not a confirmed practice.

Restriction by bilateral agreement

For citizens of Russia the agreement (Decreto 7.271/2010, art. 1 item 1) grants stay "not more than 90 days for each period of 180 days from the first entry". Article 8 of the same agreement allows applying for an extension only in cases of force majeure:

"Os nacionais do Estado de qualquer das Partes que não possam sair do território do Estado da outra Parte no período especificado no Artigo 1 deste Acordo por motivo de força maior... poderão solicitar a prorrogação da permissão de estada pelo período necessário para sair do território"

Under the agreement, the extension is a way to leave the country legally in case of force majeure, not a way to live here another three months.

Ukraine's 90/180 restriction is repeated in the QGRV and marked with an asterisk. For Russia the QGRV (edition 14 Jan 2020, which PF keeps at the extension service) simply says "visa-free up to 90 days", without an asterisk — but the 90/180 limit is set by the agreement itself, and the table does not override it.

Citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine should plan trips within 90 days. Do not count on an extension to 180. A specific case can be settled only by asking the local PF.

Overstay: what will happen

The basis is art. 307 item II of Decreto 9.199/2017:

"II - permanecer no território nacional depois de encerrado o prazo da documentação migratória: Sanção: multa por dia de excesso e deportação, caso não saia do País ou não regularize a situação migratória no prazo estabelecido"

The amounts of the fine are set by art. 301:

• the minimum individualized amount — R$ 100.00 (item IV)
• for an individual, the range is from R$ 100.00 to R$ 10,000.00 (item V)
• the amount depends on the economic situation of the offender, severity and recidivism (item II, art. 305, art. 306)

Recidivism within 12 months doubles the amount, a second repeat triples it, and further repeats raise it up to five times (art. 303).

Two more consequences that are usually overlooked:

• The fine may be converted into a reduction of the length of the next stay (art. 300 §2): "A multa atribuída por dia de atraso ou por excesso de permanência poderá ser convertida em redução equivalente do prazo de estada do visto de visita, na hipótese de nova entrada no País".
• Payment of the fine does not guarantee entry into the country (art. 300 §3): if the limit of days in the migration year is already exhausted, entry will be denied regardless of whether the fine was paid or not.

The statute of limitations for the fine is 5 years (art. 304).

In actual decisions of 2026

The range from the decree sets a frame, not what a person sees in the ruling. In three published decisions of the Polícia Federal in 2026 the rate R$ 5.00 per day of excess was applied, described as the minimum rate. Real amounts from those decisions: 201 days gave R$ 1,005.00, and seventy-three days — R$ 365.00.

Both decisions are refusals of appeals. In one of them the calculation was nonetheless corrected in favor of the person: the count started not from the expiration of the visitor period, but from the end of a previously granted residence that was valid at the time.

A submitted application protects you, an appointment booking does not

The most expensive mistake on this topic. The right to remain in the country while a residency application is being processed is protected by a registered, pending request. Neither an appointment reservation, nor a sent form, nor waiting for a call will protect you, and all three 2026 decisions are exactly about that:

• a person booked a submission for the day of departure — the fine for one day stood;
• a person filed, paid, obtained status "under review" and waited for a call — by the date of departure the process was not shown as completed in the systems, protection was denied;
• the mother of a Brazilian child came to the unit, was not accepted due to a system failure — there was no process in the system under her name, the fine was upheld.

What exactly counts as proof of a submitted request and how four similar documents differ — in Протокол, номер процесса и запись на приём — что из этого защищает, а что нет.

Sources

1. T1Polícia Federal, Despacho SEI 146418408, 2 Jun 2026 — overstay 201 days, rate R$ 5.00 per day, fine R$ 1,005.00; calculation corrected: count from the end of the previously granted residence, not from the expiration of the visitor periodgov.br · primary source
2. T1Polícia Federal, Despacho SEI 147292157, 27 Jul 2026 — fine R$ 365.00 at the minimum rate R$ 5.00 per day; appearing at the unit without a created process did not exempt from liabilitygov.br · primary source
3. T1Decreto nº 9.199/2017 — regulation of the Migration Law; as of 31 Oct 2026 art. 20 and arts. 300–307 unchanged (amendments Decreto 12.657/2025 do not affect them)planalto.gov.br · primary source
4. T1Polícia Federal — service “Prorrogar estada no Brasil”: fee R$ 110.44 (code STN 0094), online application with GRU payment, then in-person interview at PF; right depends on QGRVgov.br · primary source
5. T1Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Quadro Geral de Regime de Vistos (ed. 14 Jan 2020), posted on the PF website for the extension service — Russia: code 8 without asterisk, Ukraine: 8* (90 days per 180)gov.br · primary source
6. T1Decreto nº 7.271/2010 — Brazil–Russia agreementplanalto.gov.br · primary source

T1 — primary: law, agency site, price list. T2 — secondary: press, specialist sites. T3 — other.