Banking in Brazil while living in United States

@easygoer1050

Hello,

Yes you will need to be in Brazil to get your bank account. You will need to do it after you get your residency. Which means you will have to come to Brazil and make an appointment with the federal police and bring all the required documents.

Don't forget to have your spouse with you at the appointment.  My wife was in the waiting room and they asked her to to come to the interview desk.

All they asked her was for her ID and her relationship to me, which she said wife.

@Canforbra

Thanks....but what if no residency there?.....you cant get an account without that?.....I see ITAU has online banking---was hoping it could be done that way...

@easygoer1050

I have a friend that works at a bank here. I can open an account online. But I have the ability to show proof of residency.

Last time I was in brazil I tried to open an account online and it went smooth until the point that I had to upload my ID. They didn't accept the passport. It needed to be a residency card issued in brazil to go through, so because I wasn't a legal resident at the time just a tourist I was unable to open one.

You can always try and see what happens.

@easygoer1050

The simple answer is yes you do need an RNE in order to open a bank account in Brazil. You do not actually have to be resident in Brazil - for example you could have an RNE but only spend a few weeks per year here - but you do need an RNE.

03/03/24 @easygoer1050.  Congratulations on getting those documentation issues settled, that's good progress.

The banking situation is as @Canforbra and @Peter_Itamaraca report:  no CRNM, no current (equivalent of a checking)  account.   When I first came to Brazil a foreigner could open a savings account,  but a Brazilian savings account is practically useless for transactions, and may not even be allowed anymore.  As a Brazilian citizen your wife can open a current account, and the bank may allow her to include you as a co-signer.

To complete the registration of your marriage, your wife should give the certificate you received from the Consulate to the Cartório do 1○ Ofício in her hometown (or the Cartório do 1○ Ofício in Brasília), and receive your Brazilian Marriage Certificate.  The instructions are on the Consular Certificate.  That will make the going easier later if you apply for a CRNM.

but you do need an RNE.    -@Peter Itamaraca

From looking at the link provided above, it looks like this needs a visit to the PF.  What documentation is required to apply for the RNE and is this something that can be done in a week?  Or does this need a longer time?

What would easygoer need to do?

Thank you.

PS:  I think that I will also need to do the same thing soon....

03/03/24 but you do need an RNE.    -@Peter ItamaracaFrom looking at the link provided above, it looks like this needs a visit to the PF.  What documentation is required to apply for the RNE and is this something that can be done in a week?  Or does this need a longer time?    -@Pablo888

For someone who arrives in Brazil with the right documents the CRNM application process can go pretty quickly, depending on the turnaround time for the Sworn Translator and the backlog at the PF.  See this thread for the required documents:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1058676

Once the application has been accepted, the wait for the card is generally about a month, but lately has been longer, sometimes much longer.

Anyone who qualifies for a VITEM XI family unification visa should definitely get one before leaving their home country, and enter Brazil on that rather than a Visitor Visa.  It won't do anything for the wait time after the application is accepted, but it will make the application process itself much easier.

@Peter Itamaraca

is it easy to get one out of Brazil?

@abthree

Yes they gave us paperwork that has to be submitted to a Cartorio when she is there----the Orlando office was pretty explicit with their directions....

@easygoer1050

Once your application for a permanent visa has been received and accepted in Brazil by the Federal Police, they will give you a protocol and you can use this to open a bank account - not need to wait for the official CRNM card.

Just an update     went to IPTU today   could not open account without a RNE      should have remembered abtree thought about having my wife open and become a 2nd 

anyone have success with online banks or other traditional ones    ?

@Peter Itamaraca Not at Banco do Brasil, or NuBank. They want the actual card.