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What can I take to Brazil after I become a legal resident?

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Befranazier

I got married to a Brazilian and became a resident in 2015. I traveled to the United States once in 2016 but I did not have enough money to move anything from the USA to Brazil.... This Novemeber I will be going home to visit family (Second time). How many bags can I take through customs? Can I bring boxes on the plane.. provided I pay the airline fee? How does Brazilian Customs treat this situation?

jland912

You can bring as many as your airline will allow. As far as boxes Again it's up to the airline. If you bring a lot of bags, customs will probably search them and you will be at their mercy for duty.  I brought stuff back everytime I traveled. just a couple bags at a time. A lot of things aren't worth bringing here. Better off to sell and buy here.

Jim

stevefunk

I bought like 4 big bags of shit with my wife.....all kinds of microphones, keyboard, diving gear etc, never got stopped, but it does happen

They getting stricter now and you can be forced to pay tax

highestflowers

On my most recent trip to Brazil earlier this year, I brought 5 suitcases, a large box, and a carry on bag. Going through customs, the customs officer simply asked me if I had any items for sale or if everything was for my personal use. I replied "personal use". Although everything was for my own personal use, on all of my previous trips I had only brought 2 suitcases and I was concerned that with so many suitcases on this trip that my bags might be searched. As such, I was both delighted and surprised when the customs officer smiled and waved me through.

On one of my trips last year, a large suitcase was temporarily lost by the airline. When I was finally able to retrieve it a few days later at the airport, the lock had been cut off and the suitcase had been wrapped with thick tape marked Policia Federal. Although it was obvious upon opening my suitcase that it had been searched, I was quite relieved to find that nothing was missing. Everything was there, including a 15.6 inch laptop.

Gotcha184

I just returned in July from the US and we carried 4 very large bags at 69 lbs each and a large tuff box containing my drone and all accessories.  I only had to pay $85 for the extra bag.  BUT.....I understand that the local carriers (if you are flying from SP or Rio to other cities within Brazil) will now only allow 50 lbs per bag.  This is a big drop so if you have a connecting flight within Brazil make sure you check to ensure what weight you are allowed per bag.  Most important thing is to remember not to act nervous when approaching customs and best when traveling with the wife.  So far, since 1998, I have only been stopped and checked once.

jland912

Actually, if you book your flight all together, it's an International flight until your final destination. no extra charge. Where it becomes a problem is when you book Brazil domestic separately.

Jim

CaninBrazil

When I became permanent resident years ago, there was a period of time that I could move a lot of stuff to Brazil.  As a matter of fact, I filled a container full of personal items and new store bought items for my personal use. The only restriction was no items that are motorized items (with fuel). I had over 5,000 Canadian $$$ worth of stuff from furniture to computer and smaller kitchen appliances. There was a search of the container when the boat arrived in Salvador and a small fee to pay for the storage of the container. Rules may have changed.... but it was a good deal because in those days the quality of some of the products in Brazil was not that great.

PTRio

Brasilian law still allows each international passenger two checked bags of 70 lbs/32 kilos. Sometimes you, as the passenger, must explain that law to the airline when you check in. Airlines do not like this baggage allowance, and it was nearly repealed a while back. At the time I obtained permanant residence status Brasilian law allowed one container of consumer goods & furniture. I believe that remains the same but someone else here with more recent experience can correct me if that is incorrect.

Gotcha184

Someone needs to tell American who is charging for baggage over 50lbs if you are coming to Brazil.  They have a scall on the website that show one charge for weight from 51 to 70lbs and another pay scale for those over 71lbs.  Now if you fly Business Class with AA then you are allowed to carry up to 70 lbs per bag.  My understanding is that Brazil passed a law a few months back where 23 kg is the max and then of course they charge more over that weight.....this is posted here;  http://www.aeroportoguarulhos.net/en/luggage  By going to AA's website you can search for baggage weight and they have a very long explaining available.

PTRio

Gotcha184; 23 kilos is the domestic allowance. The international allowance is still apparently 32 kilos/70lbs. The following is from the ANAC.com.br website. Note the distinction they make between flights leaving Brasil v. flights leaving other countries. This seems to say the allowance is 32 kilos only on flights leaving Brasil, you may be at the mercy of the airline when leaving elsewhere traveling to Brasil.  Also note the "depending on your destination..." clause. http://www2.anac.gov.br/ingles/pdf/info … ho2012.pdf

2.2 Checking your
luggage -
international flights
Brazilian regulation applies to flights leaving Brazil.
For flights leaving other countries the standards
established by the local authorities must be applied.
Depending on your destination, free baggage allowance
will be determined according to the Piece Concept or
the Weight Concept.
2.2.1 Piece concept
According to the Piece Concept, each passenger is
allowed to check two bags of up to 32 kg (70 lbs)
each. To know about the dimensions permitted and
about infants’ baggage, contact the airline company.
2.2.2 Weight concept
According to the Weight Concept, each passenger
is allowed to check pieces of baggage which do not
exceed a total weight of:
• 40 kg (88 pounds) for first travel class passengers.
• 30 kg (66 pounds) for intermediate travel class passengers.
• 20 kg (44 pounds) for economy travel class passengers.
• 10 kg (22 pounds) for infants not occupying a seat.
For further information about infants’ baggage,
contact the airline company

highestflowers

The last time I flew American Airlines to Brazil, I was told the first 2 checked bags could be up to 70 pounds each, but the remaining bags could only be up to 50 pounds each. I had 5 bags to check, so I made sure that the 1st 2 bags that I checked were the heaviest (about 69 pounds each), and then I checked the remaining bags which were about 48 or 49 pounds each. I was flying first / business class, but I think this would have also been the same for coach. I had been given this advice by AA prior to my trip, so I planned the weights of my bags accordingly.

Gotcha184

Here is AA's baggage limit for traveling to Brazil:

Additional items
Unless other restrictions are in place, you can also bring:

1 carry-on item
1 personal item
Carry-on baggage

You can also travel with:

Sports equipment (additional charges may apply)
Assistive devices for customers with disabilities
Bags weighing 51-70 lbs. (23.1-32 kgs) for an applicable charge

Also in the instructions it states 2 bag at 23 kg at no charge a 3rd is $85 and a 4th is $100.  For bags over 23 kg this is additional charge unless your traveling business class then 2 bags at 70lbs is ok.  .  This is posted today on their site.

highestflowers

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the first 2 bags at 70 lbs. each were free. The other 3 bags I had to pay for ($85 each at that time).

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