Does Brazil Really Want Retirees to Immigrate?

Getting on · 2022-04-06T05:37:25+02:00

There are so many things I like about Brazil, especially Curitiba. But the more I look into it, the more unsure I am as to Brazilian policy toward retirees. Please correct me if I am wrong on any of the following problems I see: 1. There used to be a specific path for retiree immigrants. But that was changed. Now it seems that no one knows for sure how the new rules will be implemented over the coming years, except that monitoring will be more frequent. Older people don't like this kind of uncertainty. 2. Retirement income from the U. S. is subject to double taxation. A Brazilian tax accountant seems necessary. Personally I always do my own taxes in the U. S., and I don't like paying fees and (once again) dealing with uncertainty. 3. The rule that only 2,000 reals or less can be carried on entry without the hassle (and uncertainty) of making a formal declaration is very low compared to other countries. 4. Other countries have legal money exchanges offering excellent rates on almost every corner of big cities. 5. Other countries have ATMs on almost every corner. They vary in terms of fees and exchange rates, but Bradesco today clipped me for 6 1/2 % plus a fee. That's highway robbery. 6. Given that the changes concerning retirement visas and increased ATM robbery are fairly recent, you have to wonder whether this is a trend that will get worse. I don't think I have a particularly high need for certainty. I have lived for years in Paraguay, which in some ways is quite a wild west, and I have traveled extensively. But the more I look at it, the more it seems that Brazil just isn't interested in attracting retirees. My view is that retirees help the economy just by spending dollars, thereby supporting businesses and workers. Retirees pay sales taxes on their purchases. What other countries are saying is: bring your dollars and lots of them. Brazil seems not to care.

Last activity 04 May 2022 by sprealestatebroker

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mooseheadlawActive member25 April 2022 00:52:57

#41

@abthree Macae, where James was murdered, is a petroleum city and a friend of mine who is a pilot based in Minas Gerais said that it is not considered to be a dangerous city. I agree that the love affair with Brazil is often one-way, and just because you embrace their culture does not mean they embrace you. When we become too trusting, we let down our guard. James was a light-skinned person who would have been an obvious outsider in Macae, and could have simply been the target of someone who needed his money and found taking James' life for that money an easy choice.

mooseheadlawActive member25 April 2022 00:55:19

#42

@Texanbrazil I totally agree, and that holds true for wherever you live. It is important to give back to the community. If I buy an apartment in Brazil, it would be in either Curitiba or Florianopolis, so my involvement in the community would also likely be at my local church, possibly in the form of free English lessons.

rraypoSerial expat25 April 2022 01:49:31

#43

754

@Inubia I don't find your comments 'political', but note that you seemed more intent on finding a live-in cook and housemaid than a wife. I hope you give her a day off.
- @mooseheadlaw

___

Funny, that's what I got out of his post too.

InubiaSerial expat25 April 2022 11:22:42

#44

292

@mooseheadlaw

I did not find her or pick her. She has avidly pursued me, nonstop, for many years. She happens to like what I do. I doubt too many men could actually supply it. What I enjoy about it is the feeling of being wanted. I'm quite capable of doing my own laundry, cooking, washing, cleaning, yardwork, home maintenance, in fact I do it for about 15 other people when I'm stateside.

If you prefer a high class woman who spends all her interactions with you trying to reshape your personality to fit in with her decor, more power to you...diversity is a wonderful thing, isn't it .....

jc1234Active member02 May 2022 09:26:40

#45

If you don’t speak Portuguese like a local then you will be taken advantage of but that dynamic is true for anywhere not just Brazil.

Healthcare is terrible in any rural area not just Brazil. Live near a medical school and the healthcare is better managed.

Taxes is about riding the edge. Most Brazilians don’t pay their fair share. This is why the import tax is so high, the government finds other ways to collect.

This is the golden age to retire with the exchange rate. It’s going to suck even more if it gets back to 1.5 so I would not complain too much now how shit is broken to retire in Brazil.

Getting onActive member02 May 2022 14:28:37

#46

I started this thread, a few weeks ago. In the interim, I have made my third one-week trip to Curitiba. It was my best trip yet, partly because there was a meet-up of English speakers that was organized on another website. Three people offered to help me with the bureaucracy if I decided to move to Curitiba. So kind.

However, I've decided not to move to Brazil. For one thing, a few things have improved for me in Paraguay, where I have lived for eight years. Relationships, relationships. Also the weather has cooled off (mainly), and I can make plans to escape the heat and air pollution next summer. Paraguay has its own peculiarities regarding residency, but I survived them and am a permanent resident. I just don't want to go through the residency hoops one more time. Getting on, indeed. It took me five years here to get a good cell phone plan and internet in Paraguay, but I've got it now.. My landlord couldn't be nicer. Safe building near everything I need. A few good friends, and opportunities to meet more if I really tried. Here I can do my writing without worrying about all the little details of life, which I have figured out after years here. In a few years, I probably will have to return to the States because of advanced age. Hard to predict how fast things shut down. My kids and sisters would like me to return now.

In my initial post, I didn't mean to knock Brazil. In a time when its economy is just recovering from covid and other economic problems, it doesn't make sense for Brazil to focus on the needs of expat retirees. Take care of the citizens first.

I want to thank everyone for their comments, both on this thread and other threads dealing with taxes, money exchange, residency, housing, etc. I'm sure you all realize what a great resource abthree is. And other folks too.

abthreeBrazil expert02 May 2022 15:48:37

#47

5844

@Getting on Thanks. It sounds like you're making a good decision, and making it the right way, by weighing all factors. And if you change your mind later, you haven't burned any bridges. A good place to be! 👍

sprealestatebrokerViP04 May 2022 03:24:56

#48

1288

Brazil is not meant for your Golden Age Retirees, or Fair Weather Emigres.

The ones who thrive here have landed without means and bootstrapped, and not in a Horatio Algier type of way. Talking about your hard bitten emigres. Talking about eating a low of crow, and scrapping, and living off your wits.

For all I know, you are better off in stables places such as Italy, Greece, Portugal, Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile. You know, smaller countries.

And while speaking about Chile, Bloomberg's City Lab publication came out with an interesting Article about the Chilean's newly elected president, Gabriel Boric, who made a campaign promise to move into a deteriorating area of Santiago (Yungay neighborhood ) , Chile's Capital. And he made good on it.

That would be the equivalent of whoever US President moving into the South Bronx or Newark NJ.

Talking about the highest official leader in a country, moving into the ghetto. This Dude did it. And that is a politician who made good on his promise. How often you see things like that anymore ???

And that former Uruguay's President, Mujica, driving a Bettle and living out on his plot.

Since Pinochet left power, Chileans have been bitten by the Democracy bug, I don't think they will regress any sooner.

And Bolivia is improving, now with Lithium being the new oil. Even disfunctyonal Argentina, whisfuly eventually, there is, might be worth a longshot.

I am Brazilian, a Real Estate Broker, and I would love to get the windfall from Fair Wheather Retirees out on my shores, But realistically, it ain't happening. Maybe the Chinese, Got to learn Mandarin.

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