Brazil Residence by Property Investment: What Seven Years of Data Show

Key figures: approvals and refusals

Brazil approved 1,009 residence applications based on property investment over seven years. Between 2019 and 2025, Brazilian authorities processed 1,435 initial applications. Of these, 426 were refused, or almost 30% of the total.

More than half of all approvals came in 2024 and 2025. Brazil approved 543 applications in those two years, accounting for 54% of the seven-year total. There were 275 approvals in 2025 and 268 in 2024.

The refusal rate has remained at 27—31% since 2020. It was much higher in 2019, at 63%, but only 30 applications were processed that year. The figure is therefore difficult to compare directly with later years.

Public data do not specify why applications were refused. Ministry of Justice statistics show the number of refusals but do not indicate which document issues, eligibility problems or other reasons were involved.

Foreign investors put around BRL 1.38 billion, or $273 million, into Brazilian real estate under this residence route over seven years. The actual figure may be higher because the Ministry of Justice does not report the investment amount for every approved application. In 2025, for example, this information was missing in 19 cases.

Residence applications based on property investment, 2019—2025

Year	Approved	Refused
2019	11	19
2020	26	10
2021	99	45
2022	153	60
2023	177	71
2024	268	98
2025	275	123
Total	1,009	426

Where foreign investors buy property for residence in Brazil

Five Brazilian states accounted for 84% of all approved property-based residence applications between 2019 and 2025. Together, they recorded 847 of the 1,009 approvals during the seven-year period.

Approvals by state:

• Rio de Janeiro — 333 approvals, or 33%;
• São Paulo — 171 approvals, or 17%;
• Ceará — 137 approvals, or 14%;
• Santa Catarina — 123 approvals, or 12%;
• Bahia — 83 approvals, or 8%.

Rio de Janeiro remained the leading state in 2024 and 2025. It accounted for 189 approvals, or 35% of all positive decisions recorded over the two years.

Most successful applicants bought completed properties. From 2019 to 2025, 895 approvals, or 89%, were linked to completed real estate. Another 114 applications, or 11%, were approved for investors who purchased property under construction ^[1] Source: Ministry of Justice and Public Security of Brazil, CGIL data on real estate investment, 2019–2025 .

How to obtain residence in Brazil by buying property

Foreign nationals can obtain a Brazilian residence permit through property investment:

• from BRL 700,000 in Brazil’s North and Northeast regions;
• from BRL 1,000,000, or around $195,000, in the rest of the country.

Both residential and commercial urban property qualify. Investors can purchase a completed or off-plan property or several properties with a combined value that meets the required threshold.

Family members can be included in the residence application. A spouse and children aged 17 or younger can obtain residence together with the main applicant.

To maintain residence status, investors need to spend only 14 days in Brazil every two years. Full-time residence in the country is not required.

Passportivity helps investors obtain residence permits and second citizenship by investment. Book a free consultation with our experts.