On 20th March 2019, the Brazilian Federal Government enacted Decree No. 9,734/19 ratifying the wording of the Convention on service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters, subscribed by Brazil in Hague, on 15th November 1965.

​With the accession of Brazil, the Convention now has 74 contracting countries and aims to create appropriate means to ensure that judicial and extrajudicial documents which should be object of service, summons or notification abroad between signatory countries are made aware to the recipient in a timely manner, improving the organization of mutual legal assistance between such signatory countries in order to simplify and expedite the service process.

Currently such service in Brazil is effected pursuant to the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory (IAC). However, service under the IAC is arduous for a number of reasons, including (but not limited to): the documents to be served must be duly legalized, the translation must be legalized, the Court Clerk must sign the IAC application forms, and many (perhaps most) clerks have never seen an IAC application form. Thus a lot of time is spent educating the clerks on IAC procedure.

Moreover, the proper preparation of an IAC application for service in Brazil can easily take several months. Once the documents arrive in Brazil, the Brazilian Central Authority will then take 6 to 12 months to effect service and an additional 6 to 12 months thereafter to return the proof of service.

Once such service in Brazil shifts to the Hague procedure, it will be also less expensive since legalization will no longer be required.

Completion of forms will also be more expeditious without the need for legalization, and because the Court Clerk will no longer be required to submit an extensive application.

The Convention will enter into force in Brazil on 1st June 2019.

Neil Montgomery

On  18th March 2019, Decree No. 9,731 was published in the Official Gazette of the Union, which provides for a waiver of the visitor visa for nationals of USA, Canada, Australia and Japan who wish to enter Brazil.

Citizens of those countries wishing to visit Brazil will no longer need to apply or pay for a visa.

Such visa exemption will apply to those visitors arriving in Brazil for the purpose of tourism, business, transit, artistic or sporting activities or in exceptional situations by national interest, without intending to establish residence in the country.

Such visitors may stay in Brazil for a period of up to 90 days, which can be extended for another 90 days, provided they do not exceed 180 days in a period of 12 months.

The new provision was enacted as a unilateral initiative of the newly elected President, Jair Bolsonaro, to strengthen ties with countries considered strategic to boost tourism in the country, as well as increase investment in the private sector. Brazil currently receives about 6.5 million foreign visitors per year. The Brazilian government’s goal is for this number to reach 12 million per year by 2022.

The new rule will enter into force on 17th June 2019. Therefore, until then, the electronic visa will continue to be required for visitors from these four countries.

​Neil Montgomery

​Effective as from 2nd December 2015, foreign individuals seeking to obtain a permanent work permit and visa based on their investment in local productive activities (usually materializing as investments made in Brazilian companies) will now have to produce evidence of an investment of BRL500,000.00 (currently equivalent to approx. USD 135,000.00) to succeed in their application.
 
Normative Resolution No. 118/2015, which revokes Normative Resolution No. 84/2009 (which contemplated a much lower investment of BRL 150,000.00 for obtaining such work permit/visa), was published in the Official Gazette on 2nd December 2015 and is a clear move by the Brazilian Government to attract enhanced foreign direct investments amidst the serious economic crisis currently experienced by Brazil and which has devalued the Brazilian real by more than 50% in the last 12 months.

Foreign individual investors should note that the new investment threshold applicable to them is still significantly lower than that required by European and North American countries.
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In addition, the minimum investment threshold required by foreign corporate entities to obtain permanent work permits/visas for their executives to occupy managerial positions in their Brazilian subsidiaries and affiliates has remained unaltered at BRL 600,000.00 since 2011.

Neil Montgomery​