Registration, banking and utilities in Rio de Janeiro

Do the CPF first, from abroad if you can

The CPF is the taxpayer number, and nothing downstream moves without it. It is free — registration, consultation and updating all cost nothing — it has no minimum age, and it is open to foreigners whether they are living in Brazil or abroad. What you need is a current photo identity document. Receita Federal issues it online, by email, in person at its own units, and at pontos de atendimento virtual.

The residence authorisation, and the timeline it sets

Six categories go through MigranteWeb 2.0: research, teaching or academic extension; work or a job offer; investment; activity of economic, social, scientific, technological or cultural relevance; religious activity; and volunteer service. Every other category is lodged in person at a Polícia Federal unit, with appointments booked at servicos.dpf.gov.br/sincreWeb/. Budget 130 to 180 calendar days for a decision, varying with the category and its complexity. That is the longest item in the entire move by a wide margin, and far longer than the two to four weeks it takes to find a flat.

• Categories on the ministry's list: study; health treatment; work; work holiday for nationals of countries with a reciprocal agreement; family reunion covering spouse, children, parents, siblings and guardians; treaty or agreement based; criminal-proceedings related; protected status for stateless people, asylum seekers and refugees; and temporary residence for Venezuelan, Guyanese and Surinamese nationals.
• The governing law is Lei 13.445 of 24 May 2017 with Decreto 9.199 of 20 November 2017, plus Portarias Interministeriais 3/2018, 9/2018 and 15/2018.
• There is no teleworker or digital-nomad category on that list. Anyone told otherwise should have the category and its conditions confirmed by a Brazilian consulate before booking flights.

Registration, the CRNM and the thirty-day window

Once the authorisation is granted, Art. 66 of Decreto 9.199 gives you 30 days from the publication of the decision to request the registro and the issue of the CRNM. Miss it and a fine accrues for every day of delay. The CRNM is the physical identity document of an immigrant in Brazil, carries the RNM number and is valid nationwide; registration involves fingerprints taken in person, by appointment through the online system or by emailing the Polícia Federal unit for the district where you live. Two fees are fixed and published, and both are paid on a GRU generated on the Polícia Federal site.

• R$168,13 to process the residence authorisation, GRU code 140066.
• R$204,77 to issue the CRNM, GRU code 140120.
• Pay the GRU at a bank, a lottery agent, a post office or an authorised correspondent, and keep both receipts.
• Documents vary by category but generally include a valid travel document, two 3x4 photographs, a birth or marriage certificate apostilled or legalised, criminal-record certificates covering the last five years from every country of residence, a sworn declaration of clean record, and proof of financial means.

The lease, the bank and proof of address

Sign the lease as early as you sensibly can, because the contract is the comprovante de residência that every other counter will ask for. For a bank account the commonly reported combination is CPF, CRNM and proof of address, but banks apply their own rules and no official list is published, so confirm what your branch wants before you queue. The CPF and the lease are the two chokepoints in the whole sequence, and almost every other step is waiting on one of them.

Utilities in Rio

Electricity is supplied by Light, which handles both a ligação nova and a troca de titularidade as online residential services; moving into an existing flat is normally the second of those. Piped gas is Naturgy, present in 61 municipalities across Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states with more than 1.1 million customers, with accounts opened and managed through the Minha Naturgy portal. Water and sewerage in the city are supplied by Águas do Rio, part of the Aegea group, rather than by CEDAE retail; in a flat the charge often arrives through the condomínio, so confirm which before you register. Light does not publish its document list or connection times anywhere that can be relied on, so ask at the point of applying.

• Naturgy: minhanaturgy.com.br, Rio de Janeiro customer line 0800 024 7766.
• Águas do Rio: register at cadastro.aguasdorio.com.br, manage the account at servicosonline.aguasdorio.com.br, service line 24 hours.
• Record meter readings on handover day and keep them with the vistoria photographs.

In order

1. 1Apply for the CPF, free, before you fly if you can.
2. 2Identify your residence category, and whether it goes through MigranteWeb 2.0 or a Polícia Federal appointment.
3. 3Before leaving, collect criminal-record certificates for the last five years from every country you have lived in, and have birth or marriage certificates apostilled or legalised.
4. 4Lodge the residence authorisation and count on 130 to 180 calendar days for a decision.
5. 5Generate and pay both GRUs, R$168,13 under code 140066 and R$204,77 under code 140120.
6. 6Within 30 days of approval, book the Polícia Federal appointment for the district where you live, give fingerprints and request the CRNM.
7. 7Sign a lease. The contract is the proof of address every other counter will ask for.
8. 8Open a bank account, confirming the document list with the branch first.
9. 9Transfer Light, Naturgy and Águas do Rio into your name at handover, with meter readings recorded.