The answer most people give — "ninety days" — is right but incomplete, and the part that gets left out is the part that causes trouble. Here is the whole rule.

Ninety days from the day you enter

A visitor is admitted for 90 days, counted from the date of entry. This applies whether you needed a visa or entered under a visa exemption. The e-Visa held by American, Canadian and Australian travellers is valid for up to five years, but that is the life of the visa, not the length of each stay.

The ceiling nobody mentions: 180 days a year

The 90 days can be extended by up to 90 more, giving a maximum of 180 days within any 12-month period.

This is where the common misconception lives. The 180 days are an annual ceiling, not a counter you reset by leaving. Crossing into a neighbouring country for a weekend and coming back does not restart your allowance.

How to extend your stay

Three conditions, all of them firm:

  • You apply in person at a Federal Police office — there is no online route.
  • You apply before your current period expires. Once the date has passed, extension is no longer the path you are on.
  • Your nationality must allow it under Brazil's visa framework. Not all do — the 30-day exemption for Chinese ordinary passports, for instance, cannot be extended.

Take your passport, the entry record you were given on arrival, and the Federal Police form. That entry record is easy to lose — see the documents needed to enter Brazil.

What overstaying costs

Staying beyond your authorised period is a migration offence with a defined price: a fine of R$100 for each day over, up to a ceiling of R$10,000, applied by the Federal Police. If you neither leave nor regularise your situation, deportation is also on the table.

The fine accrues from the day after your permission ends, which is why the extension has to be dealt with in advance rather than after the fact.

Staying a while? Think about your health cover

Three or six months is long enough for medication to run out and for a chronic condition to need review. A prescription from your own country cannot be dispensed here, so plan for how you would see a doctor — not only for where you will sleep.

Frequently asked questions about staying in Brazil

Can I reset my 90 days by leaving the country?

No. The limit is 180 days within a 12-month period, regardless of how many times you enter and leave.

Can I extend online?

No. The extension is requested in person at a Federal Police office, before your current period expires.

What if my visa is valid for five years?

The validity of the visa and the length of each stay are different things. A five-year e-Visa still admits you for 90 days at a time.

How much is the overstay fine?

R$100 per day, up to a maximum of R$10,000, plus the possibility of deportation if the situation is not regularised.

Stay rules depend on your nationality and your visa category. General information, current as of August 2026 — confirm your case with the Federal Police or the Brazilian consulate for your country. Sources: Polícia Federal, Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Lei 13.445/2017.

Staying in Brazil for a few months? See how an online consultation works — in English, wherever you are in the country.