Your first weeks in Brazil: the 90 days of the Polícia Federal, the CPF you already have, and an address that is yourself

You land with a visa in your passport, or without a visa as a visitor, and in both cases a clock of 90 days starts on the day of arrival. For whoever comes with a visa, that is the deadline of article 64 of the migration decree to request registration with the Polícia Federal, on pain of the fine of article 307; for whoever comes as a visitor and wants to apply for the residence permit in Brazil, it is the deadline of the visit itself, because the consulate says that the 90 days of an EU citizen are not extendable. The costs of the first weeks are manageable: 204.77 reais for the card, the rent and the deposit, and the premium of the plano de saúde. The pitfall is that Brazil registers you nowhere: no municipality knows your address. The address is yourself, and the numbers you get in this order.

When	What	Why now
Before departure	the CPF at the consulate in Amsterdam; the policy valid in Brazil; the international driving permit	the CPF opens the account and the rental contract; the policy is a visa condition
Week 1	rental contract in your name, keep receipts	the address for the Polícia Federal and the bank
Week 1 to 2	form and GRU for the registration, appointment at the Polícia Federal of your place of residence	the clock of 90 days; the protocol is then your document
Week 2	payment account on your CPF, later the conta-corrente	Pix for rent and groceries
Week 2 to 4	register at the neighbourhood post of the SUS; take out a plano de saúde	the waiting period of 180 days only starts with the policy
Month 1 to 6	drive on the Dutch licence; plan the examination at the DETRAN	180 days from entry
Thirty working days after the appointment	collect the CRNM	the card replaces the protocol

What must have happened before the 90 days?

The request for registration — not the card. The service describes it as a digital procedure: you fill in the form online, pay the GRU of 204.77 reais and make an appointment at the unit of the Polícia Federal "of the district where the applicant lives". There they take your fingerprints and your address, and article 70 wants that address physical, with an e-mail address added if you have one. From that appointment you have a protocol, and article 63 gives that protocol together with your passport the rights of the card as long as it is not there. The card follows on average thirty working days later, at the same unit. What exactly is in the file, and why the birth certificate must come along, is in the article on CRNM and CPF.

Whoever came as a visitor and only applies for the residence permit in Brazil has the same 90 days, but then for the whole application; the residence routes describe what that file asks. In both cases: first the address, then the appointment, and the appointment in the first weeks.

What is already possible without the card?

More than practice suggests, and article 4 of the migration law lists it: "whatever the migratory status" the migrant has access to public healthcare, to public education and to opening a bank account.

The address. Renting is possible on your passport and your CPF, from the first day. The contract and the receipts are your proof of address; without an address no appointment at the Polícia Federal, because it chooses the unit by your place of residence.

The bank. The central bank's brochure names the protocol of your application as an identity document that banks accept, and the payment account up to 5,000 reais as the account with the simplest rules. You open it on your CPF, often from your phone, and with it Pix works — see bank and payments. The conta-corrente for the pension comes once the bank finds your file complete.

Healthcare. The neighbourhood post of the SUS registers you on passport and CPF. The plano de saúde you take out in the same weeks, because its waiting period of 180 days only starts with the policy; until then you carry the insurance you took out for the visa — see healthcare in Brazil.

School. The public school takes the child on the basis of article 4, with the Dutch file apostilled and translated in Brazil — see school in Brazil.

The car. You drive 180 days on your Dutch licence, with the international driving permit alongside and proof of your date of entry; the examination at the DETRAN you plan in the fourth or fifth month — see car and driving licence. The household goods come in meanwhile in the window of six months after you.

The protocol is your passport, until the card is there. If you lose it, you have nothing at the bank, the landlord and a police check that proves your status. Take a photo of it, keep the original with your passport, and bring it to every counter. And keep the address you gave the Polícia Federal current: the card is handed out there, not posted.

What is not here is this order as a tickable list with the dates next to it; that is the journey to Brazil itself.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Brazil or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.