Residency rule, Brazil

Brazil Citizenship — Time Away in One Year

Summary

When Brazil counts your residence for ordinary naturalisation, it accepts trips abroad only if they are sporadic. The Ministry of Justice defines sporadic trips as trips that add up to less than 90 days per year. So 89 days abroad in a year is the most that fits. If you go over in one year, that year may not count as residence, and your citizenship application can be refused. The rule is in article 51 of Portaria 623 of 2020. A second limit covers the total over all four years.

Limit
Less than 90 days outside Brazil, so 89 days at most
Period
Each year of the residence period
What is counted
Days on trips outside Brazil, added together
Law
Portaria 623 of 2020, article 51, and Decree 9.199 of 2017, article 233
Run by
Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Department of Migration

Who it applies to

The rule

Ordinary naturalisation needs four years of residence in Brazil just before the application, under article 65 of Law 13.445 of 2017 and article 233 of Decree 9.199 of 2017. Paragraph 2 of article 233 says that sporadic trips abroad do not prevent naturalisation when they add up to 12 months or less. The decree does not say what makes a trip sporadic.

The ministry filled that gap. Portaria 623 of 13 November 2020 sets the procedures for naturalisation. Its article 51 says that, to count the residence period for ordinary naturalisation, sporadic trips are those whose sum is less than 90 days per year, with the maximum limit of 12 months respected. Less than 90 means that 89 days is the highest total that fits.

The two limits work together. This tracker follows the yearly limit. The total over the four years has its own tracker, Brazil Citizenship — Time Away in 4 Years. A person can be under 12 months in total and still have one year with 90 days or more abroad.

The Portaria says per year and does not say if this means the calendar year or each year of your residence period. Because of this, the careful way is to keep every period of 12 months under 90 days abroad. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security decides each application and checks official travel records.

Why it exists

The state wants to see that Brazil is where you really live in every year of the residence period, not only on average. A person can stay under 12 months in total and still be away for most of one year. The yearly limit closes that gap and gives officials a simple number to check against border records.

Counting the days

You count the days you spent outside Brazil in a year and add all trips of that year together. The total must stay under 90.

  1. List every trip abroad in the residence period, with the day you left and the day you returned.
  2. Take one period of 12 months and add up the days abroad inside it.
  3. If the total is 89 or lower, the trips of that period fit the definition of sporadic.
  4. Move the 12-month period forward and repeat, so that no 12 months in a row holds 90 days or more.
  5. Before you book a trip, add its days to the trips of the 12 months before its return date and check that you stay at 89 or lower.
How Countr counts it. Countr adds up your days outside Brazil over the 12 months that end today and shows them against a limit of 89 days. It uses a moving 12 months because the Portaria does not say which year it means, and a moving period is the strict reading. The day you leave and the day you return are not counted as days away. The card follows the current 12 months only: earlier periods are in the Timeline, and a past year over the limit still matters when you apply. Countr only counts days it can see, so if your photos have long gaps your real time away can be higher.

Track Brazil Citizenship — Time Away in One Year on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

Two trips, 89 days

Ines leaves Brazil on 5 January 2026 and returns on 20 March 2026. Without the two travel days this is 73 days away, from 6 January to 19 March. She leaves again on 1 August and returns on 18 August 2026, which is 16 more days away. Her total for the 12 months is 89 days, the highest total that still fits. If she had returned on 19 August, the total would be 90 days and the trips of that year would no longer be sporadic under the Portaria.

One long visit home

Omar spends 20 June to 30 September 2025 with his parents abroad. That is more than 100 days in one year. His total for the four years is far under 12 months, so he passes the sister limit. But this year has 90 days or more abroad, so its trips do not fit the ministry's definition of sporadic, and his residence count can be questioned.

The calendar year hides a problem

Yuki is abroad for 60 days in November and December 2025 and for 60 days in January and February 2026. In each calendar year she has only 60 days abroad. In the 12 months from November 2025 to October 2026 she has 120 days. Because the Portaria does not say which year it means, she cannot be sure that the calendar-year reading will be used. Countr counts the moving 12 months and would warn her.

Exceptions

Common misconceptions

“Only the 12-month total matters.”
The decree gives the 12-month total, but the ministry's Portaria adds that trips are sporadic only when they add up to less than 90 days per year. Both limits are used.
“I can be away for 90 days each year.”
The text says less than 90 days. So 90 days is already too many, and 89 is the highest total that fits.
“The limit is 90 days for each trip.”
No. It is the sum of all trips in a year. Three trips of 35 days each make 105 days and are over the limit.
“Days from a bad year are forgotten after 12 months.”
The moving count drops them, but your application covers the whole residence period. Officials look at every year of it, so a year with 90 days or more abroad still matters when you apply.

Questions and answers

How many days per year can I travel outside Brazil and still apply for citizenship?

Less than 90 days per year, so 89 days at most, added over all trips. This is the Ministry of Justice's definition of sporadic trips in article 51 of Portaria 623 of 2020.

Is the year a calendar year or any 12 months?

The Portaria says only per year. It does not define the year. The safe reading is any 12 months in a row, which is what Countr counts.

Do the travel days count as days abroad?

The Portaria does not say. Countr does not count the day you leave or the day you return as days away. If you are near 89 days, count them as days away to leave a margin.

What happens if I was abroad for 95 days in one year?

The trips of that year do not fit the definition of sporadic, so the ministry can decide that your residence period is not complete. You may need to apply later, when the years before your application all fit the limit.

Does this limit apply if I only need one year of residence?

Yes. With a Brazilian spouse, partner or child you need one year of residence, and the limit of less than 90 days abroad applies to that year.

Sources

Other rules for Brazil

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.