jeduardo
New Member
The requirements for a foreigneer to open a bank account in Brazil varies from Bank to Bank but the most important document is the CPF which is Brazilian equivalent to U.S. SSN.
See Foreigners - How to Get a CPF (Social Security Number) in Brazil - BootsnAll Travel Network
With CPF in hand you can request electricity (COSERN),phone (OI),and water (CAERN). Any one of these will serve as proof of residence. You should provide a copy of the bill you receive in the mail rather than one you get from the Internet. Bring both original and copy at time of application.
You also need proof of income which is difficult if you are not working in Brazil. The way around this is to have a Brazilian accountant submit a form to the Receita Federal declaring your income. Banco do Brasil will accept this. The accountant usually charges around R$70 for this service. Be aware though that if you do this the Receita Federal will be looking for your tax declaration every year so keep this declared income under R$14.992,32 annual. Starting in 2008 if you are under this limit you don't need to do anything. Prior to 2008 you had to declare annually that you were exempt.
With Banco Brasil you can open an account via the Internet but you really don't gain much here since you will be asked to physically go to the bank with all your documents in order to finalize the application.
See Foreigners - How to Get a CPF (Social Security Number) in Brazil - BootsnAll Travel Network
With CPF in hand you can request electricity (COSERN),phone (OI),and water (CAERN). Any one of these will serve as proof of residence. You should provide a copy of the bill you receive in the mail rather than one you get from the Internet. Bring both original and copy at time of application.
You also need proof of income which is difficult if you are not working in Brazil. The way around this is to have a Brazilian accountant submit a form to the Receita Federal declaring your income. Banco do Brasil will accept this. The accountant usually charges around R$70 for this service. Be aware though that if you do this the Receita Federal will be looking for your tax declaration every year so keep this declared income under R$14.992,32 annual. Starting in 2008 if you are under this limit you don't need to do anything. Prior to 2008 you had to declare annually that you were exempt.
With Banco Brasil you can open an account via the Internet but you really don't gain much here since you will be asked to physically go to the bank with all your documents in order to finalize the application.
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