Getting a CPF as a foreigner in Brazil [NIGHTMARE ALERT]

[likeohmygod]

So we all know that getting a CPF in Brazil is a good idea. It will make extremely easy to get a SIM card, to buy tickets to get the same fares as the ones the brazilian people pay in the everyday life.

Sometimes ago there was a guide here in this forum written by @sanddunes which was really helpful. And while in his case (as on mine) it has been really easy to get a CPF, the recent case of a friend of me turned out to be the "Perfect guide to waste a whole day of your time".

This happened in Rio.

At first I suggested him to visit the website of the "Receita Federal". I was sure that the government did add a new feature which allows you to get a CPF directly with your foreign passport in real time. I was true...too bad that on the contrary to what was reported in the procedure's instruction on the same page, everything we did get was the receipt which you have to bring to one of their offices (the same document I have received at the post office when i went in there some months ago). So, before going to one of the receita federal offices, we went to 2 post offices. If you read carefully their website, you'll find out that they're one of the credited companies to issue a CPF in realtime, even to foreigners. The first one told us that only they could not help us. The second one asked my friend for a proof of residency. I told them that he was visiting so he did not have any kind of bank statement, or any kind of bill showing an address. So they invited me to let my friend use one of my statements, so that he could get his CPF. While this could have worked fine, to me it looked a very stupid thing to do. What's the point of providing a fake data to get a CPF, while you're trying to get a CPF to avoid using a fake one when required?

So we went to the Banco do Brasil agency close to the previous post office...no help.

Then with the receipt generated by the website, we went to the Receita Federal in Ipanema. After queuing for 10 minutes to get the number, we are told that the CPF for foreigners is issued in that facility only on Mondays (it was a Thursday). Ok....fine...

We fired up Uber, destination set to Receita Federal in Botafogo, were we've been told that only the MAIN office in Centro is able to issue CPFs for foreigners at this time. Another Uber ride until the Centro took about 30 minutes because of the heavy traffic jams.

I'd like you to keep in mind that at it was already 1 PM; it all started at 9.30 AM.

We got inside the Receita Federal...nice building and we are quickly sent to the CAC's offices. We were pleased to see that there was nearly no queue. So we went to the desk to get the number, and finally we got an affermative answer. YES it was possible to get my friend's damned CPF.

But good things come at a cost...TIME.

The guy asks us if we did have an appointment, booked using the same website from where we did get the receipt. When I told the guy that you must use your own CPF to get an appointment, he agreed with me when I told him that I'd be a kind of a wizard If i was able to use something I am trying to get, without actually having it.

So even if the office was nearly empty, we were told that the first available "slot" was at 4.30 PM.

You can easily imagine that my friend still doesn't have his own CPF.

So if you are planning to get your CPF soon...GOOD LUCK, or try that in SP.

Edited July 19, 2019 by likeohmygod

[SolaceSoul]

It was far, far easier for me to get my CPF in the USA at my local Brazilian Consulate. 

[likeohmygod]

Yeah i forgot to say that....get your CPF in the consulates on your countries!!! It will be extremely easy compared even to what i needed to do in Rio (which has nothing to do with my  message above)

[paborn]

Forgive my ignorance. What is a CPF?

[Uqtyang]

Brazilian tax file number 

[Uqtyang]

By the way I have booked myself into the Brazilian consulate general the week after. A 15 minute appointment is required for a CPF application.  I will report back the outcome. 

[sluttino]

I went to the Chicago Brazilian Consulate office last week to get a CPF (basically, a Brazilian version of USA Social Security numbers).

i first tried filling out the form online at http://chicago.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/brazilian_tax_id_number-_cpf.xml

but there’s fields on the form that are inscrutable and so I just printed out the form blank, brought that and my passport and birth certificate to the consulate.   The employees were very polite and helpful, and they helped me correctly complete the form, processed it, and handed me a document with my new lifelong CPF on it, all in about an half hour’s time.  I just walked in without an appointment, and there was absolutely no fee for this cpf.  Very impressed by how easily this was accomplished.  The CPF number will come in handy for various Brazilian websites and for some services like bike rentals there, etc

 

i strongly encourage visitors to Brazil to visit the local Brazilian consulate office before going to Brazil to receive a CPF.  Just be sure to make copies of the document you receive with your CPF number because it will be your one and only CPF number ever issued 

[Uqtyang]

Thanks for this post @sluttino  very helpful indeed. I was searching for the English version of the application form. Hopefully my experience in Sydney will be as good as yours. 

[CaliPexx]

According to the international accounting firm, KPMG, non-resident holders of a Brazilian CPF (tax ID number) are required to file either an annual Brazilian income tax return (if they have income that is taxable in Brazil) OR an annual exemption from income tax form (likely the case for most of us who are simply visitors to Brazil and not earning money there). Here is what KPMG has to say about this in a post on their website dated 1 May 2019:

 

Quote

 

Individuals eligible for filing the annual exempt Brazilian tax return [as opposed to filing the annual Brazilian income tax return] include:

• holders of a CPF card, whether resident in Brazil or not, that were not required to file an annual income tax return in Brazil
• any individual that has income of less than R$ 28.559,70 This includes employment income as well as retirement plan distributions, pension income, and income from rental property
• an individual listed as a dependent in the annual income tax return of another taxpayer and holder of a CPF number
• a Brazilian citizen that lives outside Brazil that has filed a tax clearance process upon departure but wants to keep their CPF number in active status
• an individual that lives abroad (Brazilian or foreign) that holds assets in Brazil or simply wants to keep the CPF regular and active.

 

Each of us, of course, must weigh in our own minds the pros and cons of getting a CPF.

• The pros include greater ease in purchasing items online, including tickets; and buying certain items in retail stores, e.g., mobile phone SIM cards.
• The cons include the process of procuring a CPF (made easier when done at Brazilian consulates outside of Brazil); the requirement for filing an annual Brazilian income tax return or tax exemption return; and the possibility of being stopped by Brazilian Customs & Immigration upon entering and/or leaving Brazil, if you have failed to file the required annual tax return or exemption form.

It's your decision. However, in my case, after having been unsuccessful in obtaining a CPF during a trip to Brazil last year related to restricted Correios and Receita Federal hours during holiday periods, I cannot see any advantage at this time of applying for a CPF. I located an online theatre ticketing service this year, Ingresso Rápido, that does NOT require a CPF, only a foreign passport number. And I have U.S. mobile carriers on two phones (one with T-Mobile, the other with Google Fi), which provide mobile phone, SMS texting, and data services at very low cost and with excellent quality connectivity when traveling in most foreign countries, including Brazil.