RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Special Secretariat for Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy has reduced the requirements for the registration of foreigners.
Previously, immigrants were required to follow the same rules as Brazilians. As a result of this simplification, foreigners who wish to become MEI only need to identify their country of origin and the one of the following documents: national migration registration card, a provisional document of national migration registration or protocol of request for refugee status.
According to the previous rules, immigrants were required to provide the number of the receipt of the last Individual Income Tax Return or the voter’s card. Should foreigners not have a voter’s card, they would not be able to issue an income tax return since they entered the country in the same year in which they received the Individual Taxpayers’ Registry (CPF).
In practice, the former rules delayed the formalization of foreigners as micro-entrepreneurs to the year following their arrival in Brazil. According to the Ministry of Economy, there are currently 46,591 foreigners from 169 nationalities registered as MEI in Brazil.
Source: Agência Brasil