Key Facts
—Prepaid SIM cards from Claro, Vivo and TIM are sold at arrival-hall kiosks in all major international airports. No CPF number is required for a prepaid (pré-pago) purchase — a passport is sufficient.
—Uber and 99 operate at every major Brazilian airport. Download both apps and set them up before landing. Airport taxi queues and apps share the same departure-level pickup zone; avoid any driver who approaches you inside arrivals.
—ATMs pay better than exchange desks. Banco24Horas, Bradesco, Itaú and Santander ATMs at airports dispense reais at close to the interbank rate. Airport currency-exchange desks typically charge an 8–15 percent spread. Wise and Revolut cards also work at Brazilian ATMs.
—CPF timeline: Tourists staying fewer than 90 days do not need a CPF. Anyone arriving on a long-stay visa — digital nomad, work, retirement — should begin the CPF application within the first two weeks. Most things in Brazil require a CPF: a phone plan, a lease, a gym membership.
—Pix is everywhere. Brazil’s instant-payment system has replaced cash for most small transactions. Foreign cards are accepted in hotels, restaurants and larger shops. Street markets, smaller restaurants and mototaxistas run on Pix or cash. Carry R$200–R$300 in notes for the first day.
—Immigration stamp: At passport control, declare your intended length of stay accurately. The federal police officer stamps the entry permit into your passport; the duration granted (typically 90 days for most nationalities) is your legal maximum before a visa or extension is required.
The first 48 hours in Brazil set the tone for everything that follows. The arrivals hall is chaotic, the Portuguese is fast, and the gap between being a tired traveller and being a functioning resident is wider than in most countries. This is a sequenced guide to closing that gap as quickly as possible — airport to settled, step by step.
First 48 hours in Brazil: at the airport
Brazilian international airports range from genuinely efficient — São Paulo’s Terminal 3 at Guarulhos (GRU), Campinas Viracopos (VCP) — to congested and occasionally chaotic, as Rio’s Galeão (GIG) can be at peak hours. The sequence on arrival is straightforward: immigration, baggage, customs declaration, arrivals hall.
At immigration, the federal police officer will ask for your passport and onward travel documentation. If you are entering on a tourist allowance — the 90-day entry granted to most EU, North American and Oceanian nationalities under Brazil’s visa-free agreements — state clearly how long you intend to stay. The stamp reflects what you say, within the legal maximum. Asking for fewer days gives you fewer days. Overstaying the stamp duration is a deportation-risk offence under Migration Law 13.445/2017 and carries fines and a re-entry ban.
If you are arriving on a long-stay visa — VITEM II (work), VITEM XIV (digital nomad), VITEM XI (retirement) or a family-reunification visa — the immigration officer will note the visa category and issue your entry permit accordingly. Keep the stamped passport accessible for the next steps at Polícia Federal, which begins with SINCRE registration within 90 days of arrival.
After baggage collection, the customs declaration is digital: the Receita Federal’s Viajantes app handles it before you reach the green-or-red channel. Goods for personal use up to USD 500 in value (USD 1,000 at air border) enter duty-free. Cash above the equivalent of R$10,000 must be declared but is not taxed — the declaration is simply a record.
SIM card: do this before leaving the arrivals hall
Brazil’s three dominant carriers — Claro, Vivo and TIM — have kiosks in the arrivals halls of all major international airports. A prepaid (pré-pago) SIM requires only a passport; no CPF, no proof of address. Prices in 2026 typically run R$30–R$70 for a SIM with 15–30 GB of data for 30 days.
Claro and Vivo have the broadest 4G LTE coverage across Brazil’s interior. TIM is competitive in major cities. Oi, a fourth carrier that went through a prolonged insolvency process, completed its asset sale in 2022; its network was absorbed by the other three and Oi-branded SIMs are no longer a practical choice for new arrivals.
If your handset supports eSIM, Claro and Vivo both offer eSIM activation at airport kiosks. International eSIM providers — Airalo, Holafly, Nomad — also cover Brazil and can be activated before departure, which is worth doing if you want connectivity from the moment you land.
WhatsApp is the dominant communication platform in Brazil. Virtually every service provider, landlord, doctor’s office, and government contact communicates over WhatsApp. Having a working Brazilian number — or any number linked to an active WhatsApp — is more important than having a local number per se. Transfer your WhatsApp account to the new SIM as soon as the card activates.
Getting cash: the ATM over the exchange desk, every time
Brazilian airports have both currency-exchange desks (casas de câmbio) and ATMs. The exchange desks are convenient but expensive — the spread between the buying and selling rate typically runs 8–15 percent above the interbank rate. On R$1,000, that is R$80–R$150 lost in the transaction.
The Banco24Horas network — which includes machines from Bradesco, Itaú, Santander, Caixa Econômica Federal and others — charges a foreign-card withdrawal fee of around R$20–R$30 per transaction in addition to whatever fee your home bank charges. The exchange rate applied is close to the real-time interbank rate, making the total cost of an ATM withdrawal substantially lower than a desk exchange for any amount above R$300.
Wise and Revolut cards work reliably at Brazilian ATMs in 2026. Both convert at rates close to the mid-market rate and charge either no fee or a small fixed fee per withdrawal. If you carry one of these cards, it is your cheapest access to reais. Set the daily ATM withdrawal limit high enough to cover your first days before you leave home.
Draw R$200–R$300 in cash on arrival regardless of how card-friendly your accommodation is. Taxis from the official queue, market stalls, small lanchonetes, padarias and mototaxistas frequently operate on cash or Pix only. A Pix QR code requires a Brazilian bank account to pay from; your foreign card cannot send Pix directly.
Transport from the airport: what actually works
Uber and 99 are the safest, most price-transparent options from every major Brazilian airport. Both apps show the price upfront, track the route and leave a record of the trip. Request the car from the official rideshare pickup zone — in most airports, the designated area is on the departures level or in a separate ground-floor section signed in English and Portuguese.
Do not accept rides from men who approach you inside the arrivals hall. This is the single most consistent safety advice from every expat community in Brazil, and it applies regardless of which city you have landed in. These are not licensed drivers and the trips occasionally end in robbery.
Official taxi queues (táxi especial or táxi executivo) at Brazilian airports are metered or flat-rate and are operated by licensed companies. They are slightly more expensive than Uber but have uniformed drivers, receive regulated training and are accountable through the airport concession system. They are a legitimate alternative if the rideshare pickup zone is overwhelmed.
São Paulo Guarulhos has an airport bus (Emtu line) connecting to Tietê bus terminal and Tatuapé metro in roughly 50–75 minutes depending on traffic, for R$8.70 in 2026. Rio’s Galeão has the Bus Rapid Transit BRT-Transcarioca connection to the metro at Jardim Oceânico, crossing the city in about 75 minutes for R$10. Both are reliable but require luggage management — worth it if you are staying in a central neighbourhood and have a single bag.
The first night: what to set up before you sleep
The first evening in Brazil is for orientation, not administration. The administrative sequence — CPF application, Polícia Federal registration, bank account — begins the following week. What matters on day one is establishing a functioning base.
Download Google Maps and download the offline map for your city before you arrive or as soon as you have a working SIM. Brazil’s maps are detailed and accurate; the offline version works without data. Mark your accommodation, the nearest pharmacy (farmácia), the nearest supermarket (supermercado) and the nearest Banco24Horas ATM.
iFood is Brazil’s dominant food delivery app — the equivalent of DoorDash or Deliveroo — and operates in every city and most medium-sized towns. It requires a phone number to set up; use your new SIM. Payment by foreign card works on initial registration. This is useful for the first night if you arrive late or jet-lagged and do not want to navigate an unfamiliar neighbourhood.
Register your travel with your home country’s embassy or consulate in Brazil. Most have an online registration system that takes five minutes. For British nationals, the FCDO LOCATE service covers Brazil. For Americans, STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) at step.state.gov. For EU nationals, the relevant embassy registration system varies by member state. Registration means your country can contact you in the event of a national emergency and is the fastest route to consular assistance if something goes wrong.
Safety on the first days: a calibrated approach
Brazil has a genuine security challenge, and pretending otherwise is not helpful. The practical adaptation, however, is narrower than the international perception suggests. The overwhelming majority of robbery incidents in São Paulo and Rio are opportunistic street theft — phone snatching, bag grabs — rather than violent confrontations with unprovoked strangers.
The standard protocols that local residents follow are worth adopting from day one. Walk with your phone in your pocket rather than displayed. Use an anti-theft bag or a crossbody bag rather than a shoulder bag or a backpack with accessible pockets. At restaurants and cafés, do not leave your phone on the table. If someone grabs your bag on the street, release it — a bag is replaceable; resistance escalates the encounter.
The specific risk profile varies significantly by neighbourhood. In São Paulo, Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, Jardins, Itaim Bibi and Moema are the areas where most expats settle, and all have lower incident rates than the city’s average. In Rio, Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo, Flamengo and Santa Teresa are the expat-concentrated areas, with Leblon consistently ranked the lowest-crime bairro in the city. Areas around the Centro, the Port Zone and the North Zone require more attention, particularly at night.
The golden rule that applies everywhere in Brazil: do not use your phone on the street while stationary unless you can see clearly in all directions. The most common theft pattern is a fast approach from behind while the target is looking down at a screen.
The 48-hour checklist for new arrivals
At the airport: clear immigration (declare accurate stay duration), collect SIM card (no CPF required), withdraw R$200–R$300 from ATM, request Uber or join official taxi queue, do not accept approaches from informal drivers.
Day one: set up WhatsApp on the new number, download Google Maps offline for your city, locate the nearest pharmacy and ATM, order in via iFood if you need a low-effort first night, register with your country’s embassy or consulate online.
Day two: explore your immediate neighbourhood on foot in daylight, find your nearest supermarket and familiarise yourself with Brazilian payment conventions (Pix QR codes at cashiers, contactless cards, occasional cash-only counters), buy a small quantity of reais if your ATM supply is running low, download 99 as a backup to Uber.
First week (if staying long-term): begin CPF application at the Federal Revenue Service portal or at a Banco do Brasil branch with passport and proof of address, notify Polícia Federal of your presence under SINCRE if you hold a long-stay visa, open a digital bank account (Nubank or C6 Bank accept foreigners with passport and proof of address, no CPF required at the initial step). These steps are covered in detail in the articles that follow in this series.
Transport: Uber and 99 — both are available on iOS and Android in Brazil from the same app stores used in Europe and North America.
Food delivery: iFood — the dominant platform, covering all cities and most towns above 50,000 people.
Maps: Google Maps with offline download for your city — download before you land or immediately on SIM activation.
Payment: Wise or Revolut if you don’t already have one — significantly cheaper than a standard bank card for ATM withdrawals and card payments in reais.
Communication: WhatsApp — mandatory in Brazil; every service interaction runs through it. Ensure your account is linked to your new SIM.
Customs declaration: Viajantes app by Receita Federal — completes the customs declaration digitally before you reach the green/red channel.
Embassy registration: STEP (US), LOCATE (UK), or your country’s equivalent consular registration platform.
All apps listed are free to download. Wise and Revolut accounts must be set up before departure — identity verification takes 1–3 business days.
This is reporting, not legal, tax, immigration or security advice. Conditions vary by city, neighbourhood and year. Confirm current requirements with official sources before acting.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a CPF to buy a SIM card at the airport?
No. Prepaid SIM cards (pré-pago) at airport kiosks require only a passport. The CPF is required for postpaid contracts (pós-pago) and for some services that require a monthly direct debit, but not for the basic prepaid purchase that most new arrivals make on arrival day.
Can I use my foreign debit or credit card to pay for things from day one?
Yes, in most places. Hotels, restaurants with table service, supermarkets, and pharmacies accept Visa and Mastercard contactless payments. Street markets, smaller lunch counters (lanchonetes), bus fares and mototaxistas typically require cash or Pix. Pix requires a Brazilian bank account to send; your foreign card cannot generate a Pix payment until you have a Brazilian account.
How many days can I stay in Brazil without a visa?
Most EU, North American, Oceanian and several Latin American and Asian nationalities enter Brazil without a visa for stays up to 90 days. The 90-day grant can be extended once within a 180-day period, giving a possible maximum of 180 days. After 180 days in any rolling 12-month period, a long-stay visa is required. Check the current list of visa-free nationalities on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal, as agreements change.
Is it safe to use Uber in Brazil?
Uber and 99 are the standard transport options for expats and Brazilian middle-class users in all major cities. Both apps have GPS tracking, driver ratings and in-app support. The risk to be aware of is not the platform itself but where you request the ride: always request from inside the official rideshare zone, not from the informal approach drivers in the arrivals hall. Share your live location with a contact for the first few journeys.
What if I arrive at a smaller Brazilian airport without an airport kiosk?
Claro, Vivo and TIM have retail stores in the centre of virtually every Brazilian city with more than 50,000 inhabitants. If you land at a smaller airport — Foz do Iguaçu, Manaus, Florianópolis, Natal — proceed to your accommodation, then purchase the SIM at a carrier store in town the same afternoon. International roaming on your home SIM will cover the gap for a few hours.