Federative Republic of Brazil vs Kingdom of Spain
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Federative Republic of Brazil and Kingdom of Spain government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Portal de Imigração (MigranteWeb)
Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública (MJSP) - verified
- Ministerio de Inclusión — Portal de Inmigración
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations (Spain) - verified
- Ministerio — Highly Qualified Professional
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations - verified
Federative Republic of Brazil
Brazil administers immigration under the 2017 Migration Law through three coordinated bodies: the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), whose National Immigration Council (CNIg) issues the resolutions defining each residence route; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which issues VITEM temporary visas at consulates; and the Federal Police, which registers immigrants and issues the CRNM residence card. Headline routes cover work residence, real-estate investment, the digital-nomad authorisation, family reunion, MERCOSUR-treaty residence and retiree residence.
- Official portal
- Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública (MJSP)
- Languages
- Portuguese
- Currency
- Brazilian real
Kingdom of Spain
Spain offers residence permits through consulates abroad and Oficinas de Extranjería inside Spain, with headline routes including the Digital Nomad Visa introduced under the 2022 Startup Law, Non-Lucrative Visa for passive-income residents, and the Highly Qualified Professional permit.
- Languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Euro
How Federative Republic of Brazil and Kingdom of Spain differ
| Dimension | Federative Republic of Brazil | Kingdom of Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 6 | 7 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 5 | 5 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 5 | 6 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | — | Arrival → permanent residence (5 years) → citizenship (10 years for most nationalities; 2 for Latin American). |
| Dominant skilled visa | Residence authorization for work (VITEM V) | Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | €41,356/year |
| Skilled visa processing time | — | UGE-CE — Highly Qualified Professional does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | — |
| Official languages | Portuguese | Spanish |
| Currency | Brazilian real | Euro |
| Primary regulator | OAB | CGAE |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Federative Republic of Brazil
Residence authorization for work (VITEM V)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Kingdom of Spain
Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit
- Salary minimum
- €41,356/year
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- UGE-CE — Highly Qualified Professional does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to Kingdom of Spain
Visa routes side by side
Federative Republic of Brazil (6)
Residence authorization for work (VITEM V)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Commonly granted as a temporary residence aligned to the employment, with renewal and a pathway toward indefinite residence; confirm current terms on the official page.
Residence authorization for investment
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · The real-estate investment authorization is initially granted for four years and is renewable for an indefinite period; confirm current terms on the official page.
Digital nomad residence (VITEM XIV)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Granted as a temporary residence for a defined period with the possibility of renewal; this route is not in itself a settlement track. Confirm current terms on the official page.
Family reunion residence (VITEM XI)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Residence is generally aligned to the sponsoring relationship and the sponsor status, with renewal and a pathway toward indefinite residence; confirm current terms on the official page.
MERCOSUR residence agreement (VITEM XIII)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Temporary residence is typically granted for up to two years and can be converted to indefinite residence on meeting the decree requirements; confirm current terms on the official page.
Residence for retirees and pensioners
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial residence is granted for up to two years and is renewable; confirm current terms on the official page.
Kingdom of Spain (7)
Digital Nomad Visa (Spain)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 1-year consular visa, extendable to 3-year residence permit, then renewable for further 2 years; counts toward permanent residence after 5 years.
Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 1 year; renewable for 2-year periods; leads to permanent residence after 5 years.
Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 3 years; renewable for 2 years; leads to permanent residence after 5.
Entrepreneur Visa (Ley 14/2013)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 3 years; renewable.
Spain Golden Visa (ending April 2025)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Closed to new property-based applications from 3 April 2025.
Spanish Student Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Programme length; annual renewal.
Family reunification (Spain)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Aligned with the sponsor’s permit; long-term residence is a separate eligibility route.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Federative Republic of Brazil or Kingdom of Spain?+
Federative Republic of Brazil’s Residence authorization for work (VITEM V) is the dominant skilled route; Kingdom of Spain’s Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit requires €41,356/year. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Federative Republic of Brazil vs Kingdom of Spain immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/brazil/vs/spain. Last verified 22 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons