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Relocation guide

🇧🇷 Moving to Brazil: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Brazil means learning Portuguese — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are your CPF number and registration with the Polícia Federal for your RNM foreigner ID, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Brazilian Portuguese is open, musical and uses você everywhere, with warm informality across São Paulo, Rio and beyond. It differs enough from European Portuguese that learning the Brazilian variant specifically — including its slang and the Polícia Federal vocabulary — is what you actually need.

Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's Portuguese curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →

Do you need to speak Portuguese to move to Brazil?

Yes — you’ll need practical Portuguese for the essentials. Moving to Brazil means handling your CPF number and registration with the Polícia Federal for your RNM foreigner ID in Portuguese, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.

Moving to Brazil: key facts

Which app should you use to learn Portuguese for moving to Brazil?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Brazil, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Portuguese that decides your first months: your CPF number and registration with the Polícia Federal for your RNM foreigner ID, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.

• Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
• Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
• Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 Portuguese pointed at settling in Brazil, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
• 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.

What to do in your first week in Brazil?

1. Register your address / residency — your CPF number and registration with the Polícia Federal for your RNM foreigner ID.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

Visa & permits: Movers apply for the relevant visa (work, investor, family or digital nomad) and must register with the Polícia Federal within 90 days of arrival. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.

Portuguese phrasebooks you'll need

What do expats say about language in Brazil?

• Portuguese is the official language of 9 countries across 4 continents.
• Brazilian and European Portuguese sound quite different — even 'you' changes.
• Nasal vowels (ã, õ) give Portuguese its distinctive sound.
• 'Saudade' is a famous untranslatable word — a deep bittersweet longing.
• Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas.