Countries › Brazil › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Expatriates and foreign workers in Brazil: hiring foreigners, the two thirds rule, and sending staff abroad

Expatriates and foreign workers in Brazil: hiring foreigners, the two thirds rule, and sending staff abroad

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Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

A foreign national can be hired under a normal CLT contract once authorized to work and registered, with the same pay and benefits as Brazilians, but the CLT still requires companies with 3 or more employees to keep two thirds of headcount and of payroll Brazilian, with long resident foreigners with Brazilian family and Portuguese nationals counted as Brazilian. Employees hired in Brazil or transferred abroad by a Brazilian employer keep Brazilian social security, FGTS and the more favorable Brazilian protections under Lei 7.064, except for trips of up to 90 days, and assignments to a foreign company are capped at 3 years without annual home leave. Posted foreign staff may stay on home country social security only where an agreement applies.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.5007 per US dollar for 26 October 2026, the last business day before verification. The real moved sharply that day (R$5.0377 on 23 October), so conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum share of Brazilian employees and payroll (companies with 3 or more employees)	66.67 %CLT arts. 352 and 354, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Headcount from which the nationality proportion applies	3 employeesCLT art. 352, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Equal pay regardless of nationality	Yes CLT art. 461, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Transferred workers keep Brazilian social security and FGTS	Yes Lei nº 7.064 art. 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Assignments abroad excluded from Lei nº 7.064	90 daysLei nº 7.064 art. 1 sole paragraph, I, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum stay abroad for a foreign company without annual home leave	3 yearsLei nº 7.064 art. 16, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Companies running public service concessions or industrial or commercial activities with 3 or more employees must keep a proportion of Brazilian employees, set at two thirds of the workforce and also of the total payroll; the executive may set a lower proportion where a shortage of Brazilian workers is shown. For this purpose, foreigners resident for more than 10 years with a Brazilian spouse or child, and Portuguese nationals, count as Brazilian.
Cost to do it: No fee; constrains the mix of foreign hires in the local entity.
Example: A company with 30 employees and a monthly payroll of R$600,000 must have at least 20 employees counted as Brazilian and at least R$400,000 of the payroll paid to them. / At least about US$72,718.02 of a US$109,077.03 payroll.CLT arts. 352, 353 (as worded by Lei nº 6.651 of 23 May 1979) and 354, CLT arts. 352, 353 and 354, 1943-05-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. No employer may hire a foreign worker without the worker's foreigner identity card duly annotated, and the employer must record the worker's nationality and card number.
Cost to do it: Immigration authorization and registration costs are covered in the immigration section.CLT art. 359, CLT art. 359, 1943-05-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Identical work of equal value for the same employer in the same establishment must be paid equally regardless of nationality, as well as sex, ethnicity and age.
Cost to do it: Pay gaps between local and foreign staff in the same role must rest on objective criteria or a formal career plan.CLT art. 461 as worded by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, CLT art. 461 caput, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Lei 7.064 covers workers hired in Brazil or transferred abroad by their employers. A transfer includes moving an employee abroad under a Brazilian contract, assigning the employee to a foreign company while keeping the Brazilian employment bond, and hiring someone in Brazil to work abroad for a Brazilian company. It does not apply to assignments of up to 90 days where the employee is expressly told of the temporary nature and receives round trip tickets and non salary daily allowances, nor to cruise ship crews under the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention.
Cost to do it: Short trips up to 90 days avoid the transfer regime if the conditions are documented.Lei nº 7.064 of 6 December 1982, arts. 1 and 2, art. 1 as worded by Lei nº 11.962 of 2009 and Lei nº 14.978 of 2024, Arts. 1 (and sole paragraph I and II) and 2, 1982-12-06 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei nº 14.978 of 2024 excluded assignments abroad of up to 90 days, with express notice, tickets and non salary allowances, from Lei nº 7.064.

5. The Brazilian employer of a transferred worker must ensure Brazilian labor protection where it is more favorable than the host country's law, assessed matter by matter, and Brazilian social security, FGTS and PIS/PASEP rules continue to apply.
Cost to do it: Brazilian FGTS (8 percent) and social security continue on the Brazilian salary during the transfer.Lei nº 7.064 of 6 December 1982, Art. 3 and sole paragraph, 1982-12-06 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Base salary and transfer premium are agreed in writing; the base salary may not be below the professional category minimum and is stated in reais, while pay during the transfer may be paid wholly or partly abroad in foreign currency. The employee may have the reais portion deposited in a Brazilian bank account.
Cost to do it: Transfer premium as agreed; FX remittance under Banco Central rules.Lei nº 7.064 of 6 December 1982, Arts. 4 and 5, 1982-12-06 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. A foreign company that hires a Brazil resident to work abroad must grant the rights in Chapter III of Lei 7.064, without displacing host country labor and social security law, and the stay abroad may not exceed 3 years unless the worker and dependants get annual home leave paid by the foreign company. Recruiting Brazil residents for work abroad outside this law is a crime under Penal Code art. 206.
Cost to do it: Annual home leave travel for stays beyond 3 years.Lei nº 7.064 of 6 December 1982, Arts. 14, 16 and 20, 1982-12-06 official text · verified 2026-10-27

8. An employee hired in Brazil who chooses to work remotely from abroad stays under Brazilian law, except the provisions of Lei 7.064, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Cost to do it: Brazilian payroll continues; check host country tax and immigration.CLT art. 75-B § 8 as worded by Lei nº 14.442 of 2 September 2022, CLT art. 75-B § 8, 2022-09-02 official text · verified 2026-10-27

9. A foreign worker posted to Brazil stays on home country social security only where an agreement applies and within its posting limit: for example 5 years under the United States agreement, 24 months under the German agreement and 12 months under the Mercosur agreement, which covers Argentina.
Cost to do it: Without an agreement, the 20 percent employer contribution, RAT and FGTS apply to the Brazilian salary from day one.Decreto nº 9.422 of 25 June 2018 (agreement art. 5); Decreto nº 8.000 of 8 May 2013 (agreement art. 7); Decreto nº 5.722 of 13 March 2006 (agreement art. 5), Posting articles of each agreement, 2018-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Scenario	Labor law	Social security	Key limit
Foreigner hired locally in Brazil	CLT	Brazilian	Work authorization; two thirds rule
Foreigner posted from an agreement country	Home contract plus Brazilian mandatory rules	Home country within posting limit	5 years US, 24 months Germany, 12 months Mercosur
Brazilian employee transferred abroad	Brazilian law where more favorable	Brazilian, plus agreement relief	Lei nº 7.064; trips up to 90 days excluded
Brazilian hired by a foreign company to work abroad	Host law plus Lei nº 7.064 chapter III	Host country	3 years without annual home leave
Employee chooses to work remotely abroad	Brazilian law unless agreed	Brazilian	CLT art. 75-B § 8

Cross border staffing scenarios (CLT arts. 75-B § 8, 352 to 354, 359; Lei nº 7.064 arts. 1, 3, 16; social security agreements).

Worked example

A Brazilian subsidiary with 12 employees plans to bring in 5 foreign specialists. Under CLT arts. 352 and 354 at least 8 of 12 employees (two thirds) must count as Brazilian, and two thirds of payroll must go to them; with 5 foreigners only 7 would remain, so the company either hires more local staff, includes foreigners who count as Brazilian (Portuguese nationals, or residents over 10 years with Brazilian spouse or child), or keeps some specialists on home country contracts under a posting arrangement.

Step by step

Check immigration status and work authorization before the start date (see the immigration section).
Record nationality and identity card data at hiring (CLT art. 359).
Test headcount and payroll against the two thirds Brazilian rule in each employer entity.
For postings into Brazil, obtain a certificate of coverage under the applicable agreement.
For Brazilian staff going abroad beyond 90 days, sign a written transfer agreement with base salary in reais and transfer premium.
Diary the 3 year limit for assignments to foreign companies and the posting limits under agreements.

Common traps

The two thirds nationality proportion counts both headcount and payroll (CLT art. 354).
A trip abroad over 90 days, or without the documented conditions, falls under the transfer regime of Lei nº 7.064.
Paying foreign staff more than locals in the same role without objective criteria invites equal pay claims (CLT art. 461).
Home country social security relief is only available from agreement countries and within the posting limit.
Recruiting Brazil residents for work abroad outside Lei nº 7.064 is a crime (art. 20).

Sources

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