Survival
Quick fixes for common problems, plus emergency numbers, embassy contacts and medical help — all in one place.
Skip straight to phone numbers, embassy contacts and medical info.
Try switching between crédito and débito, call your bank to check for a fraud block, and keep some cash as backup.
Contact the bank operating the ATM (usually posted on the machine) and your own card issuer right away — retrieval varies by bank.
Ask if they take an international card or cash instead — most established businesses do, even if Pix was their first suggestion.
File a police report (boletim de ocorrência) at the nearest delegacia, then contact your embassy for an emergency travel document.
File a police report, contact your carrier to suspend service, and remotely lock or wipe the device if you can.
Show your destination written or on a map app rather than relying on pronunciation — most drivers are used to this with tourists.
Look for a foreign-document or passport field near the CPF box, or contact the site's support to ask how foreign customers check out.
For non-emergencies, search for a nearby farmácia or clínica. For urgent issues, call SAMU (192) or go to the nearest pronto-socorro.
These work nationwide, are free to call, and don't require a Brazilian SIM to dial from most carriers.
SAMU — ambulance / medical emergency
Polícia Militar — police
Corpo de Bombeiros — fire department
File a police report — a boletim de ocorrência (B.O.) — at the nearest delegacia (police station). Some tourist-heavy areas (Rio, Salvador, Florianópolis) have a dedicated Delegacia de Apoio ao Turista (DEAT) with staff more used to helping foreign visitors — worth asking for by name if one is nearby.
A B.O. is usually required before your embassy will issue an emergency travel document, or before an insurance claim for theft will be accepted — so this is the first step, not an optional extra.
Embassies can't act as your travel insurance, but they can issue emergency travel documents, provide a list of local English-speaking lawyers or doctors, and contact your family in a serious emergency. Confirmed official links below — not all consular emergency phone lines are public, so start with the embassy's own site for the current number.
U.S. Embassy Brasília — the main source for passport, arrest, hospitalization and death emergencies for U.S. citizens.
Official site →British Embassy Brasília — consular emergency support for UK nationals, plus consulates in São Paulo and Rio.
Official site →German Embassy Brasília — emergency assistance (Deutsche in Not) for accidents, illness, death or crime victims.
Official site →French Embassy Brasília — consular section with a dedicated emergency line for French nationals.
Official site →Italian Embassy Brasília — emergency mobile line for Italian citizens facing arrest, hospitalization or serious accidents.
Official site →Spanish Embassy Brasília — consular protection for Spanish nationals in Brazil.
Official site →Don't see your country? Search "[your country] embassy Brasília" — nearly every nationality has at least an honorary consul somewhere in Brazil.
For anything urgent, call SAMU (192) or go directly to the nearest pronto-socorro (emergency room) — both public (SUS) and private hospitals in Brazil treat emergencies regardless of nationality or insurance status, though a private hospital will expect payment or insurance details once you're stabilized.
If you have travel insurance, call the assistance line on your policy before you pay anything upfront where possible — many plans have a direct-billing network of hospitals in major Brazilian cities.
Search the full FAQ for more specific answers, or message us on WhatsApp.