Historical background Since 1971, the acquisition of rural estate properties by foreigners in Brazil is ruled by Federal Law No 5.709/71, and its regulatory Decree No 74.965/74 (‘Law 5.709’).According to such legislation, the acquisition of rural property by a foreign individual domiciled in the country (‘foreign individual’) and a foreign company authorised to act in Brazil (‘branch’) is not prohibited but merely limited to certain caps described in the law. The restrictions also applied to Brazilian…