Brazil has a free, universal public health system: the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde). And here is something many foreigners do not know: you can use it too, even as a visitor. In an emergency, public care does not ask for your nationality. This is the practical map of how it works, in the right order, so you know which door to knock on.
The SUS is larger than the waiting lines you see in the news: it includes free medication, vaccines, emergency care, and even specialist appointments in private hospitals paid for by the State. Most people do not know everything it offers, nor how to get in.
Step 1: the SUS Card and the app
The National Health Card (CNS) is your number within the system. It can be issued at any health unit with an ID document, and the digital version lives in the Meu SUS Digital app, which also shows appointments, vaccines and results. If you are a foreign resident, it is worth getting one; if you are a tourist, in an emergency you will be treated regardless.
Step 2: the entry point is the UBS
The SUS works by territory: every address belongs to a Basic Health Unit (UBS), the neighborhood clinic, and that is where almost everything begins. Go with an ID and proof of address and register. The UBS team is who refers you to specialists, renews prescriptions, gives vaccines and follows chronic conditions.
Step 3: specialists are reached through “regulation”
Specialist appointments, exams and elective surgeries are not booked directly: the UBS doctor issues a referral, which enters a regulation system that organizes the queue by clinical priority, explained in how to get a specialist appointment. Two practical tips: confirm the referral was actually registered (ask for proof), and keep your phone number up to date, because that is how they call you.
What the SUS offers that almost no one uses
- Free care in the private network, through a federal program that contracts private clinics and hospitals to reduce specialist queues.
- Medication: from the basics at the UBS pharmacy and the Farmácia Popular to high-cost drugs through the “Specialized Component”.
- Treatment in another city with paid transport, through the TFD program.
- Mental health through the CAPS network, and dental care through the Brasil Sorridente program.
Emergency: UPA or hospital, no appointment needed
Urgent and emergency care does not go through regulation: go directly to a UPA (Emergency Care Unit) or a hospital emergency room, and in a life-threatening situation call SAMU (192), the free public ambulance. The system is universal: having private insurance does not exclude you, and neither does being a foreigner.
When the system fails
A queue that does not move has remedies: the SUS Ombudsman (phone 136) records and escalates complaints, and the city health department is responsible for regulation. When the delay threatens your health, there is also the judicial route, which can be free, through the Public Defender’s Office.
About the author
Ramon Martins Andrade (OAB/RJ 188.374) is a lawyer graduated from UFRJ in 2011, holding master’s degrees from the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and from the Brazilian Naval War College (EGN). He is currently a researcher in Human Rights and Health at ENSP/Fiocruz, where the concept of sanitary return emerged from his research in study groups on the Brazilian diaspora and access to healthcare.
This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, advertising of results, or any guarantee of outcome, under Rule (Provimento) 205/2021 of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).