(This article was originally published in April 2012, but is being updated with information compatible with 2019)
In the early days of the App Store, the life of a Brazilian user was kind of suffered. We did not have games in the national store, nor possibility of add credits across gift cards (gift cards) and this made many prefer to keep a american account.
Today the story is quite different and we already have here a complete store, which offers the same content from the rest of the world (except for applications available only in specific regions). For this reason, many are moving the country from their old account (to keep all apps already purchased) to Brazil, so that they can add the cards present in Real.
The problem is that, as explained here, Apple only allows a country transfer if there is no more no account balance. If you have a few cents left that can’t even buy a $ 0.99 app, the country transfer cannot be made.
Fortunately, there is a way to resolve this. Here’s how.
If you are experiencing this problem, the solution is to ask Apple to zero your credits. You will lose them, but at least you will be able to transfer your country.
Also read: “Understand the consequences of changing the country of your App Store account”
If you still have more than $ 0.99 in balance, buy something to take advantage of the credits. If you have an account that charges fees, move to an American state that does not cover taxes (see how here).
Apple has a support channel where it receives all customer orders and complaints. It is for him that you will ask to eliminate your credits so that you can change countries.
Ready to start?
Step 1 – Go to the Support page and choose Apple ID.
Step 2 – Select iTunes Store and App Store.
Step 3 – Select “The topic is not in the list”.
Step 4 – You will be asked to enter a subject to search the website’s database. You will type “App Store Credits“.
Step 5 – The only option left is to send an email to them, using a form that will appear on the website. You will explain (in Portuguese) that you are moving to Brazil and would like to change your American App Store account as well, but you can’t because you still have credits in it. Say you authorizes to remove these balance to be able to transfer the account.
After a few days (sometimes it takes a while) you will receive a response email, explaining the consequences of changing your account country.
The standard deadline they give for the answer is 48 hours, but in many cases the change is made well before. After credits are cleared, you can now change your account country. If you still don’t know how to do this, follow our tutorial.