Process of proxy marriage in Brazil, is it possible
Last activity 15 July 2024 by abthree
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So myself and my friend from Brazil, who was in Britain on a standard tourist visa, and was here for a couple of months, were thinking of getting married in Brazil, as tourist visa situations do not allow Brazilians to marry in Britain. I could only stay in Brazil for a week at the moment as of work commitments, so wondered if the proxy marriage idea would be a good method, seeing the normal marriage process would be too convoluted to achieve in a week, for sure.
Have I got this right, is this what you need to do, if you live in Britain, and are trying to get married to the a Brazilian citizen in Brazil,
In terms of a proxy marriage, where you are only able to be in Brazil for a week,
1 I must get a civil status declaration, and at this point get or have created a official copy of my birth certificate,
2 Then get the Civil status declaration, a official passport copy, and original birth certificate, appostled, as in have the stamp/ sticker of apostle stuck on the back of these 3 documents
For some I also need a proof of address document, that will have 90 days to be used, it also needs appostled,
3 Fly to Brazil, or second documents to Brazil,
4 Get the documents translated by a government approved "sworn translator" in Brazil.
5 Take these documents to a "Cartorio de titulo e documentos" to be REGISTERED.
* Original appostled birth certificate and sworn translators created copy, * official copy of passport information pages, made by a authorised authority (I am unsure if this is the official copy made by a solicitor in Britain, or a new copy made in Brazil by a sworn translator, or if it is both, and if the British official copy needed to be a exact replica, or just the information pages), * Civil status declaration, * and maybe that bank bill with proof of address.
6 When these have been registered, I believe it takes more than a day, maybe a number of weeks, for them to give them back, I believe the cartorio keep he documents, then when they are registered, and then they hand them back, am I right there, do they give a form stating what has been registered, or stamp it as well,
I then submit these now registered documents at "Cartorio civil registry office" which in Portuguese is "Cartorio de Registro civil" with the relevant form, then your application shall be processed,
PROXY: I am unsure if at this point is when both partners in the case of a proxy marriage must be present, as surely previously the Brazilian citizen could have handed the other documents to the sworn translator and "Cartorio de titulo e documentos", and "Cartorio civil registry office".
7, We shall be given a time when to return,
PROXY: I am unsure if at this point is when both partners in the case of a proxy marriage must be present,
Here you present 2 character witnesses, people you know who are not your parents, and here you must indicate if you have a understanding of Portuguese, if not then you must allocate a sworn translator for you at the wedding,
I assume this is when the Proxy option develops, as in one or two of the couple, state that they shall not be able to present at the wedding ceremony, so they choose a power of attorney from here, who shall do all the signing for one of the couple, or even both,
And that from this process, the person or persons who shall be abroad, does not have to be there again,
8 The signed documents are sent off to a official office in the city, they shall notify us when all docs are approved.
9 So we shall be asked to return, I assume for proxy this is the power of attorney and the Brazilian resident citizen, if it is a Brazilian resident citizen and a foreigner based abroad, to sign 2 more documents which need 2 now Godfathers, both men, as marriage witnesses, with a certified copy of their identification in the form, the document we are signing and sending off,
10 It is returned and we are free to marry on a date we select
11 Ceremonial or not, you must also be married in a registry office, as well, given a time,. to go in front of the judge, cartario de registro civil, you are now married, this would be for normal marriage the 2 partners, and for proxy, the power of attorney and the Brazilian citizen,
Also when it is a proxy marriage, do you need to sign a form that says you have no criminal, history, or is that for all marriages, or only for immigration, it would not bother me, but if so at which point,
Is it doable to do a proxy marriage where all the documents are sent to Brazil, and the Brazilian citizen gets all the documents sent through the system, so that the British citizen can just attend a official office during a 1 week vacation in Brazil, or is it the case that the process is more convoluted than that, and even a foreigner would need to be in Brazil for a much longer period of time, so as to be sure of being there for presenting documents, and getting them signed, or even have to expensively, so prohibitive expensively for some, come back to Brazil every few weeks for new signing of documents. Is proxy marriage arranging possible to arrange for a British tourist who arrives in 1 week, or is that effectively impossible,
06/30/24 @Happyfeliz. You clearly put a lot of effort into your text but I'm sorry, it's so convoluted, such a mixture of correct and incorrect information, and so mixes up marriage in person and proxy marriage that I can't make any sense of it. Again I apologize, and will try to address what appear to be your principal concerns.
The single most important thing to understand about a proxy marriage is that it will not provide grounds for you to live in Brazil: that is absolutely clear in the relevant regulations. To be able to do that you and your potential spouse need to be married in person in SOME country, and if it's not Brazil, the Brazilian spouse has to register the marriage a the nearest Brazilian Consulate in that country.
If the two of you can't marry in the United Kingdom, and you can't be in Brazil long enough to get married here (which would normally require one visit of about thirty days, or two trips to Brazil, one to start the process and the second to actually get married about a month later), and it's no good for immigration purposes, what is the benefit that you two hope to get from a proxy marriage?
If you two really want to go through with a proxy marriage, your future spouse should go to their local cartório to determine the documents that will be required at the Brazil end, and you should go to your local registry office to determine the documents that will be required at the British end. Then you will each be able to present a complete document package to the appropriate authorities.
If in responding you'll let you know the concerns you have that I'm not addressing, I'll try to do better next time. Meanwhile if you send this link to your partner, it will help them ask the right questions at the cartório:
@abthree
Thank you for your reply, yes it is a very convoluted email, apologies.
I will try and make it more to the point.
So do you, or anybody else able to answer, think that in reality,
If I as a British citizen who lives in Britain, want to marry a Brazilian citizen who lives in Brazil, and I only have time to be in Brazil for 1 week at most, are you saying that really even for the Brazilian Proxy marriage process, that is just not long enough.
Are you saying that for the proxy marriage process, both partners, HAVE to be in Brazil, TWICE, at the very least, and those 2 times that both partners are in Brazil, as of the time it takes bureaucracy get things done, then they would have to be around 30 days apart.
Would not a power of attorney be able to represent me the British citizen, or my Brazilian girlfriend, be able to do all the processes, with me not there yet. We were pondering that it could be the case, my Brazilian girlfriend, could get all the paperwork and such sorted, at the various carterios, then I just turn up while on holiday and appoint a power of attorney, and then that power of attorney sorts everything out from there. But is it the case I the British citizen, would have to be there more than once, and these 2 times, I simply HAVE to be there, would definitely be well over a week apart, simply as of the way bueorcracy is,
PS the main aim we are trying to achieve from marriage is simply marriage for marriages sake, its not about immigration statuses.
07/03/24 @Happyfeliz. You should not need to go to Brazil for a proxy marriage/casamento por procuração. Here are the instructions from the Brazilian Embassy in London on how a person in your situation can obtain a Power of Attorney that can be used in Brazil; a link to the Embassy's page (in Portuguese) follows:
"A foreigner who does not have a valid CRNM, even if he or she is married to a Brazilian national and/or has a CPF, must:
Request the power of attorney from a British notary or solicitor. Once issued, the power of attorney must be apostilled by the FCDO and, to be effective in Brazilian territory, translated by a sworn public translator in Brazil. The document must then be registered at a registry office for titles and documents; or
Use a digital certificate to sign the power of attorney. However, it is recommended that you check in advance with the Brazilian agency that will receive the power of attorney whether this procedure is accepted; or
Make the power of attorney in Portuguese with Public Notaries who work with the language and are familiar with Brazilian legislation, such as the contacts below:
Larianae Notaries (Lara Giuliana Gouveia Simonetti)
Thanet House, 231 – 232 Strand
London WC2R 1DA
Website: www.larianae.com
E-mail: info@larianae.com
Tel: 020 7199 6241
De Pinna Notaries
35, Piccadilly
London W1J 0LJ
Website: www.depinna.com
E-mail: info@depinna.co.uk
Tel: 020 7208 2900
Saville & Co. Scrivener Notaries
2nd floor, 11 Old Jewry
London EC2R 8DU
Website: www.savillenotaries.com
Email: portuguese@savillenotaries.com
Tel: 020 7776 9800"
I would certainly recommend using one of the Notaries suggested by the Embassy.
https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado- … trangeiros
Here are the instructions recommended by the Embassy for getting apostilles for your documents:
07/03/24 @abthreePS the main aim we are trying to achieve from marriage is simply marriage for marriages sake, its not about immigration statuses. -@Happyfeliz
On the bigger question, are you sure that a proxy marriage is the best choice? Even though you say that "it's not about immigration statuses", most married couples sooner or later -- and preferably sooner rather than later -- DO want to live together. Will a proxy marriage facilitate that for you two, or make it more difficult? At the Brazil end, it will create a barrier; will it make things easier at the United Kingdom end if your fiancée wants to join you there?
You write that you can't spend more than a week in Brazil. If that's true in 2024, would it be possible for you to save up vacation and have the time to get married in Brazil in 2025? The benefits of that may make it worth considering.
My husband and I were engaged for almost three years before we got married. That gave him time to get into the university of his choice, and it gave me time to put my personal and financial affairs in order and move to Brazil worry-free. It also gave us the space to work with the immigration laws rather than against them.
Whatever choice works you, best wishes to you both!
@Happyfeliz I did this 20 yrs ago. I just gave my future mother in law power of attorney. She signed whatever needed signing n then I came n got married... went to the prefecture n registered the marriage, did the ceremony n done.
Thanks I shall have a look at this, thanks for the good advice.
Sorry to those who have already answered a similar question,
And thank you,
Its just there is one point, I think I need completion on. I am struggling to get a complete answer from the lawyers I emailed.
I live in Britain, and I am looking to marry my girlfriend in Brazil, Rio De Janeiro in fact.
Does anybody know if, if I were to get a proxy marriage in Brazil, if I have to go to Brazil, or if it can all be done, with me not having to step foot there. I mean I know my girlfriend could do all her processes in Brazil, but I am wondering, if during a proxy marriage, if I when living in Britain can do the process purely by getting all the documents needed, to her, and then I just stay here in Britain during the whole process, or is there a point where both future husband and wife, just have to be there, If I do HAVE to be there at one time, how many times, is it just once, or twice. If so what occasions, do I HAVE to be there, even for just a proxy marriage, sorted in Brazil.
Not that I am not planning to go to Brazil, its just that would be a useful piece of information in terms of planning and when I need to be in Brazil.
I have a feeling I need to be there to organise the power of attorney, but if anybody has had a proxy marriage before, did they have to be in Brazil at any part of the process,
I am thinking is it possible, for me to do this, maybe just visiting Brazil no times, or even just once to get a power of attorney agreed on to do all my paperwork.
Many Thanks if you can advise,
I am just thinking, seeing I can only visit Brazil for a week this year, the slowness of bureaucracy, means I should maybe plan is if I have not been there, seeing they wont likely chime with my plans.
07/12/24 @Happyfeliz. See Post #4 above. You should not have to go to Brazil. When the Procuração and other documents and required apostilles are correct and complete, you should be able to send them to your fiancée to deliver to the cartório. You can confirm all this with one of the notaries that the Embassy recommends using, also listed in Post #4.
@abthree Thanks thats great, I shall do what is needed. You are great.
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