Recommendation of Brazilian citizenship lawyer

08/29/24    Hi folks!
I’m American, recently married to a Brazilian woman. I already received my residency. I want to get Brazilian citizenship as soon as possible.
Can anyone recommend a good lawyer?
Thanks!
Andrew
   
    -@Andrewsoluna

Hi, Andrew.  Congratulations on your residency.   The earliest you'll be able to apply for citizenship is when you've lived in Brazil for at least one continuous year after the issue date of your CRNM, so you have some time.  You don't ordinarily need an attorney to become naturalized; the requirements are relatively straightforward, and the applicant either meets them or doesn't.  The requirements appear here:

https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br/assuntos/se … -ordinaria

The most serious barrier for most applicants is meeting the language proficiency requirement.  This can be accomplished either by taking and passing the CelpeBras examination which is offered twice a year (the credential doesn't expire, so you can take it before you apply for naturalization and include the cert in your application), or by passing a Portuguese for Foreigners course approved by the Ministry of Culture and that the Federal Police will accept as a substitute for CelpeBras.  If you try this route, make sure with the people offering the course that it will in fact be accepted before putting your money down.

What she said ^^^^^ Don't waste money on a lawyer for this.

BTW in 3 days I'm moving back permanently. I've had permanent residency since 2017.

I required a month to complete, and then wait for, all the paperwork that was involved. Then I had to go over all the little details required for the move to go smoothly and actually legally work with as little problems as possible. I'm Canadian, so the list of to-do's is probably similar for you too. Plan for that. You can ignore this part also and choose stumble thru your way rebuilding your life in Brasil I guess if you are not detail oriented.

Also, watch your days spent in Brasil in the preceding year of the final move date, as in my case you could not be in Brasil more than 35 days beforehand, or assets you planned to move their with, like, you know, a chunk of cash, becomes taxable in Brasil. This applies to people like us with PR, as well as citizens. Obviously, if you don't have cash or assets coming with you, then it's different in more ways than one.

Start learning Portuguese now if you are not even close to a basic language level. Get the Globo app and watch programs 2 hours a day, or download the Radio Tupi app and listen to it....etc, etc, lot's of choices out there.

It helps.

@abthree

Thank you for the info! The gov website doesn’t state a one year residency requirement. I really want to expedite getting my citizenship and absolutely willing to pay a lawyer to do so.

By the way, I’m fluent in Portuguese.

I’ll continue to research. Thanks!

@Gasparzinho 777

Thank you for the valuable info! best of luck to you!!

    08/31/24 @abthree
Thank you for the info! The gov website doesn’t state a one year residency requirement. I really want to expedite getting my citizenship and absolutely willing to pay a lawyer to do so.
By the way, I’m fluent in Portuguese.

-@Andrewsoluna

Please re-read the section, "Residência por Prazo Indeterminado".  You'll find the one year requirement there.

You can test whether your ability to speak, understand,  read, and write Portuguese meets the fluency requirement for naturalization by trying some of the old CelpeBras exams here:

https://www.ufrgs.br/acervocelpebras/acervo/

The oral and written tests are graded separately, and the final grade is the lower of the two, not the average.