Tourist Visa Stays in Brazil - 180 days per year maximum

Hi dexterous,

Visa Waiver Program visits are limited to 3 months in a six month period (90 days in a period of 180 days), generally speaking they are not subject to extension so those 180 days cannot all be consecutive. However, having said that the legislation does not prevent a country from extending the period anyway. You can ask for an extension, but don't rely on getting it since the chances are greater that you won't. Essentially the way it works is counting from your very first entry to Brazil you get 90 days in, 90 days out, 90 days in, 90 days out "ad infinitum".

So (remembering that any count must also include the day of entry and departure as full days) if you are entitled to 69 days and use them up, then you'd have to remain outside the country for 90 days, at which point then you could return for a further 90 day visit.

While, by most accounts, it seems that visits are linked primarily to passport numbers and some individuals with dual citizenship have been able to return shortly after a departure, using their other passport, this is NOT advisable since it could lead to very serious legal problems should this be discovered.

The only practical alternative if you want an extended stay when you've almost used up 180 days would be to solicit some other kind of visa, a VITEM-IV Student Visa or VITEM-V Work Visa for example, if that is possible in your case. Other than that 180 days is the maximum anyone can have been in Brazil AT ANY POINT DURING A GIVEN STAY. At least that's the standard that the Federal Police apply.

To answer your question about working for your US company. That is perfectly acceptable. The VITUR Tourist Visa only prohibits remunerated work in Brazil. Your foreign source of income is not considered as such. This is provided of course that it really is working at a distance, not involving clients here or any kind of work process here. Simply continuing your current work via internet is perfectly OK.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

dexterous wrote:

I came to Brazil in March for a week and entered the country under my Israeli passport (which didn't require me to have a visa). Then I returned the same way for another two weeks in June. Now I want to come back to Brazil and spend an extended period of time.

I hope you don't mind, but I have a few (okay, quite a few) questions regarding my situation:

1) Should I enter with my Israeli passport again? Will that grant me the ability to spend the remaining amount of time as a tourist (90 - 21 = 69 days) and then apply for an extension of another 90 days?
2) What option do I have for extending my stay? In other words, I know I can renew my visa while I'm in Brazil at the federal police office, but if I just leave the country after the 69 days and come back say a couple of months later, would I be able to come in for another 90 days? For example – I'm thinking I could go for October 22 - December 30. I would leave the country on Dec 30 and then could I come back to Brazil on January 15, 2014 and stay another 90 days? Or would I run into any trouble?
3) Do you know when my allotment of tourist visa days expire: for example, do they expire within a calendar year (January 1st 2013- December 31st 2013) or do they expire 365 days from when I first entered the country on a tourist visa?

The 180 days you can stay on a tourist per year are what wjwoodward calls a "rolling year" e.i., they check (in theory) the number of days you where here in the last 365 days, so your week in march would "expire" in march 2014.

dexterous wrote:

An unrelated question:
4) Do you know if I would be able to continue working for my US-based company while on a tourist visa? In other words, am I under any obligations to report to the Brazilian government about income while residing as a tourist in Brazil? What sort of measures do they have in place to ensure you are earning income/having sufficient funds?

There is no problem for you to telecommute, you would not actually be working (having an employment contract) in Brazil. Unless you live here and have a permanent visa, you will not have to report income.

dexterous wrote:

I would like to travel to Brazil to spend time with my Brazilian partner.

If you're married to your Brazilian partner, and visit Brazil at least once every 2 years, you could apply for a permanent visa.

Dear William,

Wow, thank you so much for your super informative response. I didn't even realize the limitation on the Visa Waiver Program (which I assume allows citizens of specific countries – say Israel in my case – to travel to Brazil for tourism or business for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa).

1) Does this mean that tourists who are eligible for the visa waiver program are not under the same waiting period between visits as tourists who are not eligible? In other words, I was under the understanding that if say you are a U.S. citizen and you come to Brazil for 90 days, extend that to 180, then you must leave the country for 365 days before you could come back again. If I'm entering as an Israeli citizen, can I literally enter ad infinitum as long as I spend 90 days out after each visit? Wouldn't a red flag come up if I keep coming back and forth? I just called the Israeli embassy in Brazil and asked them about this but they couldn't specify what is the legal waiting period between visits. They said I should contact a Brazilian consulate to get a real confirmation.

2) For my next visit, I was hoping to go for at least several months. Would it make more sense for me to try to apply for a US tourist visa, use up my "74 days" (which I used when I entered with my Israeli passport), and then apply for an extension to make it 180 days? Or can I run into trouble by mixing up the days from different passports? Would it not make sense to come now on a U.S. passport at all?

3) Given the challenges of trying to live in Brazil for an extended period of time with my partner, who lives in a small town a few hours from Rio, I am wondering if it would make more sense to consider other visa options like you mentioned (student visa or even a domestic partnership/civil union). The question is how could I stay for an extended period while working remotely. Do you have any other insights or thoughts about any of these routes?

Thanks again so much!

Hi Dex,

For VWP stays, it's 90/90/90/90 for ever. So if you came to Brazil used your 90 then you must be out of the country for 90 days before you could re-enter for 90. Everyone still gets 180 days in a "rolling" year, but VWP stays can't be 180 consecutive days.

Exhausting your entitlement of days on one passport and then trying to re-enter using another can land you in a whole world of trouble, I wouldn't advise anyone to try doing so. I've heard of people getting away with it, but the consequences if caught are pretty grim.

Actually, if you apply for a VITUR Tourist Visa on your US passport, you will likely get the full 90 days for your first entry, which you could extend for another 90. Since you'll be entering under a different passport number, different issuing nation and with a visa which has been issued as opposed to waived. The Policia Federal are really so confused about this whole issue they often make all kinds of mistakes, it's often much simpler for them to give people the go-ahead for a full stay than to try and figure out how to do something correctly.

I'd go with the US passport and VITUR if I were you, alternatively you could apply for a VITEM-IV Student Visa if you can find qualifying course, this will permit stays that correspond to the duration of the course.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thank you again William! This is so helpful. I so appreciate your time. I will let you know if I have any follow up questions.

if i've overstayed my visa but continue to travel inside brazil, how likely would it be that i would be discovered if it took inland flights, from brasilia to rio and back for instance? or if i had to check into a 4 or 5 star hotel in rio?

thank you

Hello flixe,

All passengers for any kind of interstate travel in Brazil, be it bus, train or plane are required to produce ID. If you are making even a national flight it is likely that the airline, even though they can't legally demand to see your passport, will do so anyway. I've fought them on the issue an threatended to call the Federal Police, that was enough to get them to accept other ID. However if your visa is expired and you get asked for your passport you won't be able to argue the point with them. If they should thumb through to your visa pages THEY will call the Federal Police. There is usually a delegacy in every major airport. I'd advise the bus, the driver will only look at the ID page.

As far as checking into hotels goes, they used to ask foreigners to leave their passport with reception (in a vault), but I don't believe that is done anymore.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

HI,
I am Indian and i have Bussness visa of brazil.I enter in Brazil Rio on 26th Aug.I will return to India on 8th Oct.My visa was stamped on 10th Aug. and valid for 90 days so i belive that i will able to stay up to 10th Oct (90day from date of issue of visa) is it ok or i can stay 90day from entry in Brazil? if i never use all 90 days then can i come back again on same visa to use my remaing days?In my case i will have 15 more days is it possible if i go back and come again to use that days later anytime?

Unless your visa is clearly marked MULTIPLE ENTRY it is only valid once. Usually business visas are only good once and if it is marked  90 days in Prazo de Estada  or Validade then it's only good for 90 days from entry.

Without actually seeing the visa it is hard to say anything for certain.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi William!
How are you?
I hope you can help me..

I"m Australian, and this is my situation...
Oh dear, I am a bit confused. I really really hope you can help me.
I'm about to go to Brazil (back after being in BA). My situation is this:

I was issued a visa on 25 Feb 2013 to go to Brazil. :-) Sweet. I went.
Went to Rio, and then around the 90 day mark (29th May 2013) I applied for the extension for a further 90 days -  that is, till 25 August.   

However, I left Brazil prior to when the  90 day period ended (I left Rio 30 June 2013).
Now, I am returning to Brazil for however long I could stay. A month or two..

Question 1:
Does this mean, that they would calculate the amount of days I was actually IN BRAZIL  for that second 90 day approval? - therefore, I really still have about 7 weeks up my sleeve? (Because I left Rio before the 90 day visa days were 'lived').
I think I' answering my own question.  I believe I have some more time to be there....

Question 2:
Do I need to apply for another visa to enter Brazil? I'm in Buenos Aires and it's always a bit of a challenge to get things done and hoped I would avoid it!

I have not 'been in Brazil' the remaining approx 7 weeks (calculating the days 30 june-25 august which I was in Buenos Aires)

Your help is greatly greatly appreciated and needed!

Abraços!
Jenny

wjwoodward wrote:

Tourist Visa Stay – 180 day per year maximum

The method of calculating the maximum visa stay is the subject of so much confusion that I have decided to try and explain it as clearly as possible so it can be easily understood by all.
The standard in practice used by the Federal Police is that ‘at no time during your present stay in the country you are permitted to exceed the 180 day per year maximum’.  So how do they calculate that?

On the date you enter Brazil they (actually the computer in most cases) go back 365 days and count the number of days that you have previously been in Brazil during that period. Please note that the day of arrival and day of departure on any previous visits are also counted as full days in making the calculation even if it was a matter of minutes or seconds.

The number of days is then subtracted from the allowable 180 day maximum stay for this trip. You will then be issued an entry visa for a period of up to 90 days, since a single (un-extended) stay is a maximum of 90 days. The balance of allowable days is used to calculate the number of days for which can extend your present stay in the country by applying for a ‘prorrogação de estado’.  This is known as the “rolling year system (or) floating year system”

Examples:

No previous visits to Brazil within the past 365 days – maximum visa stay 90 days PLUS a maximum extension upon request of a further 90 days for a total of 180 days.

A previous visit of 90 days within the past 365 days – maximum visa stay 90 days with NO VISA EXTENSION PERMITTED in this case.

A previous visit of 21 days within the past 365 days – maximum visa stay of 90 days PLUS an extension on request of not more than 69 days for a total of 180 days. (21+90+69 = 180)

Upon leaving Brazil following a stay of the full 180 days you would then have to be out of the country for 180 days just to set the count back to zero, from this point you would then accumulate 1 day for each day of absence that passed. After 365 days of absence you would then be back to your full 180 day allowable maximum. After an absence of only 270 days you could come back for only the ‘un-extended’ 90 day maximum.

Anything between 180 and 270 days of absence your stay in the country would be limited to ONLY the number of days you had earned since the 180th day of your absence. This is most important for businesspeople who make frequent short visits to the country every year.

This system is so confusing, in fact, that many Federal Police and almost all of the contracted civilian immigration agents themselves do not understand it well enough to calculate manually and if the computer system that calculates your stay is not operating or if your point of entry is not connected to the system mistakes in calculation are quite common. 

Even if you know how the calculation is made and have already figured out your maximum correctly, if the person (in many cases a civilian) should make a mistake in the calculation NEVER argue with him/her or attempt in any way correct the error. This could make matters worse and serve only to make the person angry; this could result in being refused entry altogether. If they make a mistake you are probably stuck with it. You might try taking it up with someone at the Regional Superintendency of the Federal Police following your arrival, but even that is not a sure thing.

Requesting an extension of your visa stay – PRORROGAÇÃO DE ESTADO

This must be done at the Federal Police (Setor de Estrangeiros) nearest where you are staying. Ideally, the request should be made at least 2 or 3 weeks before the date of departure indicated on the current visa entry. Unlike everything else involving visas and immigration in Brazil this is really a very simple and straightforward procedure so don’t worry.

You will be required to produce proof that you will still be able to support yourself financially for the extended period, show a return ticket or at least the booking confirmation, address where you will be staying, etc. There is a small fee for which you will be issued a GRU (Guia de Recolhimento da União) to be paid at the Bank of Brazil and when you return with that paid your passport will be stamped with the extension and returned to you.

If you do not speak Portuguese very well it might help to take someone who does with you.

Overstaying your visa

You should take care not to overstay your visa, this can be a real headache and it generates a fine which you must pay either upon departure or before you will be allowed to re-enter Brazil in the future. It is not, however, a crime – it is considered an ‘administrative infraction’ and the fine is about the only serious consequence involved. If you get caught with an expired visa or somebody turns you in for an expired visa you could be in a bit of trouble and could be instructed to leave Brazil voluntarily within a certain number of days (worst case scenario). The real consequence of the visa overstay, especially if you do not pay the fine on leaving Brazil, is that they stamp your passport accordingly and this visa overstay might cause problems when entering Brazil or any other country at a future date. Some countries may go so far as to deny entry for this reason.

Well, I hope that clears things up for most of you!

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Hi Jenny,

The visa stay is calculated ONLY on the number of days you have actually been in the country if you have a "physical" visa. You have to count the day of arrival and day of departure of the previous visit as full days in that calculation.

For Visa Waiver Program or Schengen Area entries into Brazil which don't require a visa as such, just a stamp on the passport, the stays are limited to 90 days in any 180 day period (some countries 60). Only the UK has a separate agreement which allows them to stay up to 180 days consecutively. With VWP and Schengen visits the clock continues running so, for example, if you went to Argentina for a week during your visit to Brazil, that week would still be counted as if you were in Brazil the whole time.

If your visa was issued on Feb 25, 2013 then it should be valid until Feb. 25, 2018.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

hi,
As i had told my visa is vitem-ii and multiple entry nad valid for 90 days from date of issue. i enter in brazil on 26th july.
my visa was stamped on 10th july.i will leave on 8th Octomber.
so in this case i will have more 18 days left to complete my 90 days period  can i use it any time if i go back on 8th oct is it possible that i can visit again to complete remain 20days?

Regards,

Chintan Chokshi

Hello Chintan,

I can't answer your question. Some VITEM-II visas are "single use only" and once you leave the country they are no longer valid. In that case you would have to apply for a new visa.

You should check with the Consulate that issued the visa to be sure. At any rate you must count both the day of entry and the day of departure as full days add that to the number of days you were in Brazil and subtract from 90. That will give you the number of days remaining. If you calculated 18 you couldn't stay for 20.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi William,

Sweet!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
I was getting confused with the 'multiple-entry' visa or not multiple entry. My visa has no such stamp..

My visa is a 'physical' tourist visa stuck on a page inside my passport, issued for an australian, giving the standard 90 days.
So, I can now assume correctly that, as I stayed in Brazil for less than 90 days, on this tourist visa, then my calculations tell me that I have some weeks 'left' of time I was actually in the country (on this visa). Excellent news William. Thank you so much for clarifying this!

As I wrote this, I came across an Australian site that also explained: "Tourist visas  (for Australians) are valid for 1 year, once you enter in Brazil you are allowed to stay for up to 90 days (multiple entries). "

That's one less thing to worry about!

All the best to you.
Regards,
Jenny

wjwoodward wrote:

Hi Jenny,

The visa stay is calculated ONLY on the number of days you have actually been in the country if you have a "physical" visa. You have to count the day of arrival and day of departure of the previous visit as full days in that calculation.

For Visa Waiver Program or Schengen Area entries into Brazil which don't require a visa as such, just a stamp on the passport, the stays are limited to 90 days in any 180 day period (some countries 60). Only the UK has a separate agreement which allows them to stay up to 180 days consecutively. With VWP and Schengen visits the clock continues running so, for example, if you went to Argentina for a week during your visit to Brazil, that week would still be counted as if you were in Brazil the whole time.

If your visa was issued on Feb 25, 2013 then it should be valid until Feb. 25, 2018.

[img align=l]http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/flag/t67118.gif[/url]  Cheers,  [img align=r]http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/flag/t67054.gif[/url]
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

thanks a lot for your prompt response.
so if i will go back then i will can apply for the new visa just after 90 days i stay out of brazil(as per 90 days in 90 days out rules), right...

ok lets see...probably i am never going to use it again but just for my clarity i had asked...

thanks a lot ....

Chintan Chokshi

Hi Chintan,

I really can't say for sure. Brazil has very harsh (and different) rules for citizens from both India and Pakistan. It's ten times harder for them to get any kind of visa for Brazil than it is for citizens of any other countries.

The rules for entry, re-entry and reissue of visa seem like the Consulate just makes them up as they go along as far as India and Pakistan citizens are concerned. Not at all fair, but that's the way they are.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi William:

Firstly, thank you for the indispensable knowledge you've been sharing on this thread. It's been an absolute God-send.

When you get a moment I'd really appreciate if you could respond to the following.

Im a British citizen, and I left the UK on the 5th of April, and returned from a consecutive 180 day visa on the 18th of September. I'm planning to return to São Paulo on the 1st of January 2014 - will that be possible?

If not would they extradite me immediately or would they allow me to plead my case and make arrangements accordingly, such as getting married?

I noticed this response that you made on another thread back in 2011, which would address and validate my plan, does it still apply?

A tourist visa permits a maximum stay of 180 days per year (6 months). If for example you entered the country in the beginning of July you could stay until the end of December (with a visa stay extension) at which time you would have to leave the country. You could theoretically spend a few nights in any other country (Paraguay for example, since there is no requirement that you must return to your country of origin - just that you leave Brazilian territory) and return to Brazil for another stay of up to 180 days since your entry was in the new year. In other words... you could come to Brazil in July after 90 days ask for a "prorrogação" (extension of your stay) in October. You leave for Paraguay on New Years Eve and spend a few days sightseeing. You could then come back into Brazil in the beginning of January of the new year with no problem and stay a further 180 days by applying for another extension of your stay in the beginning of April. So you have thus stayed in Brazil for one year having only been outside the country for a few days.

Apologies if you've already addressed such a question, it's a little hard to parse all the info.

Thanks again.

Hi kyleg,

You could re-enter on January 1, but it would only be for a few days. You need to be out of Brazil for 180 days just to zero the count. You would need to be out of Brazil for 270 days in order to be entitled to enter and stay for 90 days, a full year from the date of your departure in order to be entitled to stay 90 and extend for a further 90.

You would be allowed to enter, but that would not be long enough for you to marry, since the process for a foreigner to marry takes a month or more. No, there's no pleading one's case with the Feds, they either let you in or boot you out, sad to say. When someone is not permitted entry to the country, they are usually put right back on the aircraft that they came on or detained and put on the next available one.

Regarding the quote, it is no longer correct. The Federal Police no longer calculate visa stays on a calendar year, but rather on a "rolling year". Effectively what they do is go back one year from the day of entry and count all the days one has already been in Brazil to that point, subtract from 180. So you see you'd only be allowed a couple of days at best.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

I really appreciate the clarification William! Thanks again.

Hi wjwoodward

I went to the Federal Police and spoke to someone about my situation and have been gievn the following advice-only thing is I was wondering if you (yes you) could confirm that for me as the person I spoke to wasnt so sure about other information. This is the difference between buying another ticket home or not so would like to be sure.
I am a New Zealander and entered Brazil on 20/04/2013 on a Tourist visa (I got this automatically on entry into Brazil-I didnt have to apply for one before leaving NZ), Before my 90 days were exoired I went to the federal police and was granted an extension for another 90 days that end on the 17/10/2013. I will be leaving Brazil bfeore the 17/10 and at the time I leave I would prob have been in Brazil for 173 consecutive days (I have never been to Brazil before and have not been out of Brazil yet).
The Federal Police person told me I can re-enter Brazil at anytime  as I have not used up my full 180 days. I am planning on re-entering Brazil in March 2014 and will only be here a week at the most before I fly home. Could you please tell me (as you understand it) if it sounds like that advice is correct please? Thanks so much in advance

Hi pricie11,

I replied to your private message.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Dear William James Woodward,
It is very grief to tell you that Brazilian Embassy in pakistan hjas been refuse to issue me Tourist visa even though I completed all required documents and i also attached the invitation letter recieved by my girlfriend.
I am very sad and my Girlfriend is crying since many days becuase dreams are broken, I am also very confuse how to coupe up this situation,
Please help to find a way to come and meet my love.
Thank you very much for your kind response

Masood Khan Soomro
Pakistan

Hello Masood,

As I'm sure I told you right in the beginning it is much more difficult for citizens of Pakistan and India to obtain visas for Brazil than for the citizens of many other countries. The requirements are much higher.

If your visa was refused it is either because you didn't meet the requirements or because you somehow indicated that you would likely not return to Pakistan following the visit.

If you were rejected for lack of finances then you should save up more money and try again at a later date. Otherwise, your only other option would be for your girlfriend to travel to Pakistan and you get married there. Once married you register the marriage with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in Islamabad and you can apply for a Permanent Visa based on marriage.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil & Canada Expert - Expat.com Team

Thanks Dear William James Woodward,
onething more if my visa rejected becuase of somehow indicated that I would likely not return to Pakistan following the visit than now I can't apply for any other visa type like Education or once again apply for the tourist visa?
Please help me for easy and affordable way
My gilrfirned can not leave her kids becuase her kids are younger.
so you are here expert, kindly search a way for us.
Please please
I would be very thankful for you

Regards

Of course anyone can always apply for another kind of visa at any time, that doesn't mean in any way that the result will be any different. Visas are ALWAYS issued at the sole discretion of the individual Visa Issuing Officer based on the case at hand. If it is your intention to apply for some other kind of visa, I would recommend that you wait for quite a while before doing so, also do whatever you can to improve your financial position at the same time as this will also help in the visa process.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward, Brazil & Canada Expert - Expat-blog Team

Hi there,

I am asking on behalf of my coworker. He is currently holding a 5 year Business visa VITEM II. His first entry to Brazil is January 28 and had been in and out of the country since then. He exited the country on October 18. I helped him to calculate the total number of days in Brazil and found he had stayed for 187 days. He is currently applying for a work visa VITEM V, but according to him, in order to apply such visa, he needs to go the Ministry of Labor in Brazil for application, which means he has go in the country after he max out the 180 days cap.

My question is if he plan to go back to Brazil on October 30, can he still go in? can he talk to the custom when he arrive Brazil to tell them that he is applying for work visa this time? will the customs grant his entry? Or he will have to wait out side of Brazil until next year January 28?

Please let me know. Thank you.

Dear Willian,
Thank you for your suggestions, In the time of issuing bank statment as required by Embassy, I was have 800300 Pakistani Ruppess (R$ 19054). I think this is also enough money for US and UK too.
Anyway I will try to another way or to leave this forever.
thank you for your prompt response
Cheers

Hi Yunita898,

The method of calculating entitlement works exactly the same with a VITEM II Business Visa as it does with a VITUR Tourist Visa.

One is allowed to be in Brazil no more than 180 days in any "rolling" one year period. Once you have used up all 180 days you must then be out of Brazil for 180 days to get back to zero, and from that point you start building days eligible for each day that passes. So it all depends on exactly how long your friend intends to be in Brazil on that particular trip.

Look at it this way:

After using 180 day entitlement

180 days following departure = 0 days
270 days following departure = 90 days
365 days following departure = 180 days

So 190 days from departure one could return to Brazil for a maximum of 10 days ONLY and that includes day of arrival and day of departure as full days.

At 270 days one could return for the full 90 day visit, but could not ask for an extension (prorrogação de estada), because you'd be back to having used 180 days in that "rolling" one year time period.

Following the 270 day mark, one would get the initial 90 day visit and could request an extension for EXACTLY the number of days over 270 had passed by the date of their new entry into Brazil. So if, for example, 300 days had elapsed between departure from Brazil and re-entry on the following visit, then one would be allowed 90 days on the initial stay and could request an extension of a maximum of 30 days (300 - 270 = 30).

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward, Brazil & Canada Expert - Expat-blog Team

I have a German passport and I am married to a Brazilian for 10 years. I do not have "permanencia".

I stayed more than usual in Brazil during the last months. So I will leave with 74 days in a 180 day period. I will reenter with a return flight that will take me to 135 days in a 180 day period.

Is it possible to reenter with that retun flight booked? Will getting the "permanencia" during the next stay "heal" the Violation of overstaying the 90 days?

Thank you for this excellent thread!

Paying the overstay fine (multa) resolves everything, but does not restore the days. Are you actually the holder of a visa (attached to your passport) or was yours a Visa Waiver Program entry with just an entry and exit stamp in the passport? Need to know which since they are treated very differently.

If you have a (physical document) visa attached to your passport you are allowed up to 180 days per year and that can be CONSECUTIVE.

If yours was a VWP or Schengen Agreement entry with just passport stamps, then the stay can not be consecutive. It is 90 days which must be followed by 90 days out of the country. So you can only have two separate 90 day stays in a year separated by 90 days of absence.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team

I have only a stamp (VWP). But why would getting the permancia not resolve the issue?

Hi Knut34,

Applying for permanency will resolve everything except the overstay fine, which you will still be required to pay since it was incurred before the permanency application.

Secondly, you have to be in a "regular" situation as far as the tourist visa is concerned (i.e. within the legal stay) in order to apply for permanency from within Brazil. So you'd have to have ALL of the documentation ready to apply for the VIPER immediately on re-entering the country if you've only got 16 days of legal stay. On a German passport you are permitted 90 days in a six month period, this means you must be out of the country for 90 days if you've used up the 90. In your case you have only used 74 so can return for only 16 days, then you'd have to be out of the country for 90.

Once you apply for the VIPER based on marriage then you can remain in Brazil and obtain a work permit (Carteira de Trabalho) until the process is completed. Here in Brazil it can take up to 2 years, sometimes even more.

If you decide to apply for the VIPER while you're back home it will be processed in a shorter time (usually 3 to 6 months), BUT YOU CAN'T RE-ENTER BRAZIL UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY HAVE THE VIPER IN HAND.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team

Hello Mr. Wdwoodwards!

I am a American/Canadian dual citizen. I am illegal in Brazil and so is my girlfriend, she is Columbian. I will ask her to marry me and i need to find out a way to make the marriage happen here in Brazil without leaving the country.

Any tips?

That would be extremely difficult to do, if not impossible with both of you being aliens and in irregular migratory situations. It also WOULD NOT qualify you in any way for a VIPER Permanent Visa based on marriage, since that only applies to marriage to a Brazilian national or Permanent Resident.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team

is there any way it could happen though?
my focus isn't on getting residency or becoming a citizen but getting married

Without producing your passports and other identification and a VISA at the Cartório, no it isn't going to happen. As a foreigner you will have to go through the same process as if you were marrying a Brazilian and in São Paulo they will want to see not only your passport, but also your valid visa. You also will need a "firma aberta" (your signature notarized) and in São Paulo that can't be done if you're in an irregular migratory situation. The cartórios is SP are the strictest in the country.

Dear William,
I'm currently in Brazil on a US passport with a tourist visa, and have been here since Oct. 1st. If I get an extra 90-day extension on my visa from the Federal Police, can I stay until February, leave for a few months and come back for a few weeks in June?
I think this should work because in total it will still add up to less than 180 days, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to stay consecutively in Brazil from October through February (5 months). Would it work if I crossed a border for a few days at some point this month, thereby interrupting the consecutive 90 days?
(Let me know if the question was too confusingly worded...)
Thanks so much!

Yes, as long as the total in any "rolling" one year period doesn't exceed 180 days, you can come back.

With an extension of your visa you can stay consecutive days so you don't need to leave Brazil. Just apply for the extension at the Policia Federal about a week before your visit is supposed to end. If you stay roughly 5 months then you have one month still available. Don't forget that you must include your date of arrival and date of departure as full days in your calculation to determine exactly how many days you're entitled to on the next visit. So for example if you leave on Feb. 28, 2014 you will have been in Brazil exactly 151 days, that would leave you 29 days that you could be in Brazil.

Don't ask for a 90 day extension, just for the exact number of days you intend to stay. So if you plan to stay to the 28th of Feb. then request 61 days and that's what you will receive. Once you return they will re-do the count and you'll be allowed to enter for the 29 remaining days. More if you leave earlier and have requested less time as an extension.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team

Wow. What great information on this blog. Thanks so much!

Sorry, but I have a stupid but pressing question. I've downloaded the Guia de Recolhimento da União, and I'm not sure which address I should enter - my home address in the States or my temporary address here in Brasil. It makes sense that they'd want to know where I was staying in Brasil, but it also makes sense that they want to be sure I have a permanent address back home. If they want the address in the States, though, I can't complete the required field for "bairro."

Which is it? Thanks in advance.

You would use what is your address here in Brazil.  Where you are currently residing as this document is in regards to fees to be paid depending on what protocol you need. If it is for (my guess to be for Reunion of Family based on Marriage protocol) you use your address here as this would be the address they will come to to conduct the interview for permanencia protocol. Hope this answers your question if it is for something else payment of other fees I need more info to answer that. I am not sure as to the purpose you want to make a payment of fees. You would use the form to generate a paper with a bar-code that you then take to a bank and pay and bring with you to the DPF as proof the fee was paid

they use this website for the payment of many fees based on what you are applying for if for marriage protocol there are 2 forms needed for the protocol of 2 different fees to be paid.  It was over a year ago I used this process and would have to look it up again the fees needing to be paid.

http://www2.dpf.gov.br/gru/gru