Getting married in Brazil, Permanent Visa and documents required

Hey James, this is a question for the far future, but I want to ask it now.

As you know, I have my permanent visa through marriage. I understand that if I leave Brazil for over 2 years, I will lose this. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that it's a fairly simple process to renew it. What exactly is the process? And I'm assuming that it's possible to renew it outside of Brazil? Otherwise I'm sure I would have to get a tourist visa again, just to come back to renew my permanent visa.

We have plans to come back at least every two years, but sometimes plans change. I'm wondering if coming back every 2 years is something we should try really hard to do (because the renewal process would be a pain) or if it's not that bad if we don't return in that span.

Thanks!

The process is done with the Federal Police and it's called "Reestabelecimento de Registro". I'm not all that up to speed on it, because I really have never dealt with anyone in that situation. Most people tend to make a quick visit to Brazil every 2 years just to keep their permanency. There is no "minimum" stay required, it all is based on the entry and exit stamps.

In the case of losing permanency I would presume that you'd have to submit all the documents over again.

Cheers,
James

Hi james
spanishpeter here
just to let you know, and you might already know this
my wife and I toke all the right documents for my marriage visa, into you Macae, on Monday, to the Federal police, they said they could not deal with them because Iguaba Grande is not in there district, but they would look at them
First,,they said, that, because I was married to a Brazilian, I did not need to get my British police record report, all we needed was to sing a statement if front of the federal police and that would do
you only need to get the police record report, if your applying for permanent visa without being marred to a Brazilian

second,, for all the British people, my birth certificate, it comes with mother and fathers name on it, that's good
but when you get married in Britton, your marriage certificate will only have your father's name on it,
in brazil they want both, mother's and fathers, name on the marriage certificate..
so you will have to get the marriage certificate stamped to get it legalised to say it legal 
but saying that because we could not get the marriage visa in Macae, we had to go to Niteroi, where they had no problem with all the paperwork that we brought
so after 5 hours we had the marriage visa completed
one more thing for all the British people with British marriage certificate, when you get married, your new wife's name dose not change on the marriage certificate, so your wife will still have her old name, I would suggest  that she makes shore you change her name on the marriage certificate or at least by de-pole
I hope all this makes sense

Hi Pete,

Yes, the Criminal Record Check was made redundant with the new procedures brought in on September 1, 2014 for anyone married to a Brazilian, or in a stable union with a Brazilian, or who has a Brazilian child. It was replaced by the "Declaração Sob Pena da Lei de Não Condenação" that you mentioned.

I wasn't aware that UK Marriage Certificates only show the father's name, so that is a handy bit of information that I'll be able to pass on to anyone else from the UK that is going through the permanency process. Thanks for letting me know.

I'm glad to hear that everything went smoothly for you.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team

don't for get that Nitero, is the better place to go to than Macae
Macae work from the old form, where Nitero work from the new form
ok mate you take care,, and keep up the good work

Hi
    Jamas i am going to us embassy in few days ,please tell me do i also need brazil police character certificate ?and if yes so from where should i get it Federal police ?i view on fdp website i can print from thier is that valid?





thanks ]
Haseeb

Hello Haseeb4u3,

It all depends on how long you've been in Brazil if you will need an "Atestado de Antecedentes Criminais", from the Federal Police website, or not. If you've been here for 6 months or more then I'd strongly recommend that you print one off anyway.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Ok thanks.
James

Hi sir..r u liniving in brazil?

Yes i m living in brazil.

thnaksss

hi James
how i can remove my old form post or remove my account from Expat.com ?

Helo James,

Thanking you for helping us. I had already secured my 'Police Clearance' here, should I omit it ?

No, submit it anyway if you already have it, then you don't have to go to the expense of having a Declaration notarized.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Thanking you James.

Good day Dear James,

I have been to that stage where I have to request an invitation letter from my fiancee, but sometime I am afraid I don't know if it is a good idea, I need your advice on this one again. One more thing dear James, if it happens that I need an invitation letter from her, I was told that she must legalize that letter twice in her home country both at 'Cartorion" and 'Ministeriors exteriors MERS'?

Thanking you deeply
Regards
Mbstanson

Hey James,

I have read your posts regarding this topic and want to, first of all, say thank you for all the detailed imformation. I do have one question for you as well:

I am as many others have stated here before in Brazil on a tourist visa. I am waiting for my legalised birth certificate to arrive in Brazil. As I am running risk to overstay my visa for a few days before our marriage is completed, we are now planning on leaving Brazil for a few weeks and travel in Argentina. So my question: Let's say I have stayed here for 70 days and leave for 15 days... when I come back am I going to have another 20 days? How big is the risk that they are not letting me back in because I only have a certain amount of my 90 days left? Should I buy another flight out of Brazil just in case, so I can show an intention of leaving on time?

Thank you for your help.

You will really have to check on this one with the Federal Police. The whole issue of stay calculation on Schengen Area Agreement and Visa Waiver Program entries gets two vastly different interpretations by the Federal Police. Some agents go strictly by the entry/exit stamps and in that case you'd get the additional 20 days. Some agents, however, treat short jonts out of Brazil the same way that the USA treats VWP entries and if you pop out to Canada or Mexico the "clock" keeps running on your American stay.

Best to check with the Federal Police BEFORE you leave just to make sure.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Thanks for the quick reply. How would I best get in contact with the federal police in regards to such an issue? If I call them and they tell me that I can go out and back in and still get the days.. i don't really have any proof that they told me that when I re-enter the country. That's why I thought it might be a save bet to get a flight booked out of brazil to show that I have to get back in and also the intention to leave on time...

Thanks again

HamburgerCane wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. How would I best get in contact with the federal police in regards to such an issue? If I call them and they tell me that I can go out and back in and still get the days.. i don't really have any proof that they told me that when I re-enter the country. That's why I thought it might be a save bet to get a flight booked out of brazil to show that I have to get back in and also the intention to leave on time...

Thanks again

If you want to play it safe like that, I would suggest finding a cheap bus ticket out of the country. It'll be fairly cheap.

We don't mind getting me another ticket out just in case, but if they let the days just run out then I don't see any way back in even if I have a flight or bus ticket out.

Question in another direction...
Our cartorio did not tell me to bring the entry card but just the passport. Would it be possible to hand in all the documents even with an expired visa? I know you wrote some things regarding that early in this topic... but it seems to still depend on the cartorio right? Or does it depend on the agency that gets those documents send from the cartorio?

Thanks for all

I'll send you a private message

James can correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to be here legally in order to get married.

Some cartorios will ask for the entry card, others will ask for a letter from the federal police stating that you're here legally. The cartorio I got married at requested a letter from the federal police. From my understanding, they cannot marry you or except your documents if your visa is expired. Or you could just get lucky, and they just ask for your passport and nothing else.

You are correct that it all depends on the cartorio. Every one is supposed to have the same rules (the rules that James posted at the beginning of the thread), but it seems like it's pretty rare when a cartorio follows every single step.

James,

Thank you so much for your detailed lists and explanations here. I am from the US and am in the process of gathering documents before I arrive in Brasil to marry a Brasilian.

I have a question regarding my birth certificate:

Must I really acquire a new copy of my birth certificate? The one I have used throughout my life to obtain all manner of IDs, passport, visas, etc., is the long form and is embossed, certified, state issued. It's a little fragile because I'm not a spring chicken : )  but I'd rather not purchase a new one unless absolutely necessary.

Thanks,
Melissa

Hi Melissa,

The legislation here requires that the Birth Certificate be issued within the 180 days prior to submission to the Consulado-Geral do Brasil for legalization. Documents for some strange reason are not considered valid otherwise.

That said, I have heard that some members have submitted their original long form to some Consulados and they were legalized anyway. It's really up to you what you want to do. You can submit what you've got and hope they won't reject it or apply for a new one and submit it for legalization. If the old one gets legalized then you'll have no problems at the Cartório. Just note that the Cartório will retain the original when you apply for marriage, so you may want another one anyway, or have them make several certified copies of it for you. Really you'll probably only ever need a certified copy of it for any other purposes here in Brazil. At any rate, for women, here in Brazil the Marriage Certificate supercedes the Birth Certificate and is used for obtaining all further documentations anyway.

I guess that the only thing you stand to lose with submitting the old one for legalization is your time. If they reject it then you're back to square one. It is likely that they'd still levy the charge for legalization even if they rejected the document. The Brazilian government is like that.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

I submitted my original birth certificate without any issue. Keep in mind, it's a risk if you want to do this. It'll be a pretty big pain if they reject your birth certificate will you're in Brazil.

If you have time and a little extra money (I can't imagine it costs much at all), the safest thing is to get a new copy.

Thanks, James and CupofJoe.

For my birth state, it's US $24 plus a self addressed, stamped envelope and a few weeks of waiting. $24 seems way higher than it needs to be. I do expect fees along the way (notarized & translated copies, photos, application fees, etc.). This one just seems silly and redundant.

Will they really keep my original birth certificate? I do not understand why they would want to keep it when a notarized copy should suffice for their purposes, at least to my way of thinking.

Thanks again.
Melissa

Most things in Brazil are silly and redundant. It can be very frustrating at times because a lot of it is just ridiculous and doesn't make a lot of sense.

They didn't keep my birth certificate, they accepted a certified copy of it (the copy was done at the cartorio). But it's safe to assume that James is right that they are supposed to keep it, he knows what he's talking about.

Hi again Melissa,

When I got married in São Paulo the Cartório retained ALL of the original documents that were submitted except my passport. They kept the original Birth Certificate and translation, worse still I didn't even think to ask them to make a certified copy for me to keep. To this day I do not have a new original (long form) Birth Certificate just a scan of it and my original wallet sized one.

Regarding bureaucracy, this country did not invent it by any means, but they've turned it into an absolute science. There is a suffocating bureaucracy for absolutely everything you will ever do here. Civil servants here thrive on rules, none of them make sense to the average person, but must be followed to the letter. Worse still is that they rarely tell you ALL of the rules at the very beginning and no matter what you try to do here it requires several trips back to the same office because there's always the famous "Oh, and you'll also need an original and copy of..... (you name it)." Sometimes you even end up having to start right from scratch if you missed a step or didn't follow some silly nonsensical rule.

The most frustrating thing is that these government pencil pushers seem to have the authority to even make up their own rules as they go along and nobody's are the same. Marriage is just one fine example of this, the rules are different at every single Cartório you will ever go to despite the fact that they are supposed to be in accordance with federal legislation.

If you have a problem in dealing with bureaucracy and just rolling with the punches then Brazil is not the place for you and you'll be extremely unhappy here.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Thanks again, CupofJoe and James, for sharing your experience and suggestions. I don't understand bureaucratic silliness but will do my best to roll with it and follow protocol while living in Brazil. No point in fighting those in positions of power.

Hello there just have some questions regarding the documentation needed to get married to my Brazilian girlfriend here in Brazil. I don't know if this has been covered and my apologies if it is the case if you could direct me to the location of the answer, would be greatly appreciated. I bought my birth certificate and have a 3rd party waiting to receive it. I was born in California and moved to Texas where my family resides. Does the birth certificate have to be legalized in the Consulado-General Do Brazil in California or can it be done in Texas?. Do I have to appear in person or can a 3rd party really take it for me and send it here in Brazil? What is an entry card? is this my green card? My last question is regarding the Declaration form stating that I am single. Were do I get this form and since I also have to legalize this at the consulate of Brazil do I need to go in person for this or can a 3rd party also legalize it for me as well?

I have a return flight to USA tomorrow so I hope somebody can help me decide whether to return or get things done from here. Thank you very much for your help.

Hello MGR BRAZIL,

Your Birth Certificate will have to be legalized by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in California (they have jurisdiction over the issuing state).

Your entry card is the form that you were given on the aircraft to fill out and present to the Federal Police when you disembarked, this must be kept with your passport and (in the case of tourists) returned on departure.

The Single Certificate/Declaration of Single, probably doesn't even exist in California or any other state. What most US citizens do here in Brazil is go to the US Embassy and get them to write up a Consular Letter stating that you are single.

Also, while you're at the Embassy you should ask for a "Consular Inscription" that will show your parents' full names and birthplaces. Even if it appears on your Birth Certificate many Cartórios will insist on having it because they're too stupid to read the legislation correctly that says "ONE of the following documents" for proof of parentage so they ask for them all. (It's Brazil, no more need be said!!!)

The documents required for marriage and subsequent application for permanency are listed in the very first posting on this topic thread, just click on the number 1 below this reply in the Page __ of __ box, that will take you back to the beginning of this topic thread.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team

I don't know how it works with USA but I did everything at Brazil Consul in my home city in South Africa....I didn't even need to translate the documents as it was done outside of Brazil at a consul in an English spreaking country and they "legalised "them all

My experience was very easy to do it outside of Brazil ...but they might be harsher on Americans due to USA vis policy reciprication

Hi James
               Thanks i already get my  CNPJ today thanks for your information correct information,you right its much complicated but i done it,

Hi James
                 .Can i add any other foreigner  who is not  in Brazil in my Cnpj?

Sorry, I really don't know the answer to that one. You'd have to check with either a lawyer or accountant on that one.

Cheers,
James

This is a few months old, and I don't know where to put this so I'll post it in here.

Make sure all your information matches.

My birth certificate has my fathers name and my mothers maiden name. So when I went through the whole wedding process and the permanent visa...my mothers maiden name was put in everything (they copied all the information from my birth certificate)

I registered for my cpf months before any of this and they asked for my mothers name and I gave them her married name. So when it came time for me to register for my work-book, they couldn't process it because my mother's name on my cpf didn't match the other documents.

In the end, it's really simple to change the information on your cpf so that's what I did. In the end, I don't think (or at least I hope) it won't ever be a big deal.

The people at the Carteira de Trabalho were really something else though. It took them 15 minutes to find the United States under their "nationality" box in their computer software. And they mispelled my fathers name 3 separate times. Meaning, they spelled it wrong the first time....we corrected them. They spelled it wrong the second time...we corrected them. They spelled it wrong the third time, and they also somehow ended up deleting a couple characters from my name in the process.

Always...always check documents for mistakes. It happens way too much here.

Great point cupofjoe,

Some documents like the Carteira de Trabalho aren't too big of a problem to correct the tiny errors.

However, most documents in Brazil especially Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates and Death Certificates even the slightest errors become a legal nightmare and require a great deal of time, effort and money in the courts in order to obtain an ORDER to correct the error.

Here it's common for people to take years to obtain court orders to change spelling mistakes in their name on a Birth Certificate. Others have actually had to go to court to prove that they're ALIVE because somebody with the same name died and the wrong person's identification got put on the Death Certificate. (How that happens I will never be able to figure out, but it's commonplace here)

NO MATTER WHAT DOCUMENT YOU APPLY FOR EXAMINE IT VERY CAREFULLY FOR ERRORS OF ANY KIND BEFORE YOU ACCEPT IT.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you James for your response,

Now I have a better understanding of the correct documents and what I need to get done in the next months. I think the birth certificate should be the hardest having to send it by mail to Los Angele's and waiting for the return, should take much time, but am hoping for the best. I am just glad I saved the paper from the plane turning out to be the entry card as you describe. I found an agency that will make a Single Status Affidavit in the United States for whichever state you live in, will even legalize it for you in the consulate you need and translate it if you wish to pay around 500 dollars. I just had them process a document and send me it and I will do the rest for about 90 dollar. I hope this is just as good as the consulate letter you describe. Now the only problem i am facing is the Consular Inscription, do you think my parents could get this at the Consulate in the United States in Texas?

I want to thank you for your help James and the people who post here, has made things much easier and have a better idea of the process, thanks again.

The Inscrição Consular should actually be done by the US Embassy or Consulate here in Brazil, they will write it out in Portuguese so there is no need for a sworn translation. Essentially it is just a letter on Consular stationery that states your parents' full names, birthplaces, etc., If those are indicated on your (long form) Birth Certificate the Inscrição Consular is not necessary, but some Cartórios will demand it anyway, simply because they're too dumb to understand the wording of the legislation that says "one of the following" and lists the kinds of documents that prove parentage.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team