Citizenship in Brazil

Hello Mariamessina2,

In practical terms it actually would take about 3 years in order to apply for citizenship following the birth of one's child in Brazil. While the term one year of  "permanent residency" is used in Resolution No. 36 that is a LEGAL TERM which means ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE THAT YOU RECEIVE YOUR PERMANENT VISA. You don't become a permanent resident until you've been issued the visa. This can take up to 2 years or even more from the time you apply for the visa.

Your child would automatically be a Brazilian citizen under Jus Soli and you would be entitled to apply for a VIPER Permanent Visa immediately following the birth, based upon having a Brazilian child. Once you apply for that visa, you are permitted to legally remain in Brazil, obtain a Carteira de Trabalho (work permit) and work in Brazil while the visa application is being processed; no matter how long that may take. A VIPER Permanent Visa based on Brazilian child is about the ONLY visa that is almost absolutely guaranteed. In fact,on the application form for the visa you are classified as "inexpulsável". You must submit all of the same documents as are required for any VIPER application, but you cannot be refused the visa, because to do so and to expel you from Brazil they would effectively be expelling your child (a citizen) as well. This just is not done!

Regarding naturalization as a Brazilian citizen that is a completely different issue altogether. Naturalization is discretionary and being the mother of a Brazilian child does not guarantee citizenship, but it certainly helps! You are still required to meet ALL of the other conditions for ordinary naturalization (including passing a fluency test in the Portuguese language). This is also a bureaucratic process that is done through the Ministry of Justice, the same body that deals with the permanency applications, and it takes equally as long to get through all the mountains of red tape just as it does with the VIPER.

So yes, have your child, stay legally in Brazil, work and live your life... don't expect to become a citizen quickly. That just doesn't happen like it would appear on paper. You're going to get there one day, but it will be much, much longer than the ONE YEAR that you would think it to be, just by reading the wonderful (but empty) words that they have written into Resolution No. 36. You're going to need lots of patience to get through it all and you can count on it taking at the very least 3 years from the time you apply for the VIPER until you could possibly become a citizen, if not more.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Thanks for your below reply, I appreciate ur help!
I just have one question, if I deliver my baby in brazil, apply for the permanent visa, u said I might not get it in three years, but can I go out of the country and live in my home town until I receive the permanent residency, then I move back to brazil and start the citizenship procedure!

On the other hand, if I get all documents and pass the Portuguese test! Is there any way they refuse to grant me the citizenship!?

Does having a good lawyer help getting over the bureaucracy?!

Thanks

Hello Mariamessina2,

Once you apply for a VIPER Permanent Visa you may only leave Brazil for periods up to 90 days (based on the entry/exit stamp on your passport). Any longer than that your application is cancelled and you would have to start the whole visa process all over again. When you have finally received the visa this period is extended to two years, longer and you'd lose Permanent Resident Status. So no you couldn't return to your hometown and just wait.

If you have all the correct documents and pass the Portuguese language test, as the parent of a Brazilian citizen, you would almost certainly be granted citizenship.

While a Brazilian immigrations lawyer helps to understand the bureaucracy and the correct steps in the process, a lawyer would not make it any simpler or quicker. The only advantage is that the work involved and the headaches of the process are looked after by the lawyer. You'd have to decide if it was worth the money it would cost.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Dear Mr. William,
I would like to ask you, my son was born in Brazil and got the citizenship based on Jus Soli law.. however my wife and I applied to the permanent residence (10 yrs), after the submission of all required document police federal stamped on my passport (that I have the right to stay in Brazil,...) but I have left Brazil before receiving the card (Carton) at the airport passport offices told me I have to come back to Brazil within 90 days otherwise permanent residence will be canceled.

can I come back to Brazil based on the stamp on my passport bearing-in-mind my visa is expired? Is it possible to come back using my permanent residence card or shall I apply for new visa?

Is it mandatory to have uninterrupted stay in Brazil for at least one year to apply for the citizenship, as I don't live in Brazil?

It depends on WHEN you applied for permanency which rule you fall under. If you applied for permanency BEFORE September 1, 2014 then you were not granted permanency immediately under the old system. In that case you would be allowed only 90 days outside Brazil using your protocol, passport and valid visa (under old system you needed at the minimum a VITUR Tourist Visa that was valid).

If you applied AFTER September 1. 2014 then you were granted permanency immediately and registered in the RNE. For those you are allowed to be out of the country for up to 2 years before you would lose permanent resident status.

No, you don't have to have "ininterrupted" residency of one year when you apply for citizenship however you MUST report all absences. I would recommend that, for example, if you were out of Brazil for 90 day that you wait for one year PLUS 90 days before you apply. In that way they certainly won't deny your applicaton based on not being inside Brazil long enough.

If your absence is longer than 90 days then I doubt that they would grant citizenship if you applied less than one full year from your return to Brazil.

Cheers,
James        Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you for your prompt feedback!
I applied on 18.02.2015 for the permanency, but there is a condition in case I exit Brazil before receiving the RNE (Card), that I shall come back within a period of 90 days to re-stamp my passport with the 2 years validity' stamp, and unfortunately I had to exit Brazil before receiving it.

I doubt that I can stay longer in Brazil, as I am working now in Saudi Arabia and I have no plans to move to Brazil meantime .. so do you think if I came back let's say next month to get the 2 years stamp to keep my permanent resident status .. would make me eligible to apply for the citizenship after a year without having physical residence in Brazil.

I don't know who told you that information, but EVERYTHING has changed since September 1, 2014.

The moment you apply for permanency based on marriage / stable union / Brazilian child / family reunion / Mercosul Agreement you are immediately granted permanency (if all the documents are present and in order). Your passport is stamped "Registrado no condição - PERMANENTE".

From that moment on you are entitled to be outside of Brazil (Decreto/Lei 6815) for up to two years before you would lose permanency. This is true whether you've picked up your CIE or not before leaving. I know this from personal experience with the very same issue involving a close personal friend who left Brazil before picking up his CIE. The Federal Police stated quite clearly that his CIE must be held at the delegacy until he either comes to claim it or the CIE expires naturally. He was in fact out of Brazil for much longer than 90 days and it had absolutely no effect on his permanency whatsoever.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

hi james
first of all HAPPY NEW YEAR   to you and all the members of expat.com
one thing i m a bit surprise to read in the last post in here is
"Your passport is stamped "Registrado no condição - PERMANENTE".
the day i got mine and my family protocolo the officer didnt stamped anything on my passport though i told her to stamp my passport but she said its not important
now what shall i do .. its almost a month  i have rcvd the protocolo .... is this stamp very necessary... kindly guide me through this as well .... ur expertise are really appreciated
hashim

If you don't intend to leave Brazil before you get the Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro back, it is not a problem. However the point remains that they're supposed to stamp your passport anyway. It will prevent future problems when you travel abroad with foreign airlines that don't understand that the CIE is your permanent visa, they want to see something in a passport. If you have a stamp in a passport (even after the passport has expired) that says PERMANENTE, and the Cédula which is valid for 10 years then the airlines are not going to hassle you.

Note: all of the Brazilian airlines (TAM, Gol, Azul) know exactly what the Cédula (CIE) means, but many foreign air carriers do not, and they've been known to refuse boarding at times.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team