Entering Brazil on a tourist visa and then filing for VIPER

Hello Mattallica,

Actually the subject has been brought up in many of the postings, you just need to dig through them because there hasn't been one devoted strictly to marriages that take place abroad.

You need to take your Marriage Certificate to the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that has jurisdiction over the city where you reside, in your case Houston and register the marriage. The Consulado will issue a "Certidão de Casamento" on the Consular Cartorio (Registry) which is the document valid in Brazil. On arrival you must then register that with the Cartório in Brasília (I believe it is the 1º Cartório, but check). Once that is done you can apply for the VIPER in the city where you reside in Brazil. The documents are all the same otherwise and they've been clearly outlined in the following topic:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280525

You should have no problem whatsoever entering Brazil on your VITUR Tourist Visa, however they will most likely want to see an outward bound ticket. It does NOT have to be back to your point of origin, just out of Brazil to some other country that you either have a visa for or that you can enter without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). What most people do is purchase a "throw-away" bus ticket to one of the neighboring South American countries for 90 days from their entry date. This satisfies the Federal Police. You can probably arrange this ticket through any travel agent.

Once you've applied for the VIPER based on marriage, you have the legal right to remain in Brazil, obtain your CPF, Carteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social (CTPS), and to work in Brazil until the VIPER is granted no matter how long that may take.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Thank you so much for your quick reply Mr. Woodward, and I apologize for missing the posts that would have answered my questions.

I realize that it may take some time for everything to be worked out, but it will be well worth it as long as it will be time with my wife. I will likely have a return ticket via the airline as that is cheaper than a one way. I will be scheduling it for close to the 90 day limit, and intend to have already started the process for the VIPER. Do you think that a round trip airline ticket will suffice for the outbound ticket situation?

Yes, it certainly will. You may want to check how much extra it will cost to get a ticket for the return leg that allows changes. It would be helpful should you run into any snags and have to apply for an extension of the initial 90 day visa stay, then the same ticket would serve for that too. Even if you don't you could always use it at some future date to go back to the US on a holiday.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

i am in the same situation and in austin too!
i have until the end of august to get things figured out.
i wish this could be a little easier! getting married in the USA was so simple 3 days vs. 1 month in brazil!
the link i saw posted above was if you will marry in brazil.
does much change if we are already married? (in the USA)
how do you suggest entry to brazil? which visa?
I was wondering if a lawyer could possibly help expedite the process?

Hi Ashley,

The process is not really as complicated as you might think. You simply need to take your [local] Marriage Certificate to the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that has jurisdiction over the city where you reside in the USA to have it registered. They will then issue a new Certidão de Casamento on the Consular Cartório (Registry) which must be also registered at the 1º Oficio de Registro Civil either in Brasília or in the city of residence in Brazil.

A marriage celebrated abroad, is valid in Brazil, so if you're already here there certainly must be some way in order to get the marriage recognized here without having to go back to the USA in order to do so. I do think however it would be something that a lawyer experienced in immigrations matters should handle for you, given your timeline. I do have a local lawyer here in Macaé - RJ who fits the bill perfectly if you wish to consult him. He lived for several years in the USA and speaks English fluently. I don't know how much he will charge you, but I can tell you that you will get every penny's worth, he's great and deals almost exclusively with immigrations issues.

If you wish his contact information send me a private message and I will pass it along to you. You will have to participate a bit on the forums to activate your private message privileges, so post a few more topics and reply to others. It won't take too much until you activate the mailboxes. BTW, the more you participate the bigger your mailbox will become.

See the following topic postings regading marriage and the VIPER Permanent Visa application they will help you with vital information. You will still need to provide all the same documentation for the VIPER application as anyone else, so you'll need to know what you need to organize. That said, I really don't see any reason that the Federal Police could demand you leave Brazil since registered or not, you are legally married to a Brazilian national and that gives you lots of rights even here in Brazil.

How to register a marriage to a Brazilian citizen outside Brazil

Getting married in Brazil, Permanent Visa and documents required

Hope this helps you for now, keep me posted on your situation.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team