Student Visa/Federal Police Registration

Hi,

If you look in the text at the bottom of your visa, if you find "Primeira entrada no Brasil em 90 dia / First entry in Brazil in 90 days" then yes your wife will need to exit and re-enter Brazil or the visa will become void. This does not need to be a trip back to the USA, she can take a short hop over the border into any of the surrounding South American countries and then turn around and come right back in.

Regarding registration in the RNE (Registro Nacional de Estrangeiros) this by law, must be done within 30 days of entry so I'd recommend that you do that first before you travel. You can schedule your visit (in larger cities) through the Policia Federal website when you fill out the online forms to register. In smaller cities there are usually no appointments given out, you just fill out the forms print them off, pay the GRUs and go in anytime. In the larger cities if there are no appointments available during that 30 day window then print off everything, pay the fees and go in anyway, they'll fit you in somewhere.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

I had a student visa and i applied for its extention/renewal. The police accepted my application for extension but said; you have to wait for its publication. Before the date of publication, I submitted my documents for permanant visa and FP issued a new card/paper for me with the same RNE number that is valid  for one year. It was said by the authority of university that after publication of your request for extention of your student visa, you would have to pay another fee. Do I have to pay some fee for that student visa? Or my new card/paper is my new visa that is valid for one year and that has my data including my RNE number and stamp of FP? thanks!!

Since you started the Student Visa process first, yes you will still have to pay for it, they don't issue refunds. If you've applied for your permanent visa then that is a separate process with separate fees. One has nothing to do with the other, but the permanent visa will essentially cancel out the other process.

I payed the application fee for extention of my student visa. FP issued a temporary protocol that had no validity date. They said; you have to pick another protocol (with validity date) after the publication of your application. Prior to publication, I submitted my documents for permanant visa and FP issued another protocol (with validity of one year). Have I to pay another fee for my student visa? or My protocol of permanat visa  (the paper with my RNE number and photo) cancelled my request for extention of my student visa? It was said that extention of student visa needs two types of fee; (1) Before Publication  (for application) and (2) After Publication. Thanks!

If you have applied for a Permanent Visa (Permanência Definitiva) and have been granted it, that is superior to any VITEM Visa and you don't need to do anything further regarding your student visa.

The FP accepted my documents and issued a paper that contains my previous RNE number, my photo, parent´s name and one-year validity. It was said that FP would issue another paper (protocol) with validity of 10 years. Am I right?

Hi,

Quick question then, if you are in brazil then it is not necessary to return home to apply and receive your student visa if you  or ok to post it home for someone else to deal with the consol? You just have to do a border home to validate it when you get it back?

Thanks in advance
m

You'll need to check with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil at home to see if they'll accept your passport from someone other than you, for insertion of the visa. They usually don't, so you most likely will have to return home to receive the visa in person. You can however, apply for it from within Brazil.

Cheers,
James

While i have you there James. If i could ask you advice? I'm going out with a brazilian girl for two years but have only arrived in Brazil in December, i would like to stay and get residency so I can work but we are not keen on getting married yet and i don't want to stay here illegally at all. From reading the various threads here, would i be right in saying my best course of action is to.. 
Now
Get a stable union.
Get a joint life insurance.
Get a student visa for a year.

So in one years time i can apply for a permanent visa?

There is no easier/quicker way around it is there?

thanks again in advance
M

Hi Mick,

The definition for a "união estável" is one where two individuals (opposite or same-sex) live together publicly as a couple for a minimum period of one year. That can be proved by various means as set out in the following Ministry of Justice webpage:

http://portal.mj.gov.br/data/Pages/MJA1 … PTBRIE.htm

The joint bank account, life insurance policies that you mention must all be at least 1 year old before they can be used as proof of the relationship.

Then, if you are actually living together you can apply for permanency on the basis of a stable union.

The only other way to get permanency in your case would be through marriage.

Cheers,
James

This site is a great resource- thank you so much.  I am a US citizen applying for a Student Visa and have a couple questions:

I received a Tourist Visa last year- if I get a Student Visa will my Tourist Visa become void? Or after a year on a Student Visa can I stay/return to Brazil on my Tourist Visa?  If it is still valid would I have to leave Brazil and enter again on the other visa?  If so, would I have to wait a certain period before re-entering the Brazil?

In addition to other documents I know I need the following from Brazil:
letter of acceptance, legalized by a notary public in Brazil, from school, college, or university in Brazil stating length of studies;
the school, college or university must be registered at the Ministry of Education in Brazil. Proof of register must be notarized in Brazil;

Do I need to get these documents translated from Portuguese to English?
As for the second point- the institution where I will be studying is registered at the Ministry of Education.  The DIARIO OFICIAL DA UNIAO is the official publication in Brazil and the DIARIO OFICIAL has a site, where people can search all official publications.  Do you think it will suffice to give the Consulate the number of the law?  Or will I have to print the law and have it notarized in Brazil?

Thanks so much,
Rachel

Hi Rachel,

They are two completely separate visa categories having no effect on each other at all. Yes, when your VITEM-IV Student Visa expires you would have to leave Brazil, but you could return the same day should you wish to do so using your VITUR Tourist Visa and vice-versa as a result. The VITEM doesn't even count in the calculation of your VITUR stay.

No you don't need to get any documents translated. The only translations necessary are when something is written in a language OTHER THAN Portuguese, then it must be translated into Portuguese.

Regarding the Diario Oficial da União, sorry I'm missing your point. If you're talking about the school being accredited what the Consulado-Geral do Brasil is going to want is the school's accreditation to be stated in your letter of acceptance.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Great- thanks for your reply!
As for my last question about the school's accreditation- if the accreditation is stated in my letter of acceptance is that sufficient?  The Consulate's website makes it seem like I would need another separate document proving that the institution I will attend is registered with the Ministry of Education- and that I would need to get that additional document notarized in Brazil.
I just want to make sure I have all the documents I need- but don't want to go out of my way to get documents I don't need.
Thanks so much,
Rachel

No, a letter from the school in which they state that they're registered with MEC should be sufficient. If it isn't then the Consulado will tell you what additional information they need. It's not like they couldn't bloody well contact MEC themselves and find out! After all they do work for the same government.

Cheers,
James

Hi there - I am trying to schedule an appointment via the first step on this link below but the website continually gives me an error message (I've been trying for two days) - Atenção:
Erro - tente novamente mais tarde!

http://www.dpf.gov.br/servicos/estrange … -e-anistia

What would be another way I can schedule an appointment? I am writing from Rio de Janeiro.

Thanks very much!

Hello diagreine,

Unfortunately new members are not permitted to post links to outside sites, so I don't know what webpage you're speaking about.

First of all what browser are you using? Have you tried using a different web browser to see if you still get the error message? Many Brazilian sites will only work with Internet Explorer (especially government sites).

Cheers,
James   Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi James,

The website is the first step of the DPF website for Requerer Registro / Emissão / Renovação / Segunda Via de CIE, which is filling out the form for Agendamento de Estrangeiro. I understand this as the information I need to submit in order to schedule an appointment at Rio's PF. (Basically I am here on a student visa from the States and need to register with the PF within 30 days) I am using Google Chrome but I tried IE and unfortunately got the same error message.

Thanks so much for your help!

Go to the webpage linked below and follow the steps:

http://www.dpf.gov.br/servicos/estrange … -e-anistia

Use Internet Explorer. The DPF sites don't work with other browsers. If you can't get an appointment that falls within the 30 day window you have for registering, then do it all and print the stuff off, take it all to the DPF and they'll fit you in.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi! My friend is foreigner and he has a student visa. He applied for its extention/renewal. He submitted all his documents and fee requered for renewal of his visa. The FP accepted his application but still, his name is not published. So, he wants to go to his country for one month or some weeks. Can he travel with current status? Or he have to wait for publication of his name? thanks!!

sakraan wrote:

Hi! My friend is foreigner and he has a student visa. He applied for its extention/renewal. He submitted all his documents and fee requered for renewal of his visa. The FP accepted his application but still, his name is not published. So, he wants to go to his country for one month or some weeks. Can he travel with current status? Or he have to wait for publication of his name? thanks!!

I really can't say for certain, he'd have to check directly with the Federal Police before he decides to travel.

Cheers,
James   Expat-blog Experts Team

Hello again!

I am now trying to assemble all the documents and have found some discrepancies between what the official website asks for and what other English websites have said, like visahunter.

from what I understand according to the official PF website, I only need
1) the application form for RNE (which continues to not function. As we discussed earlier, I am happily taking your advice and going on Tuesday, day 29 of my stay)
2) a GRU payment. Some websites have told me to make two payments - one with 140082 – Registro de Estrangeiro and one with 140120-Carteira de Estrangeira de Primeira Via. Do I really need two payments?
3) Proof of payment - I presume I can do this at a Correios or a Banco do Brasil

That´s all the website asks for specifically, but I assume I need my passport. Other things people have mentioned:
1) 2 recent standard 3 cm x 4 cm color photos
2) Notarized copies of all of my passport pages
3) 1 copy of the original visa application which was stapled into my passport
4) Entrance card

I´m mainly asking about items 1 and 2 since I do not have those, and then whether I need 2 GRU payments or just one.

Sorry for such a basic question - I just don´t feel as if I have all the right information. Thank you so much for your help!

Hi diagreine,

Yes, you need to generate, print and pay both of the GRUs. The registering in the RNE and Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro. You actually can pay for them at any bank, but the DPF prefers Banco do Brasil. I've actually used others and you can even pay them at any Casa Loterica (which is Caixa Economica Federal).

The website for the DPF works just fine with IE, perhaps your problem may be something to do with your firewall settings or anti-virus program you're running. Perhaps you should try a different computer (I bet if you used one of the many public internet places) you'd have much better luck.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Success with a public computer! Success at the PF today! Thank you so much James for all of your help!

Great news! Glad it worked out for you, I kind of thought it was a problem with your firewall settings. Now if you can get the computer sorted out you won't need to trot off to an internet cafe every time you need to deal with this country's crazy bureaucracy.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Dear james
Manish here . Can you please tell me about the current status of jobs in brazil in field of civil engineering as crisis of Brazil is in limlight these days. Being an indina can i expect some job chances for me or i have to wait

Manish,

I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but you are facing 3 nearly insurmountable problem in finding work here.

1. Brazilian law requires all employers to PROVE to the Ministry of Labor that they have exhausted all efforts to place a qualified Brazilian in a job vacancy before they are permitted to hire a foreign national to fill the vacancy.... that's a tough nut to crack for all of us expats. As if that isn't bad enough Engineering is probably the single most common university program in Brazil, they grind out engineers here like vending machines dispense chewing gum. Brazilian engineers can't find jobs.

2.  Engineering is a regulated profession. CREA (Conselho Regional de Engenharia e Agronomia) in each state and you must be licensed by them in order to work as an engineer in Brazil. To obtain that permission you need to have your foreign degree recognized in Brazil by a process called "Revalidação". You need to find a university in Brazil that offers the same course, submit your degree, all supporting documentation required and pay the fee for revalidation. Only then would CREA even look at you.

3.  The Brazilian government has made it about 10 to 20 times more difficult for citizens of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to obtain any category of visa for Brazil. In fact it is so difficult that there are approximately only 1,000 Indian expats living in Brazil at the moment. The vast majority of them only obtained visas because they married a Brazilian citizen.

To be quite honest with you, it would be much more productive for you to seriously consider advancing your career in some other country that is more immigrant friendly toward your countrymen.

Cheers,
James   Expat-blog Experts Team