Some conflicting information from the Cartorio

I'm sure James will come in here and provide more clarity, but I'll take a crack at it

Are they asking for a certified copy? Or a translation of the passport? Getting a
certified copy will only cost a few real at the Cartorio. If I understand correctly, this
is standard procedure.

The Cartorio should not ask you to have your passport translated. There is no requirement under legislation for this. But the Cartorios can pretty much do what they want. I was asked to do the this, it's a pain. If there's another Cartorio in the same city or a close by city, I would suggest to check them out. Each one seems to have their own rules or they decide to jerk certain people around.

As far as the criminal background check goes, I didn't need one done. The Federal Police gave me this form to sign:



And that was enough for them.

If the Cartorio says that's all you need, then that's all you need. Turn in everything and they will give you a date to get married. There shouldn't be anymore complications after that

That's good news on the criminal check, as getting one would be a load of work. My main question has to do with the fact that my local Cartorio said that I didn't need a Single Certificate. I directly asked them if I needed that, or the additional certification from the US consulate of my birth certificate, and they told me a direct "no" to both. My thinking on this is that they don't know what they're talking about, and that if I did actually submit just my translated Birth Cert (with certification from the Brazilian consulate in the US) and the certified copy of my passport that it would end up getting rejected by some higher up who actually knows what they're doing, which would lead to my having to submit the documents again, adding at least a few extra weeks to the process. My future MIL is certain though, that the Cartorio knows what they're doing, and that by insisting that I need these extra documents, I'm just overcomplicating the process.

Also, I guess I have one more question: if the process here is really simpler, whether by administrative ignorance, or whatever else, would it matter if I get married here, but then reside in SP from the point of view of getting permanent residence down the line? Would having a marriage certificate issued "erroneously" also potentially count against me?

OMG, people here have been reading my every word and they've committed it to memory!!! The advice has been given is bang on the money!!! Good going Joe, I'm proud of you. Just be warned, if I ever decide to retire I'm coming after you to fill the vacancy!!!

Once you've been here in Brazil for a while you'll come to know that Cartórios are in a little world all of their very own... they all do as they please and seem to make up the rules as they go along. None of them do anything exactly the same as the next one, and don't appear to put much faith in the legislation. God forbid, that would lead to the much dreaded "standardization". 

Yes, your mother-in-law is right! If the Cartório says that's all they want, then get married there and that's all you'll end up needing regardless of the legislation. Go with whichever one has the easiest requirements, and note that you cannot arrange to submit the paperwork in one and get married in another, that doesn't work. Even in the remote chance that somebody at the Cartório says, "Oops we goofed, you actually need this....." then they'll allow you to get the authorizations they were wrong about done and still continue on with the wedding as planned.

The waiting period between submitting the paperwork and the actual wedding date is manditory, they have to publish the marriage banns in the Diário Oficial da União and then publish permission to marry. That is universal and will happen at all Cartórios in the country.

Regarding the Criminal Record Check it is not necessary if you have no crimanal record and are not currently charged. The Policia Federal will provide you the the standard Declaração Sob Pena da Lei and you fill it out and have it notarized at the Cartório.

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION... when having any document notarized for the Policia Federal you MUST have "Reconhecimento da firma por autenticidade", that's the only one that the DPF will accept.  There are two kinds of notarization for signatures, "semelhança" and "autenticidade" and of course the DPF wants the more expensive one.

Just remember that the Declaration is sworn and under penalty of law, don't try and fudge it. If you have a past record and declare that you don't, this is a crime which is not only punishable by a jail sentence; but can also result in denial of your request for permanency should the Federal Police decide to run a check on you themselves.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Wow, as hard as this is to believe, it's great news. Thanks for the help. In terms of the declaration that I have no criminal record, this is for "big ticket items," not things like parking or speeding tickets right? Also, if I get a sworn translation here in MG, will that still be valid in SP?

You really only need to worry about convictions for crimes that would result in a sentence of over 4 year imprisonment if in Brazil (this is the threshold for actually going to jail instead of some altenative sentence here).

A notarization is valid anywhere in Brazil despite which state or Cartório is is done in.

I don't know what's so hard to believe..... this is Brazil. You can't compare it to anywhere else in the world. Here everybody makes their own rules and nobody's are quite the same as the next guy's. You'll find that out once you've been here for a while and see it with your own eyes. 

Yeah, I guess I have to get used to it. Thanks again for the helpful info.

What about sworn translations though: are they valid across state lines as well?

Yes, sworn translations are valid anywhere in Brazil. The translators are registered with a central governing body that controls their activities and as such they are recongnized anywhere in the country.

James wrote:

OMG, people here have been reading my every word and they've committed it to memory!!! The advice has been given is bang on the money!!! Good going Joe, I'm proud of you. Just be warned, if I ever decide to retire I'm coming after you to fill the vacancy!!!

How could you retire when you're making the big bucks on here? 

schmittdr, there's nothing to worry about once they accept all your papers. One thing that wouldn't shock me though, is the Cartorio asking for more papers before they accept them. I had to go back to the Cartorio 5 times before they finally accepted everything. Each time I brought everything they requested from the previous visit, but they kept asking for more.

One rule that I've come to realize in Brazil is that if it seems easy, people will find ways to make it complicated.

But, it sounds like you may be a lucky one

Dr. Schmitt,

My advice is to get married in the US (assuming that is where you are from), register the marriage at the Brazilian consulate abroad, and get your VIPER by applying in the US at the Brazilian consulate.  The whole thing will be done in 3 or 4 months.  I think if I hadn't done that I would have had to spend a year making trips to various Brazilian bureaucrats with endless new and changing requirements and obstacles, all to endless frustration, and all very unnecessary.

Xandre,

Actually the requirements haven't changed in a long time, and they're less strict in some states than other at least regarding the documents for marriage.

Regarding the process of Permanência Definitiva being done here in Brazil, under the new procedures brought in on September 1, 2014 permanency is granted immediately upon application, provided all the documents are present and in proper order. Now instead of a 3 separate step process that you had to wait for each step to be completed before moving on to the next, there is a "one stop shopping" type process where you do all 3 at the same time. The only thing that you need to wait for is production of the civil ID card (Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro). Even so, you get your passport stamped as "Registrado como Permanente" and you get the automatic right to obtain your work permit and remain in Brazil.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Good to know they improved the permanencia process since I applied.  But one look at the marriage procedures in Brazil made me get on a plane with my fiance for the US!