Naturalisation and citizenship in Brazil

I think that as long as you don't denounce your South African citizenship you should be fine. See if there is someone at the consulate, embassy, or foreign office you can ask.

latangel wrote:

my soul tears me apart thinking that I might lose my South African citizenship, my family still in South Africa and I would like to go back someday.

Erick Bowen

Brazil allows dual citizenship, and will not require you to renounce your South African citizenship.  You'll want to confirm that South Africa has the same policy.

Where did you apply for your SA passport, are you trying to do it from Brazil?

I went to CT in November 2017 and got a new one from home affairs in a week.

Before you get a Brazilian citizenship you must apply to the SA consulate in SP to keep your SA citizenship, or you will lose it automatically, it's pretty easy though just a form or two.

Brazilian passport is a much better travel document than the SA one.

Technically the PF do make you renounce  your old citizenship to get the Brazilian one, but it only applies within Brazil, in other words you lose the diplomatic right to be treated as an SA citizen in Brazil by the Brazilian authorities.

Reading this again after 11 months in CA..we go back to Bahia on May 29th to pick up my 2nd Cedula de Estraniero. SSA Airport Policia Federal say they have it in a drawer. I'll let you know if there are any glitches.

Thank you for your input and reply. I did applied for my passport at the consulate in Sao Paulo....and still waiting since September last year....

Hey Latangel

yeah there a lot that can go wrong with trying to do it that way as it has to be mailed to pretoria and back to Brazil and if you relying on the public postal services of the two countries. Courier is the best way but it's expensive.

Also if you do get the Brazilian one and keep the SA citizenship, the Law states you MUST enter and leave SA on your South African passport.

It seems you are currently without a  passport, I would get a temporary South african one at the consulate and return to SA to do it there over a month or so.
Or start the application process again in Brazil, but it can take up to 6 months to arrive in Brazil they told me. It takes about 2 weeks to get now in SA, times have improved.

Brazilian Citizenship takes a minimum of one year if you can produce all the documents. You will need a South African Police clearence certificate from pretoria and Apostilled in Pretoria, it cost me about R$500 to get this document in time using a courier and doc assist , a company that facilitates these things

You could try using docassist to get your SA passport http://www.docassist.co.za/
you send them the application and they will organise all the transporting and lean on the gov department in SA to get it out quickly, great service and reasonably priced

I'm Australian but once had a Brazilian passport when I was a kid because my mum is Brazilian. How would I go about getting a Brazilian passport again?

Go to a Brazilian consulate or the embassy with your passport and other ID documents from Australia showing your mother's name and your Brazilian birth certificate, if you have one. Otherwise you might need to get hers and her marriage certificate showing her marrying your Australian father.

Here you go. Not Australia but it is a Brazilian government site:
http://frankfurt.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br … terior.xml

I was born in Australia so I don't have a Brazilian birth certificate. Thanks for the info I'll look into it.

Your Brazilian parent can get one though. That and your Australian birth certificate (both less than 90 days old) should be enough. And the money, however much that is.

To be naturalized in Brazil, it became compulsary to pass Celpe-Bras test of Portuguese Language. FP has no responsibility to organize a language test for anyone. Celpe-Bras is conducted two times per year.

Dont say about all Brazil because its not correct.

Everything depends on local department of PF.
For example, nobody asks CELPE in Paraiba and Rio Grande do Norte.

Aladent as per the new policy and procedures put into effect starting from April onwards, CELPE - Bras is required.

stanza51 wrote:

Aladent as per the new policy and procedures put into effect starting from April onwards, CELPE - Bras is required.

could you give a link with official information?

Hi Aladent

Please visit the Policia Federal website and go through the list of requirements.

I don’t want to get into a back and forth war of words hence, I am copy pasting the list here for your convenience:

Requerimento devidamente assinado pelo naturalizando, clique aqui para obter formulário;

- Declaração de interesse em traduzir ou adaptar o nome à língua portuguesa;
- Cópia da Carteira de Registro Nacional Migratório e via original para conferência;
- Comprovante de situação cadastral do CPF-Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas;
- Certidão de antecedentes criminais emitida pela Justiça Federal e Estadual dos locais onde residiu nos últimos cinco anos;
- Certidão de antecedentes criminais ou documento equivalente emitido pelos países onde residiu nos últimos quatro anos, legalizada e traduzida, no Brasil, por tradutor público juramentado, observada a Convenção sobre a eliminação da exigência de legalização de documentos públicos estrangeiros, promulgada pelo Decreto nº 8.660, de 29 de janeiro de 2016;
- Comprovante de reabilitação, nos termos da legislação vigente, se for o caso;
- Comprovante de residência, nos termos do art. 54 desta Portaria;
- Cópia do passaporte, observadas as normas do Mercosul;
- Certidão de casamento atualizada;
- Documentos que comprovem união estável;
- Certidão de nascimento do filho brasileiro; e
- “Certificado de Proficiência em Língua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros expedido pelo Ministério da Educação”

This last requirement which states “Certificado de Proficiencua em Lingua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros expedido pelo Ministerio da Educacao”, is talking about a Portuguese language proficiency certificate issued from the Ministry of Education.

The only way this certificate is issued is when a person passes the CELPE-Bras

Overall I believe this is a very good move as earlier people were getting there citizenship approved without even having the basic communication skills in Portuguese,  now they will need to put in a little time to actually pick up on the basics.

Thank you for your answer, unfortunately I found it in site of Policia Federal.

Anyway, I dont know why, but there is no any change in Portal de Servicos

https://www.servicos.gov.br/servico/nat … brasileiro

O would like to ask. Can I apply for a naturalization base on marriage after one year without the RNE being issued?

Uzman jalloh wrote:

O would like to ask. Can I apply for a naturalization base on marriage after one year without the RNE being issued?

Very doubtful.  Your CRNM (former RNE/CIE) is one of the documents required for your application for naturalization.  And it's my understanding that the one year waiting period starts on the day the CRNM is issued, not on the date of the applicant's arrival in Brazil, or marriage.

No , you need an RNE and only after that you can apply for naturalization.

hello kenny  , have  you gone through the process of naturalization?

The requirements depend on the basis of naturalization. I can help with the process, inbox me .
The pros and cons are usually personal. For some it is easy to let go and find a new nationality , for others its not so feasible. The process varies between 6-12 months, depending on the city you applied it.
They require around 13 documents which include 4 kinds of police clearance. Also, it is mandatory to give an official CELPE bras Portuguese test.
This is the first year that a lot of rules have changed and the process shaken up. So unless you want to waste your time, it is better to contact someone who knows the process and can help without misguiding.

hello soie , I lived in brasil with a permanent visa for a year and half , and now i am

7 months abroad ,   planing to go back on december , do you think it will be a problem

when I apply?

No, not if you have your RNE, which I assume you do since you mentioned you have been living here for a year and half.

Does anyone here knows or can recommend a good immigration lawyer. My RNE processo has been ( INDEFIRIDO) by The Police federal. Since April i have been tô PF in SP many times up till now nothing.  Any info plz email. Me ***

Immigration law is a rare specialty in Brazil, although being in São Paulo, you might have better luck than in most parts of the country.
The people at the Franciscan Centro de Acolhida do Imigrante may be able to direct you to free or low cost services:

Centro de Acolhida Imigrante
Rua Japurá, 234 – Bela Vista – São Paulo
CEP 01319-030
Tel. (11) 3112-0074

Thank you appreciate it a por @abthree

It was easy..I simply paid another $R164.50 Reais and recieved an interminada card. Passport always up to date and I was in and out of Brazil enough times in any given 2 year period that they were unconcerned. I was amazed at how easy it actually was!

Is there any Idea on how to cancelled the RNE process ???

You want to cancel your RNE process?

Yes. It has been INDEFIRO by PF.

Hi!!! Thnk you so much for your advise is very helpful...I applied for my passport at the SA Consulate in Sao Paulo..in Curitiba we dont have a representative

Yes. And how should I go about it

So I have been married to my wife since October 2017. Got my RNE April 2018. My life with my current passport is hell. I can basically travel to 2 countries without a visa.

I live in Egypt due to my work and ill mother.

I want to get the nationality but apparently PF wont grant me one without residing for a least a year. How do they need the evidence? I mean do they get a log from the airport?

My question is, what is the least amount of time I can spend in Brazil before I apply for naturalization? I can only leave to go to brazil for like 1-2 months at a time before I need to head back. Thanks for your time.

simple its a year from the date of your RNE , they will ask for full copy of your current passport when you apply , every page to see what trips you have been making

baslab

Very sorry to hear about your Mom:  I hope that her health improves.

Brazil does not issue passports of convenience to legal resident non-citizens:  in order to apply for a Brazilian passport, you need to be naturalized as a Brazilian citizen.  Since you're married to a Brazilian citizen, you are permitted to apply for naturalization after one year of continuous residence in Brazil, counting from the issue date of your CIE/RNE (now CRNM), rather than the usual four or more years.
 
The evidence for the start of your continuous year is easy:  it's the issue date of your CIE.  You are allowed to be out of the country for brief periods without breaking your continuity.  What constitutes a "brief period" is open to the interpretation and discretion of the Federal Police.  There's a chance that they would accept "caring for a parent" as an acceptable excuse; I doubt very much that "having a fulltime job abroad" would be approved.

In contrast to naturalization, long absences from the country should not put your CIE in jeopardy, as long as you're never absent longer than two continuous years.  Lying to the Federal Police will jeopardize it, however, and you should avoid that at all costs.  Since the Federal Police will not only process your naturalization application, but  are responsible for Passport Control at all ports of entry, you should assume that your local Federal Police office can call up the record of all of your entries into and exits from Brazil at any time, and probably will.  While the Federal Police have stopped making home visits to confirm CRNM applications, several members have reported that they still do visit homes to confirm that applicants for citizenship actually live n the residences they've reported.

With your ongoing commitments in Egypt, I think it's doubtful that you'll be able to spend sufficient continuous time in Brazil to satisfy the Federal Police.  If you want to try anyway, my suggestion would be to obtain all of the required Egyptian documents listed on the Federal Police website for naturalization shortly before your next return to Brazil.  Since Egypt is not a state party to the Apostille Convention, the documents will need to be certified by the Egyptian authorities and legalized by the Consular Section of the Brazilian Embassy in Cairo.  You also need to find a way to satisfy the Portuguese language proficiency requirement (Celpe-Bras test, or equivalent).  Then, when you arrive, if you do want to live in Brazil as a citizen someday and feel that you need to apply for naturalization now, find an attorney to help you through the naturalization process.

baslab,

I hate to tell you upfront but your situation is very discouraging to be successful if at all for Brazlian citizenship because of items a, c, f and g below of the application:

http://www.pf.gov.br/servicos-pf/imigra … -ordinariahttp://www.pf.gov.br/servicos-pf/imigra … oComum.pdf

a. "Está no pleno exercício de sua capacidade civil, segundo a lei brasileira"

You should be working and paying your taxes in Brazil! You should be participating and integrating with the Brazilian community for future assimilation and be a good law abiding citizen.

b. "Possui residência no Brasil há _______________________________ (anos ou meses)"

You can only go back to Brazil like 1-2 months at a time? Common!

c. "No exterior residiu nos seguintes países:
______________________________________________________________________________"

Egypt, having a full time job! Where´s Brazil?

g) Ausentou-se do Brasil nos seguintes períodos: ___________________________________, com a finalidade de ____________________________________________________________________"
Periods you were absent in Brazil and purpose...  Full time job and taking care of your
mother... That´s not very convincing and deserving to have the citizenship. Policia Federal might even interpret that you have a marriage of convenience.

And then how would you prove your uninterrupted residence in Brazil? You have to give them your "comprovante de endereço" (proof of address) like your utility bill receipts,
"carteira de trabalho" etc.

It´s a mess! If I were you, I wouldn´t try it. Wait when you´re able to tackle the uninterrupted residence. And it´s not worth lying because they have their own records.

robal

Thank you for the advice, I guess i will postpone it for now.

Hi .
I have some doubts and I am sure you all will try your best to clear these doubts.
As  you told to apply brazilian Citizenship of anyone married with brazilan girl ,he need to live 1 year continuously from de issuance of RNE.
My question is that on PF site there is not mention that you need to complete 1 year continuously,there is just mentioned that applicant need to complete 1 year residence after RNE.
Can anybody tell me that if someone got RNE based on marriage,then he lived 6 months in Brazil and after living 6 month he went to another country and after 1 year he came back to Brazil and he lived more 6 month,will his 1 year residence since the issuance of RNE 'will be acceptable regarding to apply BrazilIan Neutralization or not????

Angel321

That will be a judgment call on the part of the Federal Police.  "Brief absences" are permitted:  the usual examples given are things like vacations and family visits.  The Federal Police will ask about the reasons for the absence(s) and the length, and decide on that basis whether the required period of residence in Brazil ("no território nacional") was broken or not.

Hi ,
Let me know please if Federal police accept this kind of case,then there is any problem with Ministery of Justice???
in simple words i want to ask let`s suppose Federal police don´t make any issue and receive documents of applicant and then they send to MJ in Brasilia,whether MJ can deny this kind of case or they will not make any problem and they just will follow Federal police´s comments and remarks?