ton of questions about moving to brazil

misterinternational · 2018-12-03T06:31:28+01:00

Background info: so I’ve been accepted to a school in Sao Paulo. I’ve already given my 2 weeks notice at work. I haven’t gotten my student visa yet. I’ve got a ton of questions (uma tonelada de perguntas) about moving to Brazil: 1. I keep hearing how brazil is a dangerous place and not to carry valuables with you. Is it a bad idea to move to Brazil alone with a laptop case filled with important documents (but no laptop inside), a laptop case with a laptop inside, and 2 heavy duffel bags. It would be very difficult to walk around with all that stuff alone, and I assume that I would be an easy target for thieves. Is it a bad idea to carry all that stuff with me when I first get off the plane in Brazil? 2. Or do you think it’s better to just carry one heavy duffel bag and 2 laptop cases when I come to brazil? Then, I could get someone to mail me the second duffel bag of clothes. Or, I could just not have the second duffel bag mailed to me, and I could just buy a lot of clothes in brazil. 3. Is it a bad idea to carry my laptop in a laptop case when I am in Brazil? 4. I am a soon-to-be-35 year old. I am in very good physical health, except I do have gum disease (a dental issue). Do you have any advice about what kind of expat health insurance to get? 5. Do you recommend any particular expat health insurance companies? 6. I’m going to bring my cell phone with me. What is the process for getting a new phone number/cell phone service in brazil? 7. A month or two ago, when I was planning on visiting (but not moving to brazil), one guy from my cell phone company said that I have to get a new sim card when I go to brazil. I’ve never used a sim card. How does this work? You get a sim card from a store, you toss out your old sim card, and you stick the new sim card in? does it give you a new phone number and unlimited data? Does your phone still have your apps and information in it after getting the sim card, or is the existing information erased? If you get a second sim card after the first sim card runs out of time, do you get a second new phone number? 8. Is the process of getting a new cell phone number in brazil different than getting a sim card? 9. Do you have any recommended cell phone services? I will just be paying for myself. 10. Do you recommend living in certain areas in sao Paulo? If so, why do you recommend these neighborhoods? 11. Do you get a student discount on your subway tickets in sao Paulo? 12. Do people just take taxis late at night to avoid crime? 13. What if you are a mile away from the subway at night? Would you walk to the subway or take a taxi home? What is the smart thing to do? 14. The only reason I have credit cards is because you are recommended to have 3 credit cards to build up your credit history before you buy a house in America. Do I need to have credit cards to build up credit history in brazil? 15. I have one American express credit card and 2 citi credit cards. Each of the 2 citi cards requires a minimum 25 US dollar payment every month, even if I don’t have 25 US dollars worth of charges every month. Will I be able to reach 50 US dollars of payment every month on my credit cards in Brazil? The exchange rate is 3.87 reais per 1 american dollar. 16. From what I’ve read, it seems like people mostly use cash in brazil. Do I need credit cards in brazil? 17. Do you recommend using any particular credit cards in brazil? I am American. 18. I have chase bank. My brother, who has travelled a lot, recommends that I get a second bank account. That way, if one bank account gets hacked, then thieves would only have access to half my money. I don’t really like the idea of making life more complicated with 2 accounts. What do you think of this advice from my brother? 19. Do I need to buy a plane ticket BEFORE I go to the Brazilian consulate to get a student visa? 20. Do I need to buy a round trip ticket, or will just a one way ticket to brazil suffice? I don’t plan to come back to the U.S. unless I have to for a wedding or funeral. 21. my plan is to keep renewing my student visa until i marry a brazilian girl. A forum member mentioned that to get permanent residency through marriage, you must provide the civil cartorio with "Your Birth Certificate-Long Form, Certified by the Brasillian Consulate from your home Country, And Translated into Portuguese" do you think it will sound suspicious to the brazilian consulate if i ask them to certify my birth certificate at the brazilian consulate? if they ask me why i want to get my birth certificate certified, i would say that if i get married in brazil, i will need the brazilian consulate in the u.s. to certify my birth certificate, and if i do it now, i won't have to book a plane flight to come back here in a few years. but if i say that, it might sound suspicious, and i wonder if the brazilian consulate may think i want to do a fake marriage to get citizenship. i worry that they might put a note in my file that i am acting like i want to do a fake marriage that will affect me in the future. should i ask the brazilian consulate in america to certify my birth certificate? 22. If I do get the Brazilian consulate in new York to certify my birth certificate, should I ask them to translate the birth certificate also, or should i just have it translated in brazil? 23. if the brazilian consulate in new york puts a note in my file that i am acting suspicious for wanting them to certify a birth certificate so i won't have to fly back to the u.s. to get the document if i get married in brazil in a few years, do you think the policia federal and civil cartorio in brazil will have access to those notes, or will only the Brazilian consulate in new york have access to those notes? 24. The administrator at the school I got accepted at claims that I need to present the policia federal a NOTARIZED copy of my birth certificate. I was born in California and live in new York now. I think i do have a certified copy of my birth certificate. According to google, you are not allowed to notarize birth certificates in new York and California. Any advice on this? 25. The administrator at the school said that if I can’t get a notarized copy of my birth certificate, I can get a certidão consular. Do I just get that at the US consulate in brazil? 26. The administrator at the school said that I have to go to the policia federal when I get to brazil. I guess I have to go there to tell them my address, too. When I go to the policia federal, should I try to hire someone to translate for me, or can I just go alone? (I’ve been learning Portuguese since august pretty intensely, but I know I still suck at Portuguese) 27. My plan is to get to brazil 2 weeks before school starts. My plan is to try to get an apartment in 2 weeks, and if that doesn’t work out, then I could live in student housing. What do you think of this plan? is it realistic to think that I might be able to get an apartment in 2 weeks with crappy Portuguese? (most likely, i would probably try to find someone who already has an apartment and become their roommate) 28. I think I read somewhere that if you get your own apartment in brazil (no roommates), that it could take months before the internet is installed. Is that true? thanks

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misterinternational Contributor

Member since 01 October 2018

misterinternationalContributor03 January 2019 01:08:17

#41

170

"CPF is important for most basic services. It is not necessarily secret, for it is not very difficult for some virtual criminal to get the number. To do anything against you would require a lot of data, like the RG number."

what's an RG number?

thanks

OsageArcher Colombia Expert

Member since 11 February 2015

OsageArcherColombia Expert03 January 2019 01:50:20

#42

1588

misterinternational wrote:
what's an RG number?

Did you try an internet search for

brazil rg number

Try it.

wellingtonl19 Member

Member since 31 December 2018

wellingtonl19Member03 January 2019 12:41:26

#43

"The identity card, identity card, identity or RG (general registration) is the national document of civil identification in Brazil."

misterinternational Contributor

Member since 01 October 2018

misterinternationalContributor03 January 2019 16:17:41

#44

170

Wellington,

Thanks

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