Clarification on União estável

Hello Hotspur,

Don't worry about asking your questions here, even if they've been answered before.

First of all let's clarify exactly what a stable union is in terms of Brazilian visas.
It is defined as two individuals (regardless of gender of the parties) who have lived together, openly and publicly as a couple for a minimum (provable) period of one (1) year.

That relationship can be proved by a number of documents such as:

1.  A joint bank account naming both parties that has existed for at least a year.
2.  Property Deed or rental contract naming both parties, that is at least 1 year old.
3.  Life insurance policy that has been in force for at least 1 year naming one party as insured and the other as beneficiary.
4.  Foreign income tax return (joint or individual) which shows shows both parties names, again 1 year old.
5.  Foreign civil or religious Marriage Certificate.
6.  Sworn declaration of 2 individuals attesting to the fact that the parties have lived together, openly and publicly, as a couple for a minimum period of one year

among others

Regarding the proof of ability to support you financially, your partner should be prepared to produce 6 months of bank statements and/or pay stubs. That should be more than sufficient proof and there really is no specified format. She should have on hand both the originals and certified copies of them.

A formal Declaration from your partner of her guarantee to support you financially while in Brazil and guarantee that she will insure that you leave the country should you be required to do so (extremely remote possibility of that). Her signature must be notarized (reconhecimento da firma) either in the Cartório or the Consulate. Please not that when dealing with the Federal Police that the only type of signature notarization that they accept is Notarization for Authenticity. They do not accept Notarization for Likeness.  So you want (you guessed it) the more expensive Reconhecimento da Firma por Autenticidade. She must sign the document and personally attend the Cartório, with ID, sign their Register with this type of notarization.

Any other questions before your meeting, just post them here.

Good luck with the application and do let us know how the appointment goes.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Oh, and just to put your mind at ease before your appointment on Monday.

These requirements for the financial support and guarantee you'll leave should you be required to are really a hold-over from the old procedures for granting VIPER Permanent Visas.

Under the old procedures, which could take 2 years or more for them to actually grant permanency, stable union applications were treated much differently in that applicants did not have the right to work or obtain their Carteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social - CTPS (work permit) until they were actually granted permanency. It was much more important to guarantee financial support back then.

Now, under the new procedures if all the paperwork is present and in order permanency is granted immediately, you register in the RNE and apply for your Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro all at the same time. They also stamp your passport "Regsitrado como Permanente". Effectively this gives even applicants under stable union the automatic right to work, which in the past was reserved strictly for applicants seeking permanency based on marriage to a Brazilian citizen or who were parents of a Brazilian born child.

Since the requirements for support and guarantee to leave are now pretty much redundant, it's my bet that the Federal Police really aren't pushing so hard on them anyway. It's just that the process has changed, but the requirements have not been changed to reflect the new procedures. (Typical of Brazil).

Cheers,
James

Thanks again for your help James.

Do you think I should pay the GRU's before the meeting?  The one time I had to pay a GRU at the Policia Federal they accepted the paperwork, then let me go out to the bank around the corner to pay, and return with the receipt. I don't want to pay R$290 for the three fees if they are not going to accept the process.
On a related point, I spent a long time today reading a old forum thread about marriage where you stated that for the 90 day lime limit on the police certificate the time stops running when the Consulate in the Uk stamps it, and it is then good for ever. This was what the Consulate told me when I picked up one of these certificates in London in 2009, but subsequently someone in the PF did not want to accept an old certificate.

Yes, they will usually allow you to slip out and pay the GRUs at the nearest bank, bring them right back and then go on to process everything. Don't worry anyway because once paid the GRU is valid for 5 years and you can use it anytime you actually do the process.

Cheers,
James

I have a similar situation (stable union) but different, and this post is very timely for me to ask and get the expertise of James and others. For work, I have received my "permanent visa" in Brazil good for 9 years, with the first 2 being conditional on remaining at my current employer. I have a stable union with a Brazilian for over a year and will plan to get married at some point (process seems easier to go to US to marry than to get married here).  My question is can I get the permanent visa from the stable union so I do not need to worry about being tied to my job? If so, where can I go to get clear directions on what to do?

As always, I greatly appreciate everyone's expertise.

Thanks!

You should go to the Federal Police (Superintendência Regional da Policia Federal - Estrangeiros) to find out about transformation of your visa.

Since you already have received permanency through your job I assume that you met the requirements of having been in Brazil working on a VITEM-V Work Visa for at least three years and following that applied to tranform it into permanent. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I do not know (once a process has been completed) if that VIPER Permanent Visa can be changed to modify the grounds for the application, permanency granted through transformation of a VITEM to Permanent - to -  permanency based on either stable union or marriage. My personal feeling is that they'll just tell you that you're already permanent so what is the point of changing HOW you obtained that permanency. I really don't know, but that is my gut instinct in your situation.

I know that you can cancel one permanency process and enter into another on other grounds, but that can only be done while the process is in the decision making stages, not once there has been a decision and permanency granted.

The only thing that I would suggest in your situation is if you wish to free yourself from the job restriction, that you talk with the Federal Police explain the stable union that you're in and your intention to marry and find out if they can simply remove the requirement to remain in the job. I would however make sure only to do that if you have a concrete offer of another job to go to if the restriction is lifted. I doubt highly they'd remove it if they thought you'd simply quite and essentially become unemployed.

Also, if your present employer was essentially the one who bore all the costs and did all the documentation for you to obtain the visa, this is likely the reason for the 2 year provisional period in the first place. Hiring, training and assisting with immigrations for new hires is a very costly endeavor, the Brazilian government recognizes that investment on the part of an employer by placing such restrictions. If this is truly what has happened in your situation it is not likely they'd remove the requirement at any rate even if they changed your visa. I think it's probably going to end up with you either completing your contract or in the alternative trying to negotiate some kind of an agreement with your employer to seek to release you from that requirement by consent.

Cheers,
James        Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you James. In fact I worked here on a 2 year VITEM V visa and after that expired the company applied for permanent (as Brazil no longer renews the 2 year visa and only does the permanent with 2 year contingency - as they explained to me). The company requested I stay, so I am not contracted to them for any costs.

It sounds like to try to cancel one to get the other will be a long process and easier to stick with the one I have. I will follow up as you mentioned and if I have any findings different i will look to post.

Thanks!

They renew VITEM-V Work Visas all the time, that has never changed. Did you enter the process for renewal yourself or was that done by your employer?

If you look in the DOU there are hundreds of VITEM-V renewals every single day.

Cheers,
James

I am also applying for a stable union visa yet my girlfriend in not currently employed and will return to university in January.

When James mentioned "your partner should be prepared to produce 6 months of bank statements and/or pay stubs" is there any other way around this given my situation? Some amount in her bank account that would be sufficient? Thanks in advance.

She could show proof that she can support you.

Jim

jland912, what does that mean in practical terms? Enough cash in the bank account to pay living expenses for 7 months? R$40,000? It isn't really clear for me what that means.

You need to be able to support yourself without being a burden on the Government.

Jim