Hi guys,
I'll be moving to Belo Horinztonte in August on a tourist visa with the aim of starting the Stable Union process within the 180 days that I'm there.
I live in London, so in order to get an unabridged birth certificate (from South Africa, where I was born), I've had to request this from the SA consulate in London. The lead time for an unabridged, apostilled certificate is six months!! I applied for this in May, so do not expect it to be delivered back to London until November. I'll then get a family member to post it via secured international delivery to myself in Brazil.
This gives me about 2/3 months (Nov - Jan) to apply for the Stable Union at the Cartorio, and then start the permanency application at the Federal Police. However, another important document I'll need is a police check, which also needs to be apostilled. I could do this once my birth certificate arrives in the UK, but I'd like to do this earlier, as this can take up to 20 working days to process and I'd rather not waste any more time than is needed.
My question is if I get my police certificate now, apostilled, and then translated when I get to Brazil, will this be questioned by the Federal Police as it might be over three months old by then? I've heard conflicting reports, because documents were apostilled by the Brazilian consulate previously and it's now done under the Hague convention with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Another query for anyone who has gone the Stable Union route, is that once I start the application with the Federal Police, what visa am I technically on? Is the tourist visa extended while the application for permanency is in progress?
I've checked the Federal Police website and was unable to find information regarding this.
Thanks,
Nick