BRASIL VISA

Hi Rick,

Not, it is not true at all. You will certainly qualify for a permanent visa in Brazil (com base conjuge brasileira) if you meet all the other requirements. You will have to produce several important documents which must have been issued NO MORE than 6 months before the date you apply for the visa. They are not considered valid here if older than that.

1. Passport or equivalent travel document (original and certified copy of ID page and all visa pages).

2.  Entry card you receive on the airline (original and certified copy).

3.  Marriage Certificate which must be accompanied by a certified translation into Portuguese if the marriage took place outside Brazil. (Originals & certified copies of both).

4.  Birth Certificate (long form) which shows not only your place and date of birth but the full name of both of your parents. This must also be accompanied by a certified translation into Portuguese and be authenticated by the US Embassy/Consulate either in the US or here. (Original and certified copy)

5.  Certified Criminal Record Check (with no convictions)issued by your local police department (or FBI if that's where you have to get one). This must be legalized by the Brazilian Consulate-General closest to where you live in the US. (You may require a Certified Criminal Record Check from any other country where you have resided in the past - same conditions apply). This document generally takes a long time to be issued so apply for it ASAP, once legalized by the Brazilian Consulate it is not subject to the six month rule for other documents.

6.  Your spouse will also have to provide her Brazilian RG "Registro Geral" (Original and copy)

The permanency process is extremely bureaucratic and takes forever so be prepared for a long wait. You have two options...

You can apply for your permanent visa there in the US and wait out the process before coming to Brazil.

The other option, you might really want to consider, is to apply for a tourist visa and come here. It would probably simplify matters if you got re-married in a Cartório here and apply for a permanent visa once you are here. A tourist visa is valid for a stay of 90 days, extendable for a further 90 at the nearest Federal Police headquarters. Six months should give you plenty of time to get all your documentation in order and apply for a permanent visa here. Once you apply for the permanent visa the clock stops ticking, you can legally stay in the country until the process is completed.

Technically speaking, if you are married to a Brazilian, even if your tourist visa expires you can legally remain in the country without much difficulty. Your status in the country will be considered "irregular" and at some point you will have to normalize it, but as long as you entered the country legally and don't commit any crimes here you have no problem. You will, however, need to carry your marriage certificate with you at all times to avoid any headaches.

Hope this answers your questions and helps you out. I got married here in Brazil and entered the permanency process here, in my opinion it is six of one and half a dozen of the other. The only real thing you need to consider is where you would rather be during the endless wait for the process to run its course.

Regards,
William James (JIM) Woodward