Applying for a visa ‘in person' still possible?

Easiest thing for him would be to go to an immigration attorney, and ask them to hadle it all.

08/09/23 @Kurterino.  I don't understand the problem, unless your friend is not a Swiss or EU citizen:  Swiss citizens, like EU citizens, benefit from a visa waiver with Brazil, so he should be approved for 90 days when he presents his passport at a port of entry.  If he IS Swiss, than he only gets 90 days in every 180 days per the QGRV, so the question of an extension doesn't even enter into it, and he doesn't need to go anywhere near the Polícia Federal.

If we're talking about an Authorization for Residency on an immigrant basis after he enters the country on a tourist visa, you're an old Brazil Hand yourself, so you're in a great position to help him understand that Brazil is NOT going to adjust to him, so he'd better get himself in a state of mind that will let him adjust to Brazil or he's in for a world of frustration. 

If that's still  his choice after a good talking-to, then he should bring ALL the documents on the PF list for the  Residency Authorization that he'll be seeking, with duplicates for emergencies, make sure that they're apostilled and ready to be submitted to a Sworn Translator for translation, and follow @Peter Itamaraca's advice to hire an attorney or a professional facilitator to get him through the obstacle course.

Here again is the list of document requirements for the various residency types:

https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br/assuntos/se … residencia

@abthree

“  Brazil is NOT going to adjust to him, so he'd better get himself in a state of mind that will let him adjust to Brazil or he's in for a world of frustration.”

This should be printed on a placard when you get off the airplane.

@abthree
“ Brazil is NOT going to adjust to him, so he'd better get himself in a state of mind that will let him adjust to Brazil or he's in for a world of frustration.”
This should be printed on a placard when you get off the airplane.

Maybe this is a lesson that we have all learned in the past, sometimes without realising or after much frustration? So many foreigners do come here and ask why certain things do not happen, or are in place,etc, and we all answer 'well, this is Brasil'.

But it is, and we love it as it is, with all its challenges - and often they do as well...

I hope that, soon, the attitude will not be what can we teach Brasil, but what can we learn from her...

08/09/23 @Kurterino. I don't understand the problem, unless your friend is not a Swiss or EU citizen: Swiss citizens, like EU citizens, benefit from a visa waiver with Brazil, so he should be approved for 90 days when he presents his passport at a port of entry. If he IS Swiss, than he only gets 90 days in every 180 days per the QGRV, so the question of an extension doesn't even enter into it, and he doesn't need to go anywhere near the Polícia Federal.
If we're talking about an Authorization for Residency on an immigrant basis after he enters the country on a tourist visa, you're an old Brazil Hand yourself, so you're in a great position to help him understand that Brazil is NOT going to adjust to him, so he'd better get himself in a state of mind that will let him adjust to Brazil or he's in for a world of frustration.

If that's still his choice after a good talking-to, then he should bring ALL the documents on the PF list for the Residency Authorization that he'll be seeking, with duplicates for emergencies, make sure that they're apostilled and ready to be submitted to a Sworn Translator for translation, and follow @Peter Itamaraca's advice to hire an attorney or a professional facilitator to get him through the obstacle course.

Here again is the list of document requirements for the various residency types:

https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br/assuntos/se … residencia
-@abthree

Actually the problem is that until the pandemic, he used to be able to extend his 3 months tourist visa to 6 months, which was enough for him, but apparently now you have to leave for a minimum of 30 days for the second 3 months. And he used to do everything ‘manually’, meaning without using a computer. He could just swing by the PF and get an extension right then and there.

This friend has introduced me to Brazil and has been extremely generous, so I’m trying to help as much as I can.

But as you pointed out correctly, if he’s too stubborn to accept that things have changed, there’s not much I can do …

What you are trying to do for your friend is really valuable. I had a friend who is exactly in the same position, and I tried help them survive the messy brexit process. So I totally get it. Tech-wise lawmakers have difficulties understanding the youth, and ironically they have difficulties seeing the vulnerabilities of the elderly - I guess they are never themselves in the position to do these things, they have their assistants

This is also an accessibility issue so there are usually alternatives. Not everyone is (or able) to be tech-literate and not everyone has the opportunity to afford to hire lawyers for simple processes.

I see two options:

- If they have someone they trust (like you) with a little bit of time: After they get all their documents ready like abthree said, they can scan these documents with their phone and someone else can create the process and upload the documents.

- Check what their local alternatives are. I know Sao Paulo Municipality had a support programme for people in need for migrant processes. And Policia Federal Sao Paulo has an ongoing support "operation".

PF thing seems to be going until 20th of October, where people in vulnerable positions can visit PF in person. Family reunion permit is one of the categories included in this process.

More info:

https://www.gov.br/pf/pt-br/assuntos/no … 04-08-2023 (If link is hidden, you can search for: 7ª fase da Operação Horizonte iniciará atendimentos na PF em 04/08/2023)

08/10/23 @Kurterino. Actually the problem is that until the pandemic, he used to be able to extend his 3 months tourist visa to 6 months, which was enough for him, but apparently now you have to leave for a minimum of 30 days for the second 3 months. And he used to do everything ‘manually’, meaning without using a computer. He could just swing by the PF and get an extension right then and there.
-@Kurterino

Got it.  It seems clear from the reports of several expats that at least some of the big PF offices haven't been enforcing the distinctions of the QGRV with respect to countries only allowed 90 days in every 180 days (the "*" countries on the QGRV), and treating everybody on a visa waiver as if they were allowed 180 uninterrupted days.  That's absolutely not the expats' fault, but they can still get a nasty surprise when and if the office suddenly "gets religion".

@rocade's input on assistance available in SP should be a real help if your friend is there.  If he's somewhere else, there's a good chance that just going to the PF office and asking for help on the grounds that he couldn't get the online system to work for him may well get a humane response, especially if he has his documents.  They know that their system is cranky.

08/10/23 @Kurterino. Actually the problem is that until the pandemic, he used to be able to extend his 3 months tourist visa to 6 months, which was enough for him, but apparently now you have to leave for a minimum of 30 days for the second 3 months. And he used to do everything ‘manually’, meaning without using a computer. He could just swing by the PF and get an extension right then and there.
-@Kurterino

Got it. It seems clear from the reports of several expats that at least some of the big PF offices haven't been enforcing the distinctions of the QGRV with respect to countries only allowed 90 days in every 180 days (the "*" countries on the QGRV), and treating everybody on a visa waiver as if they were allowed 180 uninterrupted days. That's absolutely not the expats' fault, but they can still get a nasty surprise when and if the office suddenly "gets religion".

@rocade's input on assistance available in SP should be a real help if your friend is there. If he's somewhere else, there's a good chance that just going to the PF office and asking for help on the grounds that he couldn't get the online system to work for him may well get a humane response, especially if he has his documents. They know that their system is cranky.
-@abthree

What’s confusing about the 90/180 uninterrupted days, is that Switzerland is a member of the Schengen convention (meaning that foreigners have the same rights in Switzerland as in the rest of Europe, even though we’re not a member of the EU). So it seems arbitrary and incomprehensible that the rules for Swiss citizens are different than f. ex. for Germans (or French, etc.), since the reciprocity would be the same.

08/12/23 What’s confusing about the 90/180 uninterrupted days, is that Switzerland is a member of the Schengen convention (meaning that foreigners have the same rights in Switzerland as in the rest of Europe, even though we’re not a member of the EU). So it seems arbitrary and incomprehensible that the rules for Swiss citizens are different than f. ex. for Germans (or French, etc.), since the reciprocity would be the same.
-@Kurterino

The rule for Germans and Italians is the same as for the Swiss; the rule for the French is different.  My interpretation has been that the EU and Brazil must have agreed on the 90/180 scheme (which is almost entirely limited to Europe) and let it extend to the Schengen Group so that members did not need their own agreements with Brazil, but that countries that already had agreements with Brazil could choose to grandfather their existing schemes, or to go with the Union's.  So France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Britain remained on 180/360, and Britain experienced no change at Brexit.  Some newer EU members (e.g., the Baltics) opted for the EU scheme, but others like Poland, Slovakia , and Rumania elected not to change, either; I imagine that Finland may do the same.