If you've applied for a Permanent Visa based on marriage or child read
Yes, as the spouse of a Brazilian national you are entitled to a VIPER Permanent Visa.
Let me ask one important question... have you already registered your marriage with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that has jurisdiction over the US city you live in? This is something you must do in order for the foreign marriage to be valid here in Brazil.
What you need to do is take your Marriage Certificate, your identifying documents, your spouse's identifying documents (especially her Brazilian RG or something that states her nationality as Brazilian) to the Consulado, pay the fee and they will register the marriage and issue a "Certidão de Casamento" on the Consular Cartório (registry) that is the document that will be valid in Brazil. I can't remember for certain, so please check with the Consulado beforehand, but I believe you will also have to have your US Marriage Certificate translated into Portuguese by a sworn translator and submit the translation along with the application to register the marriage.
Once you've done this you then have two options:
Option 1. You can apply for your VIPER Permanent Visa at the Consulado-Geral where you registered the marriage. You will need to submit all the same documents regardless of where you apply (discussed later). The processing time abroad is usually much shorter (usually from 3 to 6 months) than for applications made in Brazil, however the disadvantage is that you cannot enter Brazil until you have actually received the VIPER visa.
Option 2. You can then come to Brazil on a VITUR Tourist Visa or any other visa category and apply for the VIPER here in Brazll. It is my understanding that if you choose this option you must make the application within the first 90 days of your arrival (check to make sure this is correct). As I said the documents are all the same. The processing time here in Brazil is considerably longer, in some cases in excess of two years or even more. The advantage is that despite the delay you are legally allowed to remain in Brazil and work (only applications based on marriage or on having a Brazilian child) for as long as the process takes to be completed.
There's only one small hitch with this option, not that it should be a great problem. Once you've applied you can only leave the country for periods not to exceed 90 days until you've actually been issued the VIPER and have it and your Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro in your hot little hand. At that point you can leave for periods up to 2 years.
Also your protocolo will say a "PRAZO" 180 days, you'll therefore have to go back to the Federal Police and get them to stamp it with an extension (prorrogação) every 180 days to keep it current until such time as you've been issued the visa.
For the documents required for the VIPER Permanent Visa application see the second part of the list in the topic posting linked below:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280525
Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team
We applied for a permanent visa through a "uniao estavel" that was granted by miami Florida, and recognized / legalized / registered by the Brazilian consulate. A year ago we got the old version of the protocolo on a little strip of paper with the photo. We check on various websites for status updates and it has moved from one ministry to another (trabalho, justica) and comments like "awaiting reply from the other ministry" are listed but at no point has it had a decision published on these sites.
That said, my partner googled my name and found that the diario official on feb 24th had my name and protocolo listed as approved for permanent residency (deferido) by the conselho national de imigracao on Feb. With documents in hand and the print out of the DOU and the original protocolo, we went to the policia federal expected to get a visa stamped in my passport and an RNE so that we could then move forward with the carteira de trabalho.
After 3 hours of run around we got no where - any suggestions?
Thanks so much for the help!
Well, since the marriage has already been registered with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in Cuba you now have two options.
You can apply for the VIPER Peramanent Visa there in Cuba, but you can't enter Brazil until the visa is actually issued. That usually will take from 3 to 6 months abroad once you've submitted all the documents.
or
You can apply for a VITUR Tourist Visa and then apply for the VIPER here in Brazil. It takes about 2 years or more here to be processed, but the advantage of this option is that you can legally remain in Brazil, obtain a work permit (Carteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social - CTPS) and legally work while your visa application is being processed.
I would recommend option 2. In either case the procedure and documents required are all the same. See the following post (second half of the list is VIPER documents).
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280525
Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team
You're quite welcome and many thanks for your kind comments, it's the appreciation of so many people just like you that keep me doing this. I'm just a volunteer here at EB, so obviously I'm not in this for the "big bucks".
Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team
If you're working in another city you're required to notify the Federal Police within 30 days of any change of address, this applies to secondary or temporary addresses as well. So if you don't inform them as to where you are and they can't find you, your process usually gets voided.
Up to 5 year from the time of a marriage to a Brazilian, if the Brazilian spouse wants to report a divorce and cause enough trouble they can certainly provoke cancellation of the VIPER Permanent Visa if that is their desire.
And the Civil Registry will take 2 months to issue the permition of marriage?
Someone told me that it is possible to make an unmarried/single status certificate, here in Brazil. For it, you have to go to Cartorio with two witnesses attesting that you are single/unmarried. He further explained that an Indian (asian) did like it. Is it true?
http://www.indiaconsulate.org.br/
Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team
The process? plz explain the process. After 2 months, the ploce issue permanat visa?
@James reading through all of the great information on this forum trying to find some answers for my situation…. This particular post was exactly what i was looking for, then I saw the year it was posted… 2013… is this information still accurate now, in 2023? I am an American citizen, and have been in Brazil since 2021.. yes, my visa is expired… by a lot… I married my Brazilian husband in 2022… we have lived together since I arrived in 2021… I left briefly to return to the US, to get my young adult son with autism, who has lived here in brazil with us since 2022.. as expired… we are currently working with a US immigration attorney to obtain a visa for my husband to be able to go to the US… but are jumping through hoops because I am significantly older than him, and apparently an older woman with a younger man is an issue… Can my son and I be expelled for overstaying, even though I am married to a Brazilian? We were married here in brazil, however, it was online through the state of Utah, in the US… It is considered a US marriage even through we were both here in brazil at the time… we have hard copies of our marriage license and certificate, and they are apostilled… My son and I do not have a CPF but we do have SUS… but I try to stay low, so as not to have to separate our family… does the statement from 2013 about not being deported if married, still stand? Thank you for your time and help…
B
… we are currently working with a US immigration attorney to obtain a visa for my husband to be able to go to the US… but are jumping through hoops because I am significantly older than him, and apparently an older woman with a younger man is an issue… for your time and help…
B
-@BandD
I have dealt with USCIS quite a bit and have never heard of them having issues with age differences as long as you can demonstrate a real relationship. Their "hoops" are actually very straightforward, especially for a K3 Marriage visa. While the USCIS drags its feet for immigrants from a few countries, Brazil is not one of them and the process should go quickly. The last man I helped had his Brazilian wife in the USA in under three months without a single snag. Have you asked around with others in your situation with USCIS? I know Covid slowed some US regions down, but I had hoped that was done with. Abthree will be your go-to expert with your Brazilian questions.
@rraypo … you know, I could have found a better phrase, then Jump through hoops… please forgive a very tired mind that has been organizing extra evidence of authenticity… filling out forms… getting affidavits filled out… and a sick son… It’s not really that many hoops… I think I’m just being extra thorough in collection of things because I worry about the age difference… listened to too many negative stories, or read to much online… He is 32 and I turn 52 in a few days… Our lawyer said it will be considered suspicious based on that alone.. BUT, it is easy to prove as real.. so maybe I shouldn’t worry so much… again, tired mind… Attorney said after we get all the evidence gathered, forms complete, and have it all sent back to the US and pay the USCIS fees, it will be between 9-12 months… possibly longer… My parents are not doing well, back in the US… I would like to get back there sooner rather than later.. we are both in the music industry… and my son and I would like to get dual citizenship here in Brazil, and my husband wants dual citizenship in the US….. our long term plan is to travel back and forth between countries eventually.. but as of right now, I haven’t even applied for residency here in brazil because of my expired visa status… I am afraid my son and I will have to leave.. before my husbands US visa is approved… my son has autism and has bonded with my husband… in a way I’ve never seen from him before… I cannot even fathom what it would do to him to be separated from his pia.. and we have no desire to be apart.. at all… so, thats where we are right now… I have no idea if our marriage keeps me safe from deportation or not… we were married in April of 22… thank you for your reply…
06/08/23 @James reading through all of the great information on this forum trying to find some answers for my situation…. This particular post was exactly what i was looking for, then I saw the year it was posted… 2013… is this information still accurate now, in 2023? I am an American citizen, and have been in Brazil since 2021.. yes, my visa is expired… by a lot… I married my Brazilian husband in 2022… we have lived together since I arrived in 2021… I left briefly to return to the US, to get my young adult son with autism, who has lived here in brazil with us since 2022.. as expired… we are currently working with a US immigration attorney to obtain a visa for my husband to be able to go to the US… but are jumping through hoops because I am significantly older than him, and apparently an older woman with a younger man is an issue… Can my son and I be expelled for overstaying, even though I am married to a Brazilian? We were married here in brazil, however, it was online through the state of Utah, in the US… It is considered a US marriage even through we were both here in brazil at the time… we have hard copies of our marriage license and certificate, and they are apostilled… My son and I do not have a CPF but we do have SUS… but I try to stay low, so as not to have to separate our family… does the statement from 2013 about not being deported if married, still stand? Thank you for your time and help…
B
-@BandD
Good evening, B. A great deal has happened since 2013. James died in 2016, but we're still ready and happy to answer your questions. Brazil adhered to the Apostille Convention in 2016, so it's much easier to have US documents accepted now than it was then. Very significantly, Brazil's immigration laws were totally rewritten in 2017. Some of the new processes operate more or less as James described the old ones, but others have changed a great deal, and so have the visa and residency authorization systems.
To respond to your biggest concern first, the Federal Police are not going to expel you and your son. As James said, expulsion is reserved for people who commit criminal acts, not administrative infractions, and that is still true. If you come to their attention there is a possibility that they would give both of you a set number of days to organize your affairs and leave Brazil, but even that is unlikely because of your specific circumstances and since you've been successful in not attracting attention so far. Even if they did try, you would have appeals available to you and it would not be immediate.
I gather from your description that your son is unable to work and is totally dependent on you. If he's over 21 and this is not the case, that will create a problem for his staying, even if your own status is resolved.
Did your husband ever try to register your marriage at the Cartório of the 1º Ofício, the Registry Office of Natural Persons in your city? From what you write I suspect not, and there may be a couple of technical problems that need to be addressed for your marriage to be accepted. To be recognized in Brazil, marriages performed abroad between Brazilians and foreigners must be registered at the Brazilian Consulate in the country where they were performed, then the Consular Registration must be registered at the Cartório of the 1º Ofício and a regular Brazilian Marriage Certificate be issued. In addition, the 2017 law specifically prohibits granting residency on the basis of family reunion in the case of a proxy marriage. Even though you were physically together, the fact that the ceremony itself was performed remotely in a foreign jurisdiction may raise the question of whether it should be considered a marriage by proxy. The amount of time you've been together will work in your favor, but if we had been having this conversation two years ago, I would have suggested strongly that you two go down to the Cartório and get a Brazilian civil marriage.
With these concerns, I would suggest that before you approach the Federal Police or anyone else, you get some representation that you can trust, either an attorney or a facilitator experienced in immigration matters. Be clear with this person about your overstay situation, that you and your son don't have CPFs, the legal circumstances of your marriage, and your son's particular needs. The challenges are not trivial, but the right person should be able to help you navigate them all successfully.
Best of luck to you!
@abthree thank you SO much!! This is exactly what I have been seeking!!! I knew things I needed to do, for the most part, but have been afraid to do so… and this is a huge weight of our shoulders… not alleviated, fully, as I know there are things to do, and as you said.. not trivial issues… but the fear of trying to make things right only to be told we had mere days before our family would be separated, kept me from moving forward… We initially went to the FP back when my second visa extension had expired… I has to pay 400 BR.. and get additional documents back to them… they accepted our marriage certificate.. birth certificates, everything translated and apostled.. to apply for residency for both me and my son… I had to get a FBI background check for me, and I had to get a letter from my sons doctor stating he was medically and financially dependent… however, we couldn’t figure out how to get the FBI check done without having to return to the US, and my son’s doctor had left the practice, and the doctor who replaced him would not write a letter or acknowledge anything about my sons medical and mental health, or dependency without having a physical appointment with him first, again in the US.. quickly, to answer your question, he will be 25 in September, does not work, and requires assistance with all activities of daily living… in addition to his autism, he is diabetic and is currently having significant liver issues.. luckily my husband was able to get SUS for both our son and myself.. as I have MS.. so we have that at least.. where was I… oh, so having trouble getting those two documents, the deadline came and went, and since that time, I did not return to go after our residence for fear of deportation… As to your other question, you are correct, our marriage was not registered here in brazil… I believed that it had to be registered abroad first then here and within a time frame, and when that passed, again, I was afraid that I would try and be told not only that it wasn’t possible with an expired visa, but that we would have to leave…. So we did not pursue that further… I would really like to make everything right… get the marriage registered, get our CPF’s, residency, and eventually dual citizenship…
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