IMPORTANT NEW CHANGES FOR THOSE APPLYING FOR PERMANENT VISAS

Hi James,

Thank you for your reply. We are staying in a rented furnished apartment that we found online (airbnb). Should I contact the landlord?

Regards

Samira

Yes, your landlord should be able to write up a Declaração de Residência for you.

Cheers,
James

Hi James,
               As per your advice, was trying to apply permanent visa via Brazilian child process. But meanwhile, My permanent visa applied by my company was just approved and published in Official Gazatte so I will have to do the Registration in Federal police within 90 days. Please let me know what are all the documents needed for doing Registration in Federal police?
         
              My company appointed consulting service says that I need get Consular Inscription in Indian consulate in Brazil since my Marriage certificate is not legalized in Brazil consulate in India.

              Please let me know what exactly needed for Registration in Federal police.

Thanks & Regards,
Senthil kumar.D

Hello kdsenthil,

Follow the link below to the Federal Police website and complete steps 1, 2 and 3.

http://www.dpf.gov.br/servicos/estrange … -e-anistia

That will schedule you for an appointment (if your city's DPF delegacy uses appointments), you'll fill out all the information, generate and print off the GRU (receipts) for the registration and Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro

When filling out the form for the GRU, in the "Agência Arrecadadora" field click on the arrow and scroll down until you find the DPF Regional Superintendency for your city and click on it to insert it into the blank field.

In the "Código da Receita STN" field on one of the (2) GRUs you need to generate you will click on the magnifying glass and scroll down and click on 140082 Registro de Estrangeiros/Restabelecimento de Registro R$106.45. On the other GRU you need 140120 Carteira de Estrangeiro de Primeira Via R$204.77.

Print off the GRUs and pay them at any bank (Banco do Brasil is preferred but you can use ANY bank) within 7 days of printing or you have to do new ones. Take the GRUs, appointment slip you print off, 2 - 3X4 color photos, a copy of the DOU page showing publication of your permanency, your passport and proof of address to the DPF at the time and date shown on the appointment slip.

You should not require an "Inscrição Consular" which is a letter from the Indian Consulate essentially, because that is usually only for the permanency process, not registration. Your consultant seems to be a bit confused.

Cheers,
James
Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you very much James for the detailed response!

Question regarding Cedula de Identidade de Estrangeiro....

I picked up my CIE today. My ID card has a Classificacao of Permanent and a Validade of Indeterminada. My US passport expires Dec 2024.The Visa stamp has an expiration date of May 2024. I am currently 56 years old. Will I have to reapply for permanencia in 2024 ?

No, in anticipation of your reaching the age of 60 your CIE has been issued as INDETERMINADO, which means you never need to renew it.

Permanent residents 60 years of age and over, or with physical disabilities do not renew their Cédula here in Brazil.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi Victoria,

Yes, it means the CIE has been produced. They're made in Brasília - DF and from there they're delivered in bulk to the Superintendência da Policia Federal in each state, where they get sorted out and delivered to the Superintendência Regional for each jurisdiction. That process may take a week or even more depending on how busy things are. In São Paulo (capital) they're always busy so it may take over a week for yours to get to Campinas. Be patient, that light at the end of the tunnel is a whole lot closer now. Congrats!

When the "Recebimento" line gets changed to CONFIRMADO then you can go pick it up.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Is it any kind of Offence if the Protocol expires and then you just pick up the CIE when it's ready.....just curious does anyone know or does it just make the document invalid so you can't use it for banking etc....I assume you would still retain the RNE no ?

Hi Steve,

You're supposed to renew the protocol, but if you've already been granted permanency they won't accept it as identification anywhere. I don't think that the Federal Police will give you too much of a hassle when you pick up the Cédula de Identidade, but then who knows about the Federal Police.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

When I had the protocolol I went to renew it. The PF officer who was actually a PF officer said I did not need to renew it. All that I needed to do is notify them when I traveled out of the country. Maybe it wasn't correct but that is what I was told. I traveled 2 times without problems.

The protocol is supposed to be renewed, but certainly the Federal Police aren't going to cause you any problems becaus THEY know the way things are in Brazil. If you've got an outdated protocol the officer is going to look at the inside of your passport and find the "Registrado como Permanente" stamp inside. Until you've actually got the CIE in hand you may run into problem at airports abroad.

The problem with travel outside of Brazil is the foreign air carriers, they're scared to death that they have to absorb the cost of the return flight for anyone without the proper visa who gets kicked out on arrival. So they want to see a valid visa, they don't know or even care about the crappy little paper protocol or tiny little stamp in the passport. So that's fine for anyone whose VITUR Tourist Visa has not expired completely, but if it has you could well find yourself refused boarding by some overzealous boarding agent when trying to return. The paper protocol has ALWAYS been a real problem because it looks so MICKEY MOUSE.

Note: This won't happen if you're using a Brazilian carrier, since they too know the system.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

so they wern't too fazed about that expiry date in your experience?

I am really losing it. My cousin sent my birth cert from Ireland to Brazil with tracking and it disappeared. We reapplied and he just sent it again. I checked the tracking with Correios and my fiance said that it said because my cousin sent it reg mail, not express, it will be held up for 50 days before they ( brazil) decides to deliver it. I am running out of time. Will have to fly to Ireland and waste 3,000 euros. You ever hear of this?  Thanks

First mistake, trusting Correios for anything......... my pension checks were being mailed from Canada, last year 6 of the 12 checks simply vanished from the face of the earth. Worst system in the civilized world.

Second mistake: Using regular mail. It takes around 2 months for Registered Mail between Canada and Brazil, imagine how much longer to and from Ireland. Important documents should always be sent by private courier like FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.

Oh, and Correios so-called tracking is pure crap and doesn't apply to anything that is an INTERNATIONAL destination.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Just use DHL or something.....I did for an important document last month and it just took 3 days and cost $40

You can't use regular mail for such things....

Thanks

I asked my cousin to use Dhl but he didnt listen. I will have to do this again- 3rd time!!!

I sent my school documents to my country via Correio do Brasil to make my Master degree attested by Embassy of Brazil. It took more than 40 days to reach there. I was so confused and checked the website of Correios and post office of my country. Both of them were incapable to show the delivery process of my documents and it was my original school documents. I lost my hope and after many reclamations, I went to justiça federal against Correio but thanks to my God that next day it was received there in my country. One of my countrymen said that UPS is also the same problematic corrier and the same happened with him. DHL is considered very trust-worthy.

Actually, if you don't label them DOCUMENTS, the courier companies may even refuse to handle them, because the protectionist laws in Brazil give Correios an absolute monopoly over anything that even remotely could be considered "correspondence". The US Embassy used to send passports via DHL and Correios sued them alleging that it constituted "correspondence", the courts here sided (of course) in favor of Correios and prohibited the practice of using courier services for passports. Now couriers are all a bit gun-shy about handling any kind of paperwork.

Just can't win in this freakin' country!!!

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

My birth cert finally arrived!!  I got it translated yesterday and we took all our documents to the cartorio today. We have to go back on thurs ( have to wait five days and Mon is a holiday ) but they said everything is in order and that we can set a wedding date on thurs for 15 days after ( publish time ). Fingers crossed this is all true!  My fiance is a lawyer so that helps. Anyway, thanks to everyone and I will keep you posted!

Great news, hope the wedding day is just perfect for everybody!

Cheers,
James

Hi James,

Is it possible to get my FBI background check documents translated and legalized here in Brazil as opposed to doing so at the Brazilian Consulate in the country of origin?

Thanks,
Bret

Hi Bret,

Yes, it is possible to get the translation done by a sworn translator here. It should be done by one in the state where you are applying in order to avoid problems.

If you have no previous record, now under the new procedures, the check isn't even necessary anymore. It has been replaced by a sworn declaration you make, which the Federal Police here will provide you. It's called a Declaração Sob Pena da Lei de Não Condenação. If you haven't already applied for the FBI check, save yourself the hassles and money.

Note: This only applies if you're marrying a Brazilian citizen. If you're marrying another expat with permanent status in Brazil, the check is still necessary.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team

James - thank you for the fast reply.

Not only was this helpful but all of the information and insight that you've provided on all of the other posts have been indispensable! You've saved me a ton of time and headaches with your invaluable contributions to this great site.

Thank you so much! 

Bret

Hi Bret,

Wow, what can I say but THANKS!!! It is so gratifying to know that I'm really making a difference here.

I came to this country over 13 years ago, and believe me the bureaucracy back then was even worse than it is now. There was nobody to turn to for information and it was before Expat-blog even existed. I had to re-invent the wheel more times than I care to recall. When I found Expat-blog I vowed that nobody would ever have to say that again... nobody to turn to for information. I have volunteered more of my time than you'd believe, but it's people like you that make every second of it worthwhile, and keep me here doing it. Again, thanks for your kind comments.

Cheers,
James        Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi I'm new here and I have arrived in Brazil a couple weeks ago with my wife who is Brazilian. I'm sorry if this is not the right post to ask my question but I've been researching some info to help us in our process of permanent visa through Brazilian offspring. Before anybody ask me why, it's because we are having a baby at the end of October and we chose the offspring visa instead of the marriage one. We live in Florianopolis now and I couldn't find any immigration lawyers here and just a couple of visa agencies in SP like Horizon and Visto Brasil. I'm skeptical about who to hire because I've already noticed that here the services are not good and you can't really trust information given. I'm lost and need help because he reason why we left the U.S. Is because her green card was denied and now with the offspring visa in Brazil it's the only way for our family not to be separated. That's why I wanna make sure I do everything right and hire the right people.
I'm sorry for the long post, but my questions are if you or anybody has a lawyer or visa agency who's trustable and competent that could help us. Another question is how long does the decision take? I've read that it can take 3 months and I've read also that when you go to the DPF hand your documents that the federal agent who sees you can give the result right away and tell you to come back in a couple months to pick up your document and if they just give you the protocol and ask you to wait for the decision is because they probably gonna deny you. So they give you the decision right away or I have to wait months/years to know if I'll be able to live in Brazil?
Thank you very much and sorry again for the length of this post but that's our last hope.

Hi Josh, I haven't read your complete post but in order for you to register your baby's birth here in Floripa, the process is simple and also fairly easy.  If you want to you can pretty much do the entire process by yourself.  Mr. James have earlier posted details and they are pretty helpful.  If you still have questions feel free to inbox me and I can give you advice.  My wife and I had given birth to our baby boy in the month of May and we are also based in Florianopolis.

Hi Josh,

Well if you're legally married to a Brazilian and the marriage was duly registered with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in the USA, there is absolutely no difference in the permanency process or your right to permanency from an application based on a Brazilian born child. So you can rest easy on that score.

When applying based upon marriage to a Brazilian or based upon a Brazilian child the applicant has a Constitutional right to permanency guaranteed by Art. 226 of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil - 1988 which guarantees "protection of the family unit". This Constitutional right was, in fact, the motivating reason for the sweeping changes in the permanency process which went into effect on September 1, 2014.

The process is now so streamlined, and simplified that unless you can't speak a single word of Portuguese, or if the bureaucratic process of buying a tin of Cocoa powder at the supermarket confuses the hell out of you, that a lawyer is neither needed nor advisable. They'll charge you a fortune for what you can easily do yourself; and for the most part do online.

You are right about one thing in chosing to apply based on a Brazilian child, it may be a bit less bureacratic and it is the one application that is 100% guaranteed, even moreso than applications based on marriage which are also just about 100% too.

Go back up and read my postings on this topic thread from the very beginning. It will give you a complete and clear description of the entire process. Doing it yourself will save you lots of time and money, something you're going to need lots of with a new baby on the way.... you can trust this father of five on that point. 

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

There are 2 possible routes for permanency in your case Marriage to a Brazilian and of course once the baby is born by virtue of having a child in Brazil you can't be deported according to Brazilian law I have found a website with some useful information. Both processes involve a visit to the DPF (the federal police ) they will give you a document with all the requirements needed for either route.  I have also found a website with some additional Info that may be helpful but your source of the actual requirements should be the DPF website (see below) and the local office of the DPF that has jurisdiction in your locality. I have a Brazilian wife so my route was by marriage either way you are at the mercy of Brazilian bureaucracy. I basically accomplished my  permanency without much help of a lawyer but fortunately she had a family friend who is a lawyer for one of the details I needed to get ironed out.

attached websites
http://www.liveinbrazil.org/after-givin … u-do-next/

the information from the above website is a bit dated 2013 it no longer takes 2 - 3 years to get the RNE as James mentioned it has been streamlined

DPF website
http://www.dpf.gov.br/servicos/estrange … definitiva

Hope this helps

Hi,
Yesterday, I met a foreigner and he told me that a foreigner with a permanant visa of Brazil can apply for `concurso publico` organized by any State of Brazil. He said that he has observed many times in newspaper that Sao Paulo State was offering public job for Brazilians and foreigners with permanant visas. He also referred to a professor of Peru working as a full professor at UNESP without having naturalization of Brazil. I need clarification about it. Thanks!!

While there has been much talk about opening the "Concurso Público" process to foreigners as far as I'm aware it IS NOT yet in effect on the federal level. The state of São Paulo may be allowing it on the state level. The present situation is described below:

Article 37, II of the Federal Constitution states that "the offices, positions and public functions are accessible to all Brazilians who meet the requirements established by law, as well as to foreigners, according to the law."

So, under that rule, for a foreigner could secure a public office or position would require regulating law. However, this law does not exist.

On the presented assumptions, the natural and logical conclusion would be that foreigners can not become office or public office holders.

However, there are two situations that need to be considered. The first is that the art. 207 of the Federal Constitution allows the federal universities hire professors, technicians and foreign scientists. This rule also depends on the law, but this law exists (Law 9,515 / 97).

Another detail to consider is that, theoretically, the foreigner could take the "Consurso Público" and at the same time apply for naturalization. Being naturalized and acquiring Brazilian citizenship, there would be no impediment to securing a public office or position.


As it was explained to me by a very trusted and experienced immigrations lawyer friend of mine, when I made a direct question on a point of law and the constitutionality because I was very interested in becoming a Tradutor Juramentado, ALL laws in Brazil no matter when they were enacted MUST comply with the Federal Constitution of 1988. So technically there is no constitutional impediment to a foreigner in such cases. The lack of a law however effectively makes it impossible. The only option would be to apply for a "Mandado de Segurança" (injunction) in the Tribunal Regional Federal which would be the way of dealing with violations of one's constitutional rights. Effectively this would compel the "state" to enact a law which would permit the foreigner to enter the "Concurso". Given that the government has taken no action whatsoever in 27 years to enact such laws, the TRF would have little option but to issue such an injunction. Of course the government would vigorously oppose such an application to be sure.

He further advised me that it would be unlikely that the TRF would entertain an application for a "Mandado de Segurança" based upon an 'abstract' violation of one's constitutional rights, that it would be best to wait until such time as a "Concurso" which you were otherwise qualified to take was actually announced, but were refused due to lack of citizenship. Under those circumstances there is a "concrete" violation of one's constitutional rights and the TRF would be forced to accept the petition.

Crazy mixed up situation indeed, but that's Brazil for you. So, now I'll show you my personal situation just so it's clear exactly how crazy the laws surrounding public service are:

A Tradutor Juramentado (proper title - Tradutor Público e Interprete Comercial TPIC), is not a public service job, nor is it an elected office. It is a PROFESSION pure and simple, but one that is regulated by the government and for which one of the requirements is Brazilian citizenship. This requirement does not conform to the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brasil 1988 and violates several articles.

There is no requirement that the languages that the individual translates be his/her native language and no special certification in that language is required. Everything is based upon passing a very simple and rudimentary test. One need not have even formally studied the languge, just pass the test.

So lets say someone from Slovenia comes to Brazil and naturalizes, that person wishes to become a TPIC and translate English / Portuguese documents. That individual from a country where neither English or Portuguese is taught learned on his own enough of both languages to pass the infantile exam... by virtue of the fact that he was a Brazilian citizen he would be legally entitled to take the "Concurso" and be given the title of Tradutor Publico e Interprete Comercial. However like in my case, for instance, I come from a country where English is my mother tongue and I've also got two degrees in teaching the language. I've also lived in Brazil for over 13 years and have total mastery of the language (read, write and speak it better than 80 percent of born Brazilians) and do "unsworn" translations that would put those of a TPIC to shame; can't enter the "Concurso" (which there is absolutely no doubt that I'd pass with flying colors) and be granted the title since I'm not a Brazilian citizen.

That's Brazil for you! Is it worth my while to make a petition in the TRF for a "Mandado de Segurança", well I'd no doubt get one if a "Concurso" were to be announced, but at my age I really don't know if it would be worth all the effort and expense to do so.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you very much. I already knew the living in Brazil blog and it was very helpful but I figured out it could be outdated because the info is from 2013 and everything changed in 2014. What kind of made me worried was that it seems, according to other people here on the blog, that the federal police might require other documents that are not mentioned on the list in their website, like translations, cpf and proof of residence.

Thank you James, definitely that part in the constitution that protects the family Union made me feel a lot more secure. I've heard of it before but I didn't know you could actually use that to protect yourself and your family because I never seen the piece of law itself that says that. Do you know where I can find the law to read online?

Hi Josh,

Yes, but it's in Portuguese.... Art. 226 is the one that refers to protection of the family unit.

http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/co … pilado.htm

The other important legislation for expats is the Estatuto de Estrangeiro - Decreto/Lei 6815/1980

http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Leis/L6815.htm

Both of these pieces of legislation are really "must know" for expats here in Brazil as they govern everything we do. Interestingly enough, the Constitution protects everyone, Brazilian or foreigner equally. There are only a very few rights that we don't have that are reserved strictly for Brazilian citizens... those are primarily political rights like voting, running for and holding public office, etc. Everything else, even an illegal alien is beneficiary of.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

What was required of me in Manaus for Permanency based on Marriage :
Copies of all, not the originals and all  copies notarized.
1.FBI report of no crimes - Legalized in the US - and Translated in Brazil - by certified public translator
2. Birth Certificate - legalized in the US - also translated like the above.
( they also required a letter of inscription from the Consulate stating the same things on my birth certificate)
3. Copy of my Marriage Certificate - legalized in the US and translated - this required  a judges order to be recognized at the office of records so that they would issue a comparable document stating the same but recognized in Manaus ( the thing i mentioned I needed the lawyer for)
(This I was told was unnecessary but was required in Manuas despite the legalization at the Brazil Embassy in the US)
4. My passport copies of all pages even the blank ones with all stamps (certified as copies by a catorio in Manaus
5. A document stating we were Married in the US  and not married anywhere else before,  you guessed it certified by a catorio by our signatures
6. A document proving our address in Manaus ( certified copy)
7.. 3x4 mm recent photos
8. All required GRU's proof of payment at a bank

This is just what was required for my protocol to obtain an RNE, The actual RNE required more of the same presented again and paying another GRU fee.
Your requirements might be different depending of the State you are in and the DPF counter help  making up their own rules

All of the above required multiple trips to the various offices, catorios, and the DPF to present and then being told I needed another document, the letter of inscription from the US consulate here in Brazil which was never mentioned originally until i was in the process

One other thing whatever you do once you get your RNE make copies and never carry the original unless you absolutely need the original. To replace one that was stolen or lost cost more than it does to get it originally and the bureaucracy is even worse.

The bureaucracy in Manaus is incredible