Confused about marriage in Brazil and US /Permanent residency

Go to this web page to get started it should have information that you need,   http://novayork.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/

Hi
You need to take your USA marriage certificate to the Brazilian Consulate in your area of the USA.
They will legalize it and give you a document that acknowledges the marriage.

You then Present this document at a Cartorio in Brazil to get your Brazilian Marriage certificate
There are various fees involved but its not a lot of money - under $100

You have two options , you can apply for permanency from the USA once you have legalized your
your marriage certificate at the consulate - you will need to present your full birth certificate(with parents names on it ) and possibly a criminal record check saying you have a clean record...
You then wait for the visa to arrive which takes about a month and then you can go to Brazil
You do not need translations if you do it this way from the USA.
To tell you the truth I'm not sure if your husband need to be there or not to do this in NYC
but it would definately be preferable  .... at the very least they are going to want his Brazilian RG ID card to make copies of.

The other alternative is to do it in Brazil
You will need to Bring your full Birth certificate to brazil - remember any documents you bring to Brazil must be legalized by the Brazilian consulate in the USA first.
Then you have to get it translated in Brazil by a sworn translator
I believe you no longer require a criminal record check , you just have to sign a sworn statement now
at the Federal Police saying you have no convictions....but it may be advisable to bring one from the USA that is legalized by the Brazilian consulate just in case.
These days the permanency is granted immediately if you bring the correct documents
See the list of documents required here https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280525

Remember , the most important document you can have in Brazil is the Brazilian marriage certificate (or Brazilian child's birth certificate)
Once you have this you are basically permanent anyway and everything else is just a formality to have the right documents , you cannot be removed from Brazil if you have a Brazilian marriage certificate to a Brazilian spouse.

Bottom line is I think you need to go back to the USA to have your USA marriage certificate legalized by a cartorio ....I guess you could ask the Federal Police or a Cartorio here in Brazil if there is any way around this ?
I supposed you could get married again in Brazil , but that seems like a big hassle to me

WOW. Thank you so much Stevefunk this helped A WHOLE lot.

It is a relief to know I can apply for the VIPER in the US consulate.
would you happen to know how long this process takes?? ( to better plan my stay in US)

Also, is there any chance of having someone represent for me in the US consulate to submit the marriage certificate, fee, birth certificates (not the VIPER Visa just to register the US marriage certificate)?
(I say this only because I have a cousin who will be visiting me in Brazil and can bring the documentations to the consulate for me)

Thank you !!!
I know I am asking a lot of specific detailsˆ here if you happen to know it will be great, if not thank you so much anyways because I really had a hard time understanding this info!!!!!

Take care!!!

The marriage certificate has to be registered by the Brazilian spouse.  If you go to the website of the Brazilian consulate in New York you will find the proceedure.

I'm not sure if you have to be there or not to actually register the marriage , it's best to phone the consulate and ask, I know for them to legalize documents like your birth certificate you do not have to be there.....the marriage certificate needs to be "full" or "unabridged " ....not sure how usa certificates work but in South Africa where I'm from this is something I had to apply for as they just give you a piece of hand written paper when you get married.

If you apply in the USA the visa takes about 4 - 6 weeks to be ready

My wife had to be there to sign in their presence. as far as calling them . no one answers the phone.

Sorry Jland ...I was in a hurry and did not see your reply

I think it would definately be best if you are both there ....it will just make any complications much easier to deal with.

Also when we did ours there was a fee for the documents and they only accept postal money orders.  It's best to go to the web page and find out.

thank you steve and jland!!!
I know the NYC consulate almost never answers

I will make sure me and my spouse are present at the consulate with all the documents and his birth certificate given within 6 months.

thank you for your answers they will definitely help me !!!!!

take care!!!

I am married to a Brazilian woman we were married in The US her on a K1 Visa as we originally planned for her to stay in the US.  But that changed so I came to Brazil and did the process here. They have simplified the process somewhat but things you will need your marriage license legalized in the US at the Brazil embassy and  translated to Portuguese certified by a catorio that is permitted to translate and certify legal documents. ( costs more than the regular catorios ) You may possibly need a consular letter stating you are who you say you are with a photograph attached with your parents names on it. ( I needed this in Manaus) A copy of all pages of your passport with any stamps and notations every page with a catorio stamp. A copy of the FBI report stating you have no criminal record also catorio Stamped. A copy of your birth certificate legalized in the US at the Brazillian embassy and translated legally and certified with your parents names and catorio legal seal on it.  You might need to have your marriage certificate that is all legalized and sealed presented to a judge for him to order the marriage registry to issue you a Brazilian marriage certificate  Then Pay all the fees for it  and present it all at the DPF ( federal police ) this ail to get a RNE issued it is a complex process and you could spend several days travelling back and forth to the DPF with completed paperwork. Your first stop should be the DPF nearest you to find out what documents you need as some of this has changed. I planned ahead at it took me 180 days to do all that was required.  if you don`t have some of the documents you need you may have to get them in the US and my advice would be to apply for the VIPER visa there it is easier and faster.  But some things can only be done in Brazil like applying for the RNE with your viper visa. Once you get the RNE you are a permanent resident however if you are under 60 you will have to renew it ever 5 years where they will issue a new RNE card with updated photo. You need your current one to renew without it it can't be done.  What ever you do don't loose your RNE card it is very expensive to replace it and a big hassle as well

I believe the RNE/CIE Card's are valid for 10 years , mine is .....

Also remember RNE is the register of foreign nationals while the pysical card is called a CIE

Check out the two pinned articles at the top of the Brazil forum section. They were compiled by are dearly departed James.

They give a lot of excellent information. I used his advice and today I got my permanent visa through marriage using the advice he gave. It took me awhile as I go back and forth still mostly in the US but I submitted everything, waited in the waiting area for like an hour and a half, they took my photo and fingerprints, and I left with my sincre and my CIE will be ready in 40-50 days.

Hi there,
You will need to take your marriage certificate to a Cartorio and register it, but it needs to be translated by a Tradutor Juramentado, before anything. After you get the certificate registered at a Cartorio,then you apply for your citizenship at Policia Federal of your city.
I hope i have helped somehow..pls feel free to ask any question you may have.
Thanks and good luck!
Cassia

Hello guys I'm sorry i am still having some doubts about getting my Brazilian permanent residency.

For now, I only have a US marriage certificate and will be here in Brazil until September.

Can I get a Brazilian marriage certificate from Brazilian Consulate in the US with my American marriage certificate ?

(Also Will I be stuck in the US if I do not have any tourist days left on my visa?)

Thank you so much

Yeah unfortunately it's easier to do it in America with the marriage certificate long form. The long form is the marriage certificate that has both of spouses parents names on it. FBI background check...takes months...just received it 2 days ago and I submitted it in January. I said the hell with it and got permanent residency through our children...so much easier. Me and my spouse are not married in Brazil. May just pay the money and do a small ceremony here to get it over with. Much easier than trying to use our American marriage certificate.

All you need to do is get your USA marriage certificate authenticated at the Brazilian consulate in the USA and then to the notary here in Brazil to be registered. Go to the Consulate site to see the paperwork needed. NO FBI check is needed.  It was a simple precess for me and my wife to do.

In January they required a FBI check at NYC consulate.

This should help a bit   http://chicago.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/i … ficate.xml

Its very easy to Register a Marriage in Brazil, but it has to be done in your home country where you got married.....The "Unabridged "Certificate or "long form" is the only version that is accepted in Brazil......in Brazil all documents must have the parents names on them. The reason for this is that in Brazil there are much fewer names than in English Cultures so everyone is called like  João da Costa Silvia for example ....there are literally hundreds thousands and thousands of Brazilians with the same name....

To register you just take your full complete unabridged marriage certificate to the consulate in your home city, They will give you a kind of reciept that you present at a cartorio in Brazil , 2 weeks later you can collect your Brazilian marriage certificate....

Sometimes it's sooner Ours was ready in 4 days.

Okay thank you for answering again !!
To clarify these steps, I have to go to the US consulate with my US marriage certificate to then obtain a "long form" from them, where I then have to bring back to Brazil to a cartório to get a 'Brazilian marriage certificate'?
In other words, I have to go from Brazil to US NYC consulate bring my marriage certificate, then return to Brazil to bring 'long form'  to a cartorio THEN go back to NYC consulate to apply for permanent residency??

Is this my only option?
I only have my marriage certificate, which isn't legalized at the Brazilian consulate.

No. Once you get the marriage authenicated in the USA you can do the permanency in Brasil. The Brazilian spouse is the one who has to do the marriage authentication. Be sure you go to the website to get all required documents.  It's unfortunate that you never did it when you got married.  I don't know if there is an option to do it in Brazil or not.

You have to get the long form of your marriage certificate. Go to the court house where you got the marriage license from and get a certified copy of it. It will have both you and your spouses parents names on it.

Then go to consult in America to register marriage.

Return to Brazil and file it at cartorio.

Then you request permanent residency with federal police!

I was at NYC consult in January and they specifically wanted the FBI check which takes months. So request it now. I traveled all the way there and walked away empty handed. Not sure why the others keep saying you don't need it.

CraigF were you applying for residency at the NYC consulate? If you are applying for residency in the US they might require a FBI check for residency (in Brazil you can just submit an affidavit of no criminal history)

But you don't need the Background check to get the Marriage certificate registered.

Yes very unfortunate, we were too worried with applying for the green card.
Thank you again for the info.
After I bring my marriage certificate to NYC I Travel back to Brazil with my touris visa and apply for permanent  in Brazil...
Thank you!!!

You and your spouse will need to go to the US.

You need to go to the consulate that is in charge of the area where you got your Marriage license. i.e. yo got married in Minneapolis so you have to go to the one in Chicago.

Get a certified copy of your Marriage certificate.
Go to the consulate.
Get the certified copy authenticated (they will put a stamped label on the back
ALSO get it registered. they will give you a form that has the marriage info in Portuguese issued but the consulate.
Your Brazilian spouse must be present with ID to have them generate the registered marriage document

Go back to brazil

Get a certified translation of the original English authenticated copy.
I believe you need the Original certified copy authenticated,  and with the official english translation, and with the registration from the Brazilian consulate in the US to get the official Brazilian Marriage license.

Go to the appropriate cartorio to submit it. And within two weeks you get the official license needed for residency.

If you don't need the Original certified copy authenticated with the official english translation for the marriage license you will need it for the Permanency paperwork

Thank you for all very much for your responses!

I believe i have a much better understanding of what I need to do.

I'll be doing the following:
First, I have to change my flight from BrazilxUS to an earlier date (if not I will be out of my tourist visa days and unable to return to bring my certificate to cartorio in Brazil.)
After going to the NYC consulate with my marriage certificate,
I will return to Brazil take the documents to the cartorio.
Then go to policia federal to apply for permenacy.


Questions :
In the future when I return to Brazil to bring the marriage certificate to cartorio if I change my flight I will only have maybe less than 2 weeks left on my tourist visa. Will they give me problems applying for permanent residency if I'm overstayed?

-Also, is there a way for me to have a permission to return to Brazil  with out a tourist visa if I'm out of tourists visa days???

*i am in Brazil right now for an extra 90 days on my tourist visa  that expire in September...
Does anyone know if this will conflict with the process will it be an issue ?

If you  arrive with 20 days left you will be fine. Register your marriage and then apply for permanency right away... You are married to a Brazilian they cannot make you leave. I had 10 days left on mine.

Hi everyone,

I was married a few weeks ago in the US to a Brazilian. I plan to go to Brazil on my tourist visa and apply for permanent residency based on our marriage. I have most of my documents organized and ready (FBI clearance, birth certificate, etc.-- they are already authenticated and officially translated).

My question is about the authentication process for our marriage certificate. I was planning on having it authenticated at the state level and then having it legalized by the Brazilian consulate here in the US, exactly as I did for previous documents. My nearest consulate is in Chicago.

However, on the Chicago-based Brazilian consulate website I just discovered this:

http://chicago.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/l … h_2016.xml

American documents of all types (e.g. school, public and private) will NO LONGER need consular legalization. Documents will simply need to be accompanied by an “apostille” issued by the Secretary of State of the state where the document was issued.

The Consulate General of Brazil in Chicago will not, after August 14th 2016, legalize any documents  issued in the United States, since Brazil has accessed the Convention on the Elimination of the Demand for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents ( “Apostille Convention”).

Consular legalization will no longer be required, since it will be replaced by the ‘Hague Apostille’. Such Apostille may be found in all US states at the Secretary of State’s office, or at any US Authority’s office listed on the Hague Conference on Private International Law webpage .


This is good news if I correctly understand it! Does this mean that I will only request an Apostille from my state office, and then take the marriage certificate with me to Brazil to be translated by a sworn translator?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

wow this is interesting and yes it does sound like good news to me!

Although it still is confusing, i hope someone here can better assist you!

from how I am seeing it it seems that after having your certificate accompanied by an Hague Apostille you can bring this to Brazil and will be recognized by the cartorio in Brazil.

From here you take this along with all your other documents (FBI clearance, birth certificate, etc) and apply to permanent residency.

I am in the process of doing what your about to do... so I too hope this works !

I am unsure if it needs to be translated, probably it will have to be, but in any case this will be done in Brazil by a Brazilian sworn translator

Wishing you the very best in your process, and thank you for your reply!

Hi artmunk

Greetings of the day!

Further to your message please note that I would suggest you keep a print out of this webpage with you, specifically in Portuguese, hence please use this link:

http://chicago.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/l … e_2016.xml

Furthermore if you can clarify that the official translator that you have used is a Sworn Translator or just a translator that has translated the documents from English to Portuguese in the U.S., due to the fact that even with these changes, as per my understanding the cartorio might ask for the documents to be translated from a Tradutor Juramentado (Sworn Translator) located in your area.

Along with that I believe everything should be extremely easy and you should not face any challenges at all.  The main concern is to try and complete the paperwork as much as possible in order to satisfy your cartorio first and later on the office who will handle your case at the Policia Federal.

Congratulations on your big day and I wish you the best of luck, please keep in touch and do let us know how things went for you, as your feedback is of extreme importance

Tchau

Stanza

Stanza,

Thanks for your encouraging words and suggestions.

I found a good sworn translator that I used previously for some documents and will use again for this marriage certificate.

Hi Artmunk

That is amazing news and sounds awesome

Good luck

Tchau

Stanza

Artmunk
you probably won't need the FBI clearance either. theRF in Brazil will have you sign a declaration stating that you have no criminal record in brazil or abroad.  since you already have it take it with you.
good Luck

Jim

Jim,

Sounds like they're simplifying the process, for which I'm grateful!