Entry Card

Hi expat-gc,

Yes you should have gotten the entry card back from the Federal Police when you obtained your "prorrogação de estada". It's highly unlikely that you'll get it back now even if you go back to the Federal Police, but if you're nearby you could try - it sure won't hurt.

If you can't get it back it shouldn't be a really big deal since you wouldn't have received the extension of your visa without it and when you leave the country the Federal Police Agent you deal with on departure will most likely understand your predicament. You're certainly not the first person this has ever happened to, nor will you be the last. Just remain calm, explain your situation and try not to argue with the Agent, that will only make matters worse.

Strange that it was such an ordeal for you to obtain the "prorrogação" usually it's quite an easy process. Did you take someone with you who speaks Portuguese fluently? That always is recommended.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Thank you, Mr. Woodward.

I speak intermediate Portuguese, but I don't think language was the problem. Bureaucratic things in South America, especially in Brazil, tend to be luck-of-the-draw. If you catch the wrong official at the wrong time...

I guess when it was my turn, I just happened to get the "wrong" federal policeman. Then when it was my turn again, he had just left for lunch. Etc. Etc. You also have to be persistent here. If one person says, "Your name is on the list." Be sure to ask someone else if your name's on the list. Sure enough when I asked, the second person said, "Sorry, your name's not on the list," meaning the last hour of waiting for my name to be called had been a complete waste of time.

In America, one person is (usually) in charge of your file. Not here. My visa extension request that day was passed around from one person to another. So don't be afraid to ask several people for help, for you might just catch the right person at the right time. I finally got the right person, who put my name on the list, and then got a more customer-friendly policeman. Unfortunately, he forgot to return, and I forgot to ask for, my entry form. I'll just go to the airport very early, just in case.

As for my re-entry plans, do you get to save unused visa extension days? And is there a website calculator you can recommend, for determining when I can re-enter Brazil on a tourist visa?

Thanks again.

Like everything else the Federal Police do, getting to use any of the unused days on a 90 day visa extension that you didn't actually use up is going to be strictly "the luck of the draw" as I'm sure you've come to expect from Brazilian bureaucracy. It will depend solely on the whim of the Federal Police Agent you deal with when you try and re-enter. I've heard some members say they were refused because the agent was of the opinion that those days simply disappeared because "the clock kept running on the extension even though they had left early". I've also heard others who say they had no problems in using the left over days. So, your guess is as good as anybody's. I'm not sure I'd risk it if I were you.

Regarding the calculation of your visa stay entitlement as far as I know there is no online calculator. You can calculate it in the following manner yourself.

Important: You need to count both the day of entry and the day of departure for any previous visits as full days in Brazil when making calculations.

Once you've used up your 180 days in a "rolling" year you must be out of Brazil 180 days just to get back to ZERO entitlement.

From 180 days following departure to 270 days you gain one day of entitlement for each day beyond 180. On day 271 you are then entitled to a full 90 day visit. This cannot be extended.

From 270 days following departure to one year you gain one day that you could extend you visit. On the day following the anniversary of your departure you'd be entitled to a 90 day initial stay that you could extend by a further 90 days for the full 180 day annual entitlement.

Essentially what the Federal Police do (and I'm sure the calculation is done by computer) on the day you arrive they go back exactly 365 days and count all the days you've been in Brazil during that period and deduct that from 180... BINGO there you have the number of days. When you go back for an extension they repeat the same process, only this time counting the number of days in the country on your present stay and what they come up with is the number of days that they allow for an extension.

Their rule of thumb is "AT NO TIME DURING YOUR STAY IN BRAZIL CAN THE NUMBER OF DAYS YOU'VE BEEN IN THE COUNTRY EXCEED 180"

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

i want visit & makes my own business in Brasil in cheapest way (multiple vis will be good for me ?& what is the chepest way to come in Brasil?

If you want to start up a business in Brazil you would need to apply for a VIPER Permanent Visa for investors. This type of visa requires a minimum investment of R$150 thousand (BRL) which would be about $74 thousand (USD). It also requires a detailed business plan which would include a statement of the kind of business you intend to operate, geographical area where you would operate, number of Brazilians the business would employ (if any), estimated amount of annual revenue, etc.

You would apply for this visa through the Ministério de Trabalho e Emprego - MTE and it would be best to have a lawyer experienced in immigrations and business start-up in Brazil to help you. They will charge for their services, but they are really essential. I could recommend a contact should you need one.

The VIPER application would be made by yourself, and could also be made by your spouse dependent children. If granted the initial visa would be granted for a period of 3 years, which must be renewed. About the only requirements for renewal are that you prove the business is still operating and that the initial investment has not been repatriated.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

thanks : but can i have your contacts details

thanks : but can i have your contacts details

You can contact me here by private message using my username wjwoodward. We do not post personal information such as e-mail, electronic addresses of any kind, telephone numbers to open forums for OBVIOUS reasons of security. I trust that you understand this.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team