Brazil's Amnesty for Foreigners - was it just one big farce?

Reading the horror story makes one reconsider a move there.. Hmmmm..

Best of luck to you, hope it all works out.

Thanks Bernd, I hope so too. It was no fun at all spending years "flying under the radar" as it were and I'm not looking forward to going back to living like that. But, I'm not going to leave my wife and child behind either. If they want to deport me because THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING THE RIGHT WAY then they will have to do just that and I'm not going without a fight.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

I just wondered, would it be the same if you applied outside of south America?  I know its a different country but we've been going through the process of applying for my husband's permanent visa for Australia in (Madrid) Spain and we are here now in Rio We were told that due to the lack of immigration coming from Spain into Oz the turnaround time is less as the department is less busy than say actually being in Australia or England. I do understand your circumstances are totally different. And my, its sounds awfully painful for your with paperwork etc. I do hope that it all works out. But would that make any difference with hastening your circumstances, hiring immigration lawyers or applying elsewhere? Just curious

Hi Marisa,

Actually my situation is completely different as you point out. I am, therefore, completely at the mercy of the process here; whether they do it right or screw it up totally as they appear to be doing every step of the way.

I've been informed by numerous members that their permanent visa applications are handled much more quickly by Brazilian Consulates abroad, and even more rapidly still by the Ministry of Labor in the case of applications based on "União Estável", than they are here in Brazil. It's probably all true. Here the Federal Police clearly don't give a damn how long they take to process applications. Permanent visas routinely take up to two years or more without any complicating factors. You can't even complain without risking the application being summarily denied without any kind of explanation given.

I think it's the old problem of somebody trying to wear just too many hats. The Federal Police have too many other functions that occupy their time, energy, efforts and funding. Immigrations is something that should have been taken off their plate many years ago. The federal government should have set up an agency that is designed to deal strictly with immigrations and customs as exists in most other countries. As if that isn't bad enough the Federal Police aren't the only ones dealing with immigrations. Besides them there is the Ministry of Justice separately and next the Ministry of Labor. Even young children have all heard the old saying about "too many cooks spoiling the broth".

My problem is that I didn't come here with forged documents and I haven't been convicted of killing a bunch of people and I'm not being hunted down by my home government as a terrorist. If I had been, they would have issued me refugee status almost immediately as they did with Cesare Battisti.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi wj, I got the amnesty by myself, the waiting was long though. I don't know if it is a good suggestion but so far as I know the federal police in each city has a different execution on the very same law. So maybe it is worthy trying to do the process in another city and find an agency to support you. I came for work reason and the company left us illegal, and the company refuse to support me on any activities of applying amnesty afraid of being discovered that they are doing illegal things, but I was tired hiding everytime when the police pay a visit. I paid a small fee to an agency and the lady was nice and helped a lot on the documents preraration. Good luck for you.

Enzo,

Thanks for your reply, it gives me some faint hope. I entered the process over three years ago now and am no closer to obtaining permanent status than I was at the beginning. My application has turned into a game of ping-pong between the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Police, each of which does things at their own snail-like pace. Nobody answers questions or offers any information at all either.

I have now taken things a step higher and have sent offical requests for assistance to the OAB National Presidency (Law Society), The Conselho Nacional da Justiça (CNJ) and to the Office of the President of the Republic, Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, in order to try and bring this whole mess to a speedy conclusion.

I don't know if I will get any results, but at least I won't go down without a fight.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Well it certainly looks like the 'so-called' AMNESTY has been a pretty successful scam for the Brazilian government, which was probably their intention all along.

According to official figures from the Associação Nacional de Estrangeiros e Imigrantes no Brasil (ANEIB), of the 45,000 applications for amnesty only 18,000 of those have been granted. So in simpler terms for every three people who have applied only one was able to jump through all the hoops. The remaining 27,000 now face returning to "an irregular migratory situation" and living a clandestine life; therefore subject to exploitation at every turn. The other alternative is either leave Brazil voluntarily or face deportation. The only unsuccessful applicants that have any sort of luck at all are those who have either married a Brazilian national or (like myself) have a Brazilian child and as such cannot be expelled from the country according to Lei 6.815 Art. 75, II, a & b.

Nice scam guys, I can hardly wait to see the next bone you throw foreigners in Brazil.

William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi

I read your story with great interest as I am in a similar situation to yourself all be it much less time .

I came here just over 14 months ago I married in march 2012 almost one year  I applied for permanency with all the various documents  got my cpf and work book and now have a job all be it poorly paid teaching english.

we continue all the time to try and get answers  but as you say the system is a joke  so like you even though I am legally married and told I have no problems I fear for the future especially as I become more established .

David Scott
Petrolina

Well folks, just to give you an update. I have come to the irrevocable conclusion that the Amnesty for Foreigners of 2009 really has been a huge FRAUD perpetrated on foreigners in Brazil who have been hoping to normalize their situation in the country.

My case has been dragging through the hallowed halls of both the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice in Brasília for over three and a half years now. Not only has there been absolutely no movement toward any kind of final decision on the part of anyone remotely connected with the process, but it has been impossible to get any information about my case whatsoever. It's as if the case simply does not exist. My Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro (PROVISÒRIO) expired on May 27th and there has been no communication from any source if the case is still being processed, permanency has been granted or if permanency has been denied. So I have just simply abandoned the case altogether.

Two days before the expiry of my CIE, I went to the Federal Police here in Macaé and began a completely new process. I have applied for permanency based on having a Brazilian child, so I'm right back at square one. The only bright note is that according to Decreto/Lei 6815 those who have a Brazilian child cannot under any circumstances (short of abandoning the child) be expelled from the country. Also the granting of the Permanent Visa is virtually guaranteed. Well, these clowns now have 6 months to produce the Permanent Visa and issue a new CIE, this time I'm not going to accept any of their incompetency and foot dragging anymore, no sir! If they haven't got their act together by that time I will be retaining a lawyer and plan to bring on an application in the Tribunal Regional Federal (TRF) for Permanência Definitiva via Judicial and an injunction which will obligate the Federal Police, Ministry of Justice and Conselho Nacional de Imigração (CNig) jointly, to produce not only the VIPER visa, but also the CIE in the category "PERMANENT" at no cost.

If any of you out there are still waiting for any kind of decision on your application for permanency under the Amnesty Program, my best advice is to forget it completely and find some alternate means of resolving your situation. It's clear that the Brazilian government is neither capable nor has any intention to do so.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Wow. Your story and conclusion is really disheartening, I have to say. I mean, if you, who have already lived there and are already so savvy on the ways of the Brazilian government and and its ever-confusing requirements and laws, have not achieved permanent visa staus, I feel more and more hopeless to get it myself and my own situation.

When you suggest finding "some alternate means of resolving" our situation and of achieving permanent status, do you mean by NOT basing it or asking for is based on that Amnesty for Foreigners supposed law?

Yes, I'm just commenting on the Amnesty for Foreigners laws as they are. They system was nothing more than a fraud. It appears that about 2/3 of all those who applied were refused (and I presume deported).

At least I'm in the fortunate position that I now have a Brazilian child, so no matter what happens I cannot be expelled from Brazil even if I do absolutely nothing and have no legal documents from now on.

Ok, I understand now and I'm happy for you about that.

But I guess that law wouldn't apply to ME being that my partner and I are a same-sex couple UNLESS I have a child MYSELF (and at 53, believe me, that's not gonna happen!)...BUT if my PARTNER, who is 23, were to have a child by some other means but still being her OWN, and she and I complete a civil union, is that child considered MINE too in the eyes of the laws of immigration? Or does it only apply to BLOOD children? Also, in writing this I realize that, if my partner and I achieve a civil union, that in itself gives me a sure way of achieving permanent status, right? With or without a child.

Yes, the law makes no distinction between biological or legally adopted children. They just have to be Brazilian children.

They must of course be in your care and custody and also be financially dependent upon you.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi William.

Please don't be upset if you noticed that I sent three messages to your Facebook profiles. I saw at least three for you and wasn't sure where I could send my message so I sent it to all three! I sent the messages from my Marques Travae profile...

I would like to talk to you and discuss a things if that is possible. I'm currently in Sao Paulo. Do you have an e-mail address or a phone number where I can reach you? I'm from the US. 

Hope to hear from you!
Marques

Ok I understand now and actually hadn't thought of something that your response gave rise to:

So if my partner were to have a BIOLOGICAL child, would I still have to LEGALLY ADOPT that child to have it ALSO be considered MINE, EVEN IF my partner and I were ALREADY MARRIED and/or EVEN IF that child were ALREADY FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT on ME? In other words, are ALL of these scenarios necessary for that child to be viewed as mine ALSO if I MYSELF am not the BIOLOGICAL mother?

ALSO, getting back to how getting a VISA is affected by all of this, if my PARTNER were to ALREADY have the biological child even BEFORE I were to move to Brazil, and EVEN BEFORE she and I were to enter into a CIVIL UNION (although we're married as far as we're concerned and even have wedding rings), could I legally adopt that child BEFORE entering into a CIVIL UNION and/or BEFORE MOVING THERE and LIVING with my partner? Or NO?

Yes, since it's a same sex union you'd need to legally adopt the child for it to be considered yours here in Brazil.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Well WJ, I am just beginning the process I arrived back in Brazil in September of 2012. We were married in the United States so in 2012 I came to Brazil to live with my wife. The first hurdle I had was that the Federal Police would not accept my legalized and stamped Marriage certificate from the Brazil consulate in the US. It was translated but even that was not enough for them they said it had to be notarized by the 1st District Notary here for official documents, But at the Notary I was told the Marriage certificate had to be approved by a Judge to tell the notary it was OK to Notarize it so the police would accept it. That took 179 days to do and with one day to spare I presented all my documents to the Federal Police.

They then issued me the protocol and I was told that the officers would visit me soon well the first 90 days went by and no visit yet, I had to return to the DPF to get another stamp on the protocol to extend the wait another 90 days. I was told the same story it would take a year possibly 2 for them to get around to me, but that at the end of each 90 days to come back for another stamp. I really Don't know how long it will take. So in the mean time I work on my web sites for clients and teach English to Brazilians wanting to learn. The job market is tight but I am making inroads and contacts and hopefully get a job soon in my profession. Its a good thing I have multiple skills to fall back on. And I have the support of my wife who owns a business here.

I do believe the Brazil bureaucracy is one of the finest in the world they have it down to a science. And If you ask 10 different people you will get 10 different answers. I do have you to thank for in reading comments here I was able to determine that some protocols issued here have a renewal date where you are supposed to report back to the DPF to renew. If you miss it some say you have to start the process all over again others say it is no big deal. But in Brazil there is no solid written procedure and it seems each local makes it up as they go along. They did not inform me that I had to return to the PDF on the first go around, It seems they do not tell you all you need to know just little pieces you manage to pry out of them. Seems they like to keep the process a big secret and add the new surprises as you live the process

Exactly right John on all counts. The biggest problem is that in the first place the Federal Police ARE NOT Immigrations, but they think they are. In legal terms the Federal Police and Ministério de Justiça are meerly an agent responsible for receiving the information and passing it on to the Conselho Nacional de Imigração (CNig) and responsible for maintaining the database which holds all the information about foreigners (the SINCRE - Sistema Nacional de Cadastro e Registro de Estrangeiros). Somewhere along the line they've gotten the idea that in terms of immigrations they are more powerful than God himself. The Federal Police have no authority nor do they even have any role in deciding who gets a visa or who doesn't, none whatsoever. Their sole function is to collect, verify and forward information, but somebody forgot to tell THEM that fact.

The second major problem is that the law which regulates immigration Decreto/Lei 6815 dates back to the Dictatorship and was crafted with those authoritarian and restrictive attitudes in mind. Even the president of the CNig has stated publicly that the law is outdated, does not reflect reality and should be replaced, but like everything else in Brazil nothing ever gets done.

The third problem is that the country is full of laws, but none of those laws have clear definitions or defined procedures set out for how they are implimented. Nobody at the Federal Police really knows what they SHOULD do, so they just make up their own rules as they go along. This is the 10 different people with 10 different interpretations of the law they work with, hence the 10 different answers.

The fourth problem, especially in the bigger cities, is that rather than dealing with a Federal Police Agent (i.e. police officer) most of the people you will deal with are actually third-party contracted civilians who have absolutely no knowledge or understanding of the laws and no authority of any kind. You ask a question and they disappear, because they have to run off to ask somebody who's actually a cop, who also unfortunately doesn't really understand the laws. It's a double edged sword.

Nothing ever gets done because as the old saying goes "too many cooks spoil the broth" you submit your documents that after having run back and forth to the PF half a dozen times to finally get the right information as to just what documents you REALLY need to submit are. Then those documents sit on somebody's desk at the PF for months on end gathering dust, waiting for a signature. Next they get passed on to the Ministério of Justice, same story, months waiting for somebody to look them over make sure the guy at the PF hasn't screwed something up, sign and forward to the CNig who will usually send them back to either the PF or MJ asking for something more. It's bureaucracy at its very worst.

I have never, in all my years in Brazil, heard of anyone who actually got their VIPER in the 90 days predicted, not even after 180. Strange since if you apply for a VIPER outside of Brazil they are always issued within 3 to 6 months tops. Consulates are a hell of a lot faster than the PF.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Just another update on this four year old ONGOING FRAUD perpetrated by the Brazilian government, Ministry of Justice.

Today, I finally received an e-mail with some "non-information" from the Ministry of Justice advising me that my application for Transformation of Provisional Residency into Permanent which was filed in December of 2011 is "waiting to be entered into the internal computer system (cadastrado) and will then be analyzed at some later time".

Needless to say I shot back a rather nasty response asking them if they could give me an estimate of just how many decades it would continue waiting to be entered, stating that I have all but given up on seeing anything else done during my lifetime.

I've had my life on hold for four years now, it's been examined from every angle, I've filled out so damn many forms I'm probably responsible for devastating an entire forest singlehandedly and I just can't take anymore of this crap.

Even though there is absolutely no legal reason for denying permanency to someone who has a Brazilian child I've gotten nowhere at all.

Now I have decided to take the bull by the horns, I'm damn mad and I don't care who in government knows it. Even a letter to the Office of President Dilma has gone nowhere - so now I'm going to the Regional Federal Court with a petition for PERMANÊNCIA DEFINITIVA VIA JUDICIAL.

These idiots in the Federal Police, Ministry of Justice and Conselho Nacional de Imigração seem to forget that there is ALWAYS somebody more powerful than they are and that that somebody is a FEDERAL JUDGE. A federal judge has the ultimate authority to ORDER all of them to do whatever he pleases. So that's where I'm going now. I've just had enough of this insane bureaucracy, incompetence and downright laziness on the part of everybody in the immigrations process.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

WJ

I feel really sorry for all the time you have spent trying to get an answer from the officials here.  Seems the police were busy recently dealing with other matters,  the public protests over corruption. I wish you a speedy solution and all the luck in the world in dealing with this bureaucracy ( seems more like lunacy ) but at any rate I hope a federal judge will order they do what they were supposed to do all along according to their laws. It makes me wonder and worry perhaps I should have applied for permanency at the Brazil consulate in Miami and waited there. But I wanted to be with my wife and I would rather wait here than be separated for the months it would take to do that. So basically my life is on hold while I wait on the documents I need here from them. I wish you best of luck in your endeavors and a speedy answer from a federal judge

What is most revolting of all is the attitude expressed by everyone at the Federal Police and Ministry of Justice, "If you don't like the way we do things why don't you just go back to your own country?" If you complain (and I have) at the delegacy of the Federal Police, they say that right to your face or threaten to lock you up for contempt (desacato policial).

Here you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. You simply bite your tongue and keep your mouth shut, wait for as many years as they decide to take to process your case regardless of how long that might be or how drastic the effects of that delay may be on your life; or you complain loudly about the delays, show them the laws that support your case and run the risk of pissing them off enough to throw you in jail.

It's laughable that the Brazilian government constantly asks itself the question, "Why are there so many ilegal immigrants in Brazil?", when it's they themselves who have created this situation by sticking with an outdated set of immigration laws created during the Military Dictatorship which clearly reflect the authoritarian and oppressive attitudes of the era. This is only compounded by the insane bureaucracy which is a leftover from the colonial period that robs everyone of any incentive to do things efficiently in this country, in truth it rewards them for not doing so. The number of ilegal immigrants grows every year in Brazil simply because the government and the agencies that are responsible for immigrations do everything in their power to impede those who want to immigrate here legally from doing so.

The law is clear - Decreto/Lei 6815, Art. 75, II a&b state that anyone who has a Brazilian child (born or adopted) of whom he has full or shared custody and is financially dependent on him/her cannot be expelled from Brazil under any circumstances. This means that only when the child reaches age of majority, dies or is abandoned not even the President of the Republic can order expulsion.

There is NO logical reason whatsoever, that under these circumstances the issuance of a Permanent Visa and Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro should not be automatic and rapid.

It just makes me sick that while I am, according to every law that exists, legal in this country and can't be expelled - I still don't exist in legal terms and can't do most of the things that a person (especially husband and father) must do because for the past 4 years somebody in Brasília is sitting on his fat ass with his arms crossed doing absolutely nothing for the astronomical salary he/she is earning.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

James, this might make you smile, but when I worked for CBP and Brazilian would complain about how hard it is to get a visa I would reply the same way "Don't like it, leave. A visa is a privilege not a right." - Because the visa may be hard to obtain, but the process doesn't torture you in the mean time. I can not understand why they have not reformed the laws since the military dictatorship - says a lot. The audacity for the Federal Police to say that to you though is absurd - they create the problems not the immigrants because no one is on the same page.

Matt-

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your support.

What really is impossible for me to believe is that when the very law states a person cannot be expelled from the country, why this government and its agents aren't smart enough to understand the fact that it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to deny or delay in issuing that person a visa when their paperwork is in order. What can they possibly gain from this, other than making that person suffer? Sometimes I think that's exactly why they do it here in Brazil.

Anyway, I've had enough of it. Next week I'm going to take all of the nearly 4 years of e-mails that have gone back an forth with both the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice to prove how long I've been trying to get answers and just getting a run-around to an immigrations lawyer and I'm going to take it to Federal Court.

I only hope that the lawyer will tell me that in this God forsaken country that the government can be sued, and if it is possible then I'm going to seek all of my legal costs, fees that I've paid for the visa process, expenses and if possible damages too.

If I can't find a sympathetic judge who can see the injustice of my situation then I'm simply going to send a very nasty letter to  President Dilma Rousseff and tell her exactly what I think, and tell her personally that I'm not going to try anymore for permanency and that I intend to stay here, visa or not, and I am going to challenge her and the Federal Police to try and do something about it. Which by the way they cannot according to the laws of the land.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Maybe that is part of the problem that they want you to have to get an immigration attorney, It seems that until I got one did my marriage documents get processed and that they don't want the ordinary people to handle legal matters maybe that is part of the protocol and system of the Brazilian legal system. That without an attorney they can do what they please and delay all they want. With one they are forced to deal with the judicial system that can overrule anything they do.

Hire yourself a good attorney and go for it maybe the added expense is worth the satisfaction you will get when the judge tells them they have to approve your documents post haste or be in contempt

Well, following my most recent e-mail complaint sent today to the Ministry of Justice I have just received their reply that my original process was only received by them on June 24, 2013 fully one year and six months after having filed it with the Federal Police. They haven't however, given me any indication of when the cadastro will be created.

Needless to say I sent them a very nasty reply, telling them that when I was a child I had an unusual pet, a SLUG and that it moved along with greater speed than this process. I advised them that tomorrow I will be consulting an immigrations lawyer with instructions to take the case to the TRF and petition for Permanência Definitiva Via Judicial and any damages that may be applicable.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Good for you WJ, fight for your rights!

You helped so many people on this forum to be positive about Brazil (thanks!), but it is also good to see you 'human' and with some limits!! Anyway, all of us here know how much Brazil's institutions have no equal in this world to push anyone's limits!! I really do wish you the best to resolve the situation as fast as possible, this stress must be horrible.

FYI, I have a friend who had the same problem with an Amnesty visa, they claimed that she came too late to renew it (which wasn't true, they had sent her back home before it expired but she has no proof) and they tried to expel her.
Finally they did a prolongation, but she decided to get married to her boyfriend to ask for a regular VIPER.

Best of luck!

Hi Emilie,

Well on the positive side, today I went to see the immigrations lawyer here in Macaé. He's an extremely brilliant young man, although born in Brazil was raised in the USA and completely dominates the English language. He has advised me that I'm best off to forget about the Amnesty process and stick with my most recent application for the Permanent Visa based on having a Brazilian child, which CANNOT be refused. He sent somebody from his office to the Federal Police headquarters here in Macaé, where the process is still situated to request that the mark the process file folder as PRIORITY under Law No. 12.008 due to my age and physical disability. He is almost as angry about this whole situation as I am, not charging me one cent, and told me he'll call the Feds every week to see what's happening with the application.

If anybody needs a great lawyer, with expertise in the areas of Immigrations Law, Business Start-up, Visas I will be only too happy to pass his name and contact information along in a private message.

Note: Visa applications for Permanent Visa for Investors can be initiated anywhere in Brazil so I'd recommend seeing this lawyer, he's right on top of things.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi all,

Well, it's amazing just how different things are when a lawyer gets involved in the process.

After nearly 4 years with absolutely nothing happening in my quest for permanency, despite having all the documents in order, complying with every last request from the Federal Police, I finally gave up entirely on that process and entered with another  process, this time a "Pedido de Permanência com base em filho brasileiro".

Less than a few weeks following the intercession (without any charge whatsoever I might add) of the lawyer I spoke to I got the surprise of my life Thursday morning when an agent from the Federal Police phoned to tell me he was on his way to make a home visit (Sindicância) to finalize my application.

He arrived a few minutes later and without a doubt was friendlier and more helpful by a thousand times than anyone I'd ever dealt with in São Paulo. After about 10 minutes and some friendly chat he told me that the process was completed as far as he was concerned, that he saw absolutely no reason why it should be denied and told me to start checking the Ministério da Justiça website in about a month's time to see how it is progressing. You can't imagine my great relief after this nightmare that I've been going through for almost four years now.

I really must say that everyone I've dealt with at the Federal Police in Macaé have been just super. It's a difference of day and night from the reception one gets in São Paulo.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

I am happy you are getting somewhere with the process it also tells me of the next step I must do in September it will be 6 months since I got the protocol for permanencia. I will wait another 6 mo probably we will see what happens on my next Visit to the Federal Police September 17th. It seems things just move faster with the attorney. I am happy they are moving on your case now

I'm really beginning to think that the problem lies in the attitudes of the Federal Police in the major metropolitan areas of Brazil as opposed to the smaller cities in the interior of the states.

In São Paulo, the vast majority of the people you're going to interact with at the Federal Police are civilians, contracted from outside companies. They're not police and they have absolutely no understanding of the laws governing immigration nor do they have any kind of consideration for the people they're dealing with.

Probably, the bulk of the applications that they have to process in itself is the biggest part of the problem. It seems they never work on one case and see it through, they work on them in dribs and drabs as it would appear. Sometimes, like with me it seems that a process just slips through the cracks. So far as I can tell my original application for transformation under the Amnesty Program finally after over a year and a half sitting on somebody's desk at the Federal Police got sent to the Ministry of Justice and has since just mysteriously vanished.

Thankfully, the most recent application for permanency based on having a Brazilian child was made at a small delegacy, different people, better attitude, more humanity and respect. It certainly appears that it's getting the attention that ALL APPLICATIONS deserve, so I'm very happy. I guess too, the fact that somebody from a law office popped in and rattled somebody's cage didn't hurt matters either. LOL

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Excellent news James. Glad progress is being made. I'm going to keep his number in a safe place if my process drags on for several months.

To be totally honest, after all this time fighting I shiver when I think that I'm finally this close to the end of the battle.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Fingers.    Xxxxxxxxxx crossed

I haven't read everything yet (lots of text), but I just wonder, when your child was born, why did you not apply for a visa based on a child?

I have friends that live in Itabapoana (Federal Police district of Macaé) they waited 4 years for the home visit.

Home visits are actually done by real officers and not 3rd parties contracted by the police. I do most my stuff with the Federal Police in Nova Iguaçu, they are much more polite than those at Tom Jobim Airport.

Hi Sven,

To make a long story short, married a Brazilian woman who took me for every last penny I ever had. We split and could never convince her to cooperate with a divorce. Met a wonderful young woman and we've been together ever since and the boy is from this relationship. I never let the other know I had moved on with my life, had found real love in order to keep her from continuing on with the childish war she waged against me. I didn't register the child until a few years ago, when SHE finally decided that she will cooperate with the divorce, didn't want her trying to clean me out again like the first time around. By that time I had already entered into the Amnesty Program.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Makes sense. I've heard that story before.....

Well, four years from starting all this bureaucratic BS I am not one step closer to having my VIPER Permanent Visa. The first process is still stalled in Brasília after all this time. The second process (Pedido de Permanência Definitiva com base em filho brasileiro) is now over 6 months old, has been received by the Ministry of Justice, but has not even been registered yet. In other words, it too is going NOWHERE.

And this is what they call giving someone PRIORITY under Lei 12.008........ if you're a senior citizen or disabled don't count on the Federal Police or Justice Ministry to obey the law. THEY DON'T.

So I have gotten to the end of my patience and am not prepared to put up with this crap anymore. I sent a VERY NASTY e-mail to the Director of the Departamento de Estrangeiro - Ministério da Justiça which I copied to their normal e-mail address as well. I made it absolutely clear that I wasn't even interested in an explanation, because you can't explain the unexplainable. I informed them that I have given up all hope of ever obtaining PR status through the Ministério since they have demonstrated that they are wholly incompetent to perform this task and that the only thing that I wanted now was immediate delivery of copies of ALL of the documents, declarations and other proofs that I have provided over the past four years in order to begin a petition in the Tribunal Regional Federal for Permanência Definitiva Via Judicial.

I have no doubt that once a Federal Judge sees exactly what I've been through over the last four years he/she will agree that it's just too much for anyone to accept and the Court will grant me my PR status. When you can't get things done by going through the proper channels then it's time to go over their heads.

If that doesn't produce any results then I am just going to stop doing anything with regard to immigration. Let them try and deport me with a Brazilian child.... THEY CAN'T.

is there no jetinho(sp?) that would work?