PLEASE NOTE THAT NEW PROCEDURES FOR PERMANENCY APPLICATIONS BASED ON MARRIAGE / STABLE RELATIONSHIP / BRAZILIAN BORN CHILD HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE SINCE SEPTEMBER 1, 2014. THIS HAS STREAMLINED AND SPED UP THE PERMANENCY PROCESS. PLEASE SEE THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=403321
Some of the major changes are that:
a) Provided that all the documents are present and in order, permanency is granted immediately upon acceptance of the application, and your passport will be stamped to reflect permanent status.
b) There is no longer a home visit (sindicância) conducted by the Policia Federal.
c) All three processes; applying for permanency, registering in the RNE and applying for your civil ID (Cédula de Identidade Estrangeiro) are now all done at the same time, as opposed to under the old system where you had to do each one separately as the previous step was completed.
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Getting married in Brazil it is a complex and long multi-step process for foreigners.
The first step is to gather all the necessary documents in your home country and the ones that must be "legalized" by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil (in country of issue) before you do anything else. I will list the documents you need at the end.
The next step is to apply for your VITUR Tourist Visa, you have to hope that you will be granted a 90 day visa stay, since they are not all for that length of time. This depends on the visa officer who issues the visa. If you get a visa for anything less than 90 days it is unlikely you will have time to get married in Brazil before the visa stay expires. It can take anywhere from a month to two months to get through the whole marriage process.
The first step once you arrive in Brazil with all the correct documents is that you and your future spouse go immediately to the Cartório de Registro Civil e Pessoas Naturais (Civil Registry) where she lives, submit all the documents and apply for PERMISSION to marry. The Cartório will probably give you a date for the wedding a month or two from that date. This is because the request for permission to marry must be sent to the Brazilian government, the government will then publish the marriage banns in the Official Gazette (Diário Oficial da União) for 30 days, after thirty days have passed and if there are no objections, then the permission will be granted and also published in the Diário Oficial da União. Only then can you get married.
Once you are married then you should immediately go to the Policia Federal - Setor de Estrangeiros (Federal Police - Foreigner Sector) with your original Marriage Certificate and other necessary documents and apply for a VIPER Permanent Visa (com base em cônjuge brasileiro/a). When your visa application is accepted the Federal Police will issue you a protocolo which bears your photo, basic information about your identity, nationality, parent's names, etc., which will be valid for 180 days. The protocolo allows you to remain legally in the country until the visa process is completed. This can take anywhere from one year to two years under normal circumstances, even longer if there is any problem. So, you will have to continue going back to the Federal Police every six months (before the expiry date on the protocolo) to get it extended (prorrogação). They will stamp it and it will be valid for a further 180 days. You need to keep doing this until you finally get the visa issued.
Once you apply for a VIPER visa based on marriage, it carries with it the right to obtain a work permit (Carteira de Trabalho) and work. You will have to request that the Federal Police note clearly on the protocolo that the application for the visa is based on marriage. They should also issue you a document called a SINCRE (Sistema Nacional de Cadastro e Registro de Estrangeiros) which is a computer printout of all of the personal information about you that is contained in the Federal Police database. You will need the protocolo and SINCRE in order to apply for the work permit, which can only be done at the Superintendência Regional de Ministério de Trabalho (Ministry of Labor - Regional Superintendent's Office). If the Federal Police refuse to issue the SINCRE when you apply, which they sometimes do, then the Ministry of Labor will accept a certified copy of your Marriage Certificate. You must also take the ORIGINAL to show them. Just like the protocolo, your work permit will only be valid for the period of time shown on the protocolo (180 days) and every time you go back to the Federal Police to extend the protocolo you will also have to take your work permit back to the Ministry of Labor and extend that as well, until you have the permanent visa, only at this point the Ministry of Labor will stamp the work permit as permanent.
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR MARRIAGE PROCESS
1. Original of your Birth Certificate (Long Form), which must have been issued within the previous 180 days or it will not be considered valid in Brazil. The long form is the registration of your birth which shows the full names of both of your parents, their nationality, etc. A wallet sized Birth Certificate IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, since it doesn't show your parents' names. The original Birth Certificate must be LEGALIZED BY THE CONSULADO-GERAL DO BRASIL in the country where it is issued AND THEN IT MUST ALSO BE AUTHENTICATED BY THE ISSUING COUNTRY'S CONSULATE IN BRAZIL or DEPT. OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS if done in the issuing nation. This is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY so don't omit this step or you won't be able to marry in Brazil. That must be done within the 180 day period that the document is considered valid. Once "legalized" by the Consulate then it will continue to be valid until used in Brazil. When you arrive in Brazil the Birth Certificate must be translated into Portuguese by a notarized translator (Tradutor Juramentada). The origninal of the Birth Certificate and translation must be submitted together to the Cartório at the time you apply for permission to marry. Get two Certified copies made of the Birth Certificate because you may be asked for one in the Permanent Visa process
2. A clear and legible Certified copy of your passport; identification page and visa page(s) - Note: Take the original passport to the Cartório, they will make the certified copies there. Get two Certified copies made since you need one for Permanent Visa process
3. A clear and legible Certified copy of your Entry Card - Note: again the Cartório will make this copy for you so take the original.
4. If you are single and never married before you need a Declaration from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in your home country) that you are single. This must be "legalized" by the Consulado-Geral (in country of issue) and be translated into Portuguese here in Brazil.
If you are divorced then you will need to produce either your Divorce Decree (final/absolute) in its entirety or a Divorce Certificate which is issued by the Court that granted the divorce. If you submit the Divorce Certificate it must also have been issued within the previous 180 days to be valid, so you can't use one you may already have, you have to obtain a new one from the Court. Whichever of these documents you intend to submit must also be "legalized" by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil (in country of issue) and translated into Portuguese in Brazil. It will also need to be authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in the country of issue) or their Consulate/Embassy in Brazil.
Your prospective spouse must submit the following:
1. Original identity document (Registro Geral)
2. Original Social Security Card (CPF - Cadastro de Pessoas Fisicas)
3. Original Birth Certificate
4. Proof of address (usually a telephone / electric / water bill will suffice)
5. Proof of date and location of birth of his/her parents (usually contained on your spouse's Birth Certificate)
NOTE: The legal / document requirements may vary from state to state so you must check with the Cartório where you will marry if they require any additional documents.
Documents Required for VIPER Permanent Visa Application
1. Completed application form, signed by the applicant.
2. Clear and legible Certified copy of applicant's passport (ALL PAGES - even if blank) or equivalent travel document.
3. Clear and legible Certified copy of applicant's Entry Card.
4. Certified Criminal Record Check / Police Conduct Certificate issued in country where you reside, may not be more than 90 days before sumbission or not considered valid. This document must also be "legalized" by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in the country of issue.
5. 2 3 cm X 4 cm color photographs of applicant (on white background) Note: sunglasses or eyeglasses which might reflect light/flash must not be worn in these photos
6. International certificate of vaccination (if requested)
7. Clear and legible Certified Copy of Birth Certificate (if requested) or Marriage Certificate in the case of married women.
8. Proof of address (in Brazil) - phone/electric/water bill
9. Bank receipt for payment of visa fee (GRU - Guia de Recolhimento da União)
10. Any other documents that may be requested by the Federal Police.
NOTE #1: If you are required to provide any kind of DECLARATION, these must be have the signature of the declarant certified by the Cartório (Reconhecimento da firma por autenticidade - ONLY; note that there are two different kinds of "reconhecimento" so make sure you specify the right one, this is also the more expensive of the two types, the declarant must appear in person at the Cartório and produce identification).
NOTE #2: Religious/Church weddings are purely symbolic in Brazil, they do not have the force of law, since religious leaders do not have authority to issue Marriage Certificates. In fact, most churches will not perform the ceremony unless the celebrants have already been married in a civil cerimony.
NOTES RE: - PROXY MARRIAGES (CASAMENTO POR PROCURAÇÃO)
While Proxy Marriages are recognized in Brazil, they ARE NOT intended for those who have never before been in Brazil. They are intended to allow a marriage to take place when one or both of the parties may, for whatever reason, be unable to be present at the wedding.
In order to arrange for a Proxy Marriage, BOTH parties must attend the Cartório TOGETHER, submit all the required documents and the party who is unable to be present will elect a Proxy (Procurador/a), who is empowered to stand in at the marriage and to sign the register.
Cheers,
James https://www.expat.com Experts Team