Hello Everyone!
Exciting topic I know. 
My husband, son and I are going to be moving to Belo Horizonte in a couple of months. My husbands company is currently taking care of the visa, which was submitted in early November. I hear that getting the insurance is also a long process so I want to get the paperwork ready to go. I cannot seem to get clear answers from the insurance broker, the attorneys, etc., on what exactly we need to have in order to apply.
I believe we need our marriage certificate and my son's birth certificate, along with some other forms. What I need to know however is with the above certificates, do they need to be apostilled, notarized or legalized and if so where does this need to take place? And my son was born in Panama so how would his be legalized or apostilled? Right now we only have a notarized copy.
I know they need to be translated as well but I have heard this can take place at a consulate in the states but then we were also told it can ONLY take place in Brazil.
We are getting a lot of information, but none of it is very clear. I would appreciate any help on this!!!
Thank you,
Carla
Required Documents for Health Insurance
Hi Carla,
First of all any documents to be translated MUST be translated by a notarized translator (Tradutor Juramentado) here in Brazil, so don't waste your time and money with the Consulate.
All documents that require legalization, must be legalized by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in the country in which those documents are issued.
However, if the documents being asked for are simply for the purpose of arranging insurance and NOT FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES, then they shouldn't need to be legalized at all. You should check with your company's lawyers again to find out.
For the visa, yes they need legalization.
Cheers,
William James Woodward, Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team
Thank you so much William! I was able to get more information from you in one post than I have been able to from attorneys and insurance brokers over 100 emails. 
I really appreciate your help,
Carla
Hi Carla,
Funny how that goes sometimes, you often get lots more for free from somebody you don't even know than you do from somebody you're paying a king's ransom to be working for YOU. It seems to be especially true here in Brazil unfortunately.
If you need any furher information don't hesitate to post another topic or send me a PM.
Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team
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