Getting married in Brazil, Permanent Visa and documents required

Good luck ! Mr James is the backbone of this forum. Glad to see his posts helped you as they have helped so many others, too.

Thank-you so much for your kind words. It's nice to know that I have been able to help you so much.

If you were married outside of Brazil --- One important thing to do if you haven't already done so... YOU MUST ALSO REGISTER YOUR MARRIAGE HERE IN BRAZIL. This should be done at the 1° Oficio de Registro Civil in the city where you live in Brazil (or at Brasilia, whichever you choose). This is very important and is required even though you've registered the marriage with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil.

The documents required for your permanency application are:

1.     Completed application form, signed by the applicant. get the document here and fill it out by hand: http://www.justica.gov.br/seus-direitos … todipe.pdf

Next go to the Policia Federal website and follow the steps to fill out the online information, schedule your appointment, generate and print the GRUs. https://servicos.dpf.gov.br/sincreWeb/

(see more instructions here:  http://www.dpf.gov.br/servicos/estrange … -casamento )

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.

Good luck with your application for permanency. They're pretty nice at the DPF so you'll get help from them if you're not too sure of what to do.

James: if both the man and wife are foreigners and married outside brazil then also they need to register ? And what if they dont ? Thelaw doesnt recognize religious marriages?