Federal Constitution and the Foreigners Act, what you need to know.

Without a doubt the two most important pieces of Brazilian legislation for expats are the CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL DE 1988 and Decreto/Lei 6.815 de 1980, commonly know as the "Lei de Estrangeiro" (Foreigners Law). Both of these have great relevance and impact on our day-to-day lives in Brazil, so it is worthwhile to understand some of the major points of both and whether or not they even apply to us.

How is it possible that the law, especially the Foreigners Act, may not apply to us? you may ask. Well that's rather simple to respond to...

As in all democratic nations the LAW must conform strictly to the nation's CONSTITUTION. The Constitution of the Federated Republic of Brazil is the document that overrides all else. All laws, regardless of when they were enacted MUST conform strictly to the Constitution. That is not to say that where a law does not conform the law in its entirety is null and void, but rather that certain sections of that law clearly may be. Those that do not conform must be re-written, or are subject to challenge on Constitutional grounds, and the Constitution leaves no room for doubt.

Decreto/Lei 6.815 was enacted in 1980, toward the end of the Military Regime in Brazil and it reflects the autocratic and authoritarian attitudes of the era. It has changed little since that time and many sections clearly do not comply to the Constitution, bearing in mind that when we talk about laws we talk both about the 'letter of the law' and the 'spirit of the law' (its intended meaning).

So let's first look at the most relevant and important sections of the Constitution as it pertains to us (expats).

Art. 1º A República Federativa do Brasil, formada pela união indissolúvel dos Estados e Municípios e do Distrito Federal, constitui-se em Estado Democrático de Direito e tem como fundamentos:

III - a dignidade da pessoa humana;
IV - os valores sociais do trabalho e da livre iniciativa;

This means we all have the Constitutional right to be treated with dignity by everyone, including authorities. It also means that we have a Constitutional right to work and to entrepreneurship (according to the law).

Art. 3º Constituem objetivos fundamentais da República Federativa do Brasil:

IV - promover o bem de todos, sem preconceitos de origem, raça, sexo, cor, idade e quaisquer outras formas de discriminação.

This means that we cannot be subjected to any form of discrimination against our origin, race, gender, color, age or any other form of discrimination.

The next Article is too extensive to go into here, so I will touch on only the most important clauses.

Art. 5º Todos são iguais perante a lei, sem distinção de qualquer natureza, garantindo-se aos brasileiros e aos estrangeiros residentes no País a inviolabilidade do direito à vida, à liberdade, à igualdade, à segurança e à propriedade, nos termos seguintes:

I - homens e mulheres são iguais em direitos e obrigações, nos termos desta Constituição;
II - ninguém será obrigado a fazer ou deixar de fazer alguma coisa senão em virtude de lei;
IV - é livre a manifestação do pensamento, sendo vedado o anonimato;
V - é assegurado o direito de resposta, proporcional ao agravo, além da indenização por dano material, moral ou à imagem;
VI - é inviolável a liberdade de consciência e de crença, sendo assegurado o livre exercício dos cultos religiosos e garantida, na forma da lei, a proteção aos locais de culto e a suas liturgias;
IX - é livre a expressão da atividade intelectual, artística, científica e de comunicação, independentemente de censura ou licença;
X - são invioláveis a intimidade, a vida privada, a honra e a imagem das pessoas, assegurado o direito a indenização pelo dano material ou moral decorrente de sua violação;
XI - a casa é asilo inviolável do indivíduo, ninguém nela podendo penetrar sem consentimento do morador, salvo em caso de flagrante delito ou desastre, ou para prestar socorro, ou, durante o dia, por determinação judicial;

This Article is the most important of all since it guarantees that EVERYONE is equal before the law, both Brazilian and Foreigners residing in Brazil have all the same rights and protections, save those that are specifically reserved for citizens in this Constitution.

I - men and women are equal in law;
II - noone shall be obligated to do, or not do anything except by virtue of law;
IV - free expression of thought, except in anonymity;
V - the right to reply, proportional to wrong done, besides indemnification for damages (material, moral or to image);
VI - freedom of religion;
IX - freedom of expression of intelectual activity, artistic, scientific and communication, free from censorship or license;
X - iviolability of intimacy, private life, honor and image of people, securing the right to indemnification for damages resulting from their violation;
XI - the home is the inviolable asylum of the individual, noone shall enter it without the consent of the dweller except in case of 'flagrante de delito' (hot persuit) or disaster, or to render first-aid, or, during the day, with an Order of the Court;

Art. 226. A família, base da sociedade, tem especial proteção do Estado.

This means that the family is the base of society and has special protection of the State.  This is what gives expats who are married to / in a stable relationship with a Brazilian citizen, or who has a child born in Brazil the Constitutional right to permanency. This is exactly why the whole process of granting 'Permanência Definitiva' was changed on September 1, 2014. It was done to bring it into compliance with the Constitution.

In my next posting I will deal with Decreto/Lei 6.815 of 1980 and discuss the main points as to where it applies to all of us. More importantly I will point out portions of the law that clearly do not conform to the Federal Constitution and as such we can challenge their validity if need be.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team