Permanent visa

Hi, Chood,

It can certainly appear daunting and is a bit complicated, but if you follow the process step by step and have your documents in order, it isn't too difficult -- or won't be, once Covid-19 is behind us.

Your wife is Brazilian, so you should be able to qualify for permanent residency.  If you married in Britain and haven't done it yet, you should register your marriage at the Brazilian Consulate General responsible for your region in the UK.  They will give you a "Certidão Consular" which will help greatly in applying for your visa, and for registering your marriage in Brazil once you get here.  If you were married in Brazil, you already have a Brazilian marriage certificate from a cartório, and this will be recognized by both the Consulate and the authorities in Brazil with no further documentation of your marriage required.

As of November 2017, Brazilian Consulates abroad no longer issue permanent visas.  The old permanent visas were replaced with a series of temporary visas, that allow a foreigner into Brazil to apply to the Federal Police for permanent residency.  As the spouse of a Brazilian this should not be a problem, but you will have to go through both processes, so you should know the documentation requirements of both, and save time by gathering them all at once, to the extent possible.  In the eyes of the Brazilian government, your wife will be exercising her right to bring you to Brazil as her spouse, so having her with you at both the Consulate and the Federal Police will help move the process along.

You'll be applying for a VITEM XI visa, the type intended to allow spouses of Brazilians to enter the country and apply for permanency.  Requirements can vary some between Consulates, so check the website of the one responsible for where you live to be sure of obtaining the right documents.

Once you arrive in Brazil, you should apply for permanence with the Federal Police of the city where you intend to live, ideally within 30 days of arrival.  The current list of documents required by the Federal Police appears here:
http://www.pf.gov.br/servicos-pf/imigra … o-familiar

As you approach your departure date,  you should check the Federal Police website frequently, to be informed of any changes to the requirements.

Once you have completed the process at the Federal Police and your CRNM, your identity card, arrives from Brasília, you can apply for a Labor Card from the Labor Department of the state where you live.   The Labor Card will allow you to work legally.  You may be able to try applying with the "Protocolo" you receive from the Federal Police before your card arrives, but that may not be accepted by the state authorities.

That's a great help, thank you very much.

We were married in the UK 3 years ago, and on our last visit to Brazil, we actually registered our marriage there. So we have both certs. We also got my CPF then too. Will that make anything easier (apart from maybe opening a bank account!).

I will read about the visa you mentioned and collate the paperwork.

Thanks again for all your information.

Great that you already have your CPF:  that will be very helpful.   You use your CPF here more often than your ID Card.  And with your marriage already registered,  it just a matter of getting your British documents together,  paying your fees - Brazilian official actions almost always have fees! - and getting through the processes.