I have two questions about Stable Union

08/02/22 Not a lawyer but my understanding is this, and this is from someone in a stable union here in Brazil.

1 - You lose it if you spend more than 2 years out of the country and if you end the stable union.

2 - From the moment you enter into the union, anything you earn from them on is shared between both people. So any income or assets acquired since entering into the stable union is jointly owned unless specifically agreed otherwise prior with some form of notarised agreement.

This is how my lawyer explained to me and my wife here. 

- @English Penguin

This is great info - do we know the right person who has done this that can advise me on the process urgently? Thankyou!

05/02/23 This is great info - do we know the right person who has done this that can advise me on the process urgently? Thankyou!
-@Jamos

Hi, Jamos.  Are you currently in Brazil on a tourist visa and interested in establishing a união estável with a Brazilian partner?

@abthree Yes

05/02/23 @abthree Yes
-@Jamos

You and your partner should go to the nearest cartório that registers births, marriages, etc., tell them that you'd like to register a união estável, and ask them what you have to do.  If you haven't overstayed your visa, and if you're both unmarried, they should be willing to do it for you, even if one of you is a foreigner.  Some cartórios are hesitant to do that, but all cartórios are a little different from each other so if they balk, try another one.

Thankyou very much folks - what a great forum!

So... progressing - I took your advice and we went to the Cartorio and received the list of documents required to process the civil union - I have applied to my home country for a digital copy of my birth certificate which can be faxed to my embassy in SP, and they have confirmed they can apostle it - and then it needs to be sworn translated. They've also said with the documents I have they can produce the CNI, a No Impediment to Marriage form. I've also applied for a Police check to confirm I don't have any criminal history, which is needed for the permanent visa application - and will apparently take longer, as they wont accept the digital copy sent earlier - and need to have the original sent to me in my home country and then sent to me here...

Here are the challenges which I wonder if anyone has any insights into / can help with..

• The Cartorio de Notas for the civil union needs my 'original' apostled and translated birth certificate and I believe the consular will do this with the official copy faxed to them directly by the Births and Deaths office  in my jurisdiction. They say they will. I hope they will.
• My 6 months of tourist visa expires in 2 days, and the visa expert in SP has told me to go to the Federal Police the day after it expires (on the 11th), and explain to them the situation, and they should provide me with a 60 day notice - not an extension of my visa, but a notice of leaving the country within 60 days and charge me about 150 reals. I hope this will be recognised in my passort and not cause any issues with the Cartorio de Notas for the civil union, or the Federal Police for the permanent visa application..
• For the Permanent visa, the Federal Police Brazil need a Police check provided by the Police in my country - which has also been applied for - they send a digital copy first - but I am told by my embassy this cannot be used to be apostled - but agents tell me to print it on good paper (as it is exactly the same) and they should accept it. Whats your experience here? If waiting for the original another few weeks (to be sent to my home address then couriered to Brazil, is anyone aware if I can get this apostled anywhere other than my embassies?
• I wonder if I get all these documents within 30 days, if the remaining 30 days will be enough to get the permanent residency via the Federal Police, or are there any other cooncerns / potential bureaucracy that I should be aware of..

Many thanks again for your help - and I hope this helps others too!

05/08/23 @jamos.  That's great that the Australian Consulate will provide you with apostilles.  I've never heard of a Consulate doing that before. 

You can get Sworn Translations yourself, if you need to.  Do a search on "Tradutores Juramentados (name of city)" to find approved Sworn Translators near you.

If your criminal background check is being sent to you from your home in hard copy, be sure to have it sent fastest way, which probably means a express services (DHL, FedEx, etc.) rather than the Post Office.

If you've already been in Brazil for 180 days, the best thing to do is probably what's been suggested to you.  If it's been 90 days, you should be able to extend for another 90 days.

Sixty days will be cutting it close.  Anything you can do to hasten the arrival of your documents from home will be worth doing.  Good luck.

05/08/23 @jamos. The documents you'll need to present to the Federal Police for residency after you have the União Estável appear here:

https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br/assuntos/se … residencia

Go down the page to the gray block that says this, that's the correct list:

Autorização de residência com base em reunião familiar:

Make sure that your partner is with you when you go to the Federal Police and that they bring the documents required from them on the list, as well.

Thanks a lot folks -

So the digital version of the police report arrived - but will take weeks to get the original couriered here.

Sworn translators will happily do the translation with the printed digital version.

Hoping that will be enough for the Notary office to do the civil union...

I think though that the Federal Police will need it apostled like the birth cert and the no obstruction to marriage form that the consular provided.

Question on this - Proof of economic dependence, in the case of an older brother of an eighteen-year-old Brazilian or an immigrant with a residence permit.

Do we know what is required to prove this? I'm hoping a credit card with a confirmed borrowing capacity will do it.. ?

And with all this in place, do we know how long the Federal Police in BH need to provide the permanent visa?

Many thanks folks!

05/17/23 Question on this - Proof of economic dependence, in the case of an older brother of an eighteen-year-old Brazilian or an immigrant with a residence permit.
Do we know what is required to prove this? I'm hoping a credit card with a confirmed borrowing capacity will do it.. ?
-@Jamos

*Edited*  That document requirement doesn't apply in your case.  That's for people trying to bring a sibling older than eighteen into Brazil from abroad as a resident, which is only permitted if the sibling is handicapped and completely dependent on the petitioner for support.

Sorry, I don't know the answers to your other questions.

Dear all, good morning. I have been following these posts regarding Stable Union and getting a marriage registered at a Cartorio now for a while. My partner and me visited a few Cartorios in Vitoria, Espirito Santo to get our Stable Union registered. However, the requirement for documents vary as per the Cartorio. It has been a few months that we have been trying to get it registered, but with no luck.

Can anyone please suggest a good lawyer who can assist us?

12/05/23    Dear all, good morning. I have been following these posts regarding Stable Union and getting a marriage registered at a Cartorio now for a while. My partner and me visited a few Cartorios in Vitoria, Espirito Santo to get our Stable Union registered. However, the requirement for documents vary as per the Cartorio. It has been a few months that we have been trying to get it registered, but with no luck. Can anyone please suggest a good lawyer who can assist us?        -@LukeinBrazil

Good morning.  One of the frustrating things about the cartório system is that each one has slightly different requirements for processes that are supposed to be the same.  It makes sense to do as you and your partner did to visit several, and to use the one for which you'll have to do the least additional work. 

As for finding an attorney, the best approach is always to pulse your partner's family and friends for suggestions first.  Someone with a personal connection to the family is more likely to do a good job for you, or at least to recommend someone trustworthy.

Failing that, you could start your search with Expat.com's partner in this area:

https://partners.expat.com/en/35-133-legamart.html

If that doesn't work for you, the US and Australian Embassies have listings of English-speaking Brazilian attorneys in many capitals on their websites; other major English-speaking countries may, as well.  The Embassies do not vouch for these attorneys as professionals, only that they have relevant credentials and speak English.

Finally, you can look for an attorney through jusbrasil.com.br.  You and your partner should interview any attorney you identify and make sure that you feel comfortable with them as a professional and a person:

https://www.jusbrasil.com.br/l/advogados-online

What the cartório, and later the Federal Police, will want to be sure of is:

• that you are who you say that you are and provide the names of your parents;
• that your relationship is genuine, and not for immigration purposes;
• that you intend your relationship to be permanent;
• that you both satisfy the legal requirements (i.e. never married or with legal proof that previous marriages have ended) for the status your requesting;
• that you both intend to live in Brazil indefinitely.

So your lawyer will want  assurance of the same things, and all the supporting documents that you can provide.  All parties will principally want these reassurances from your Brazilian partner, so you both should be prepared for that.

Wow @abthree, thank you very much for this detailed information and the prompt reply. I am going to look into things here, in particular the Lawyers and see if anything can be done. Quite complicated it is, the procedure I mean, but I guess all good things take time and effort.

Thank you once again.