Visa

Please Note – We recieved a letter 6 months after the federal accepted our documents stating that a few of them needed to be at least a year old to continue with the process.  You have 30 days to give the required documents, if you cannot – We can’t, your application will be archived. This didn’t mean in had to leave the country but did mean that I would become ‘irregular’ a mild or nice way to our illegal. I decided to leave the country and work in ships again, however later i found out we could have got our stable union approved in front of a judge and the 1 year old documents would have no longer been required

So. The most worrying part of my Visit to Brazil, seeing as it was for Love, was how can I stay here. Well, we found a way!

A visa based on Stable Union or União estável can be obtained if you are  a hetro-sexual or same-sex couple. Stable Union in Brazil basically means that you declare you are living in a ‘Stable Relationship’ and you wish to continue doing so.

Once you submit the application you receive a protocall number which is like a Waiting Visa – this allows you to do everything a visa would, and its valid until they make a decision!  Please not we did not hire a lawyer. Everything was done independently.

We applied at our local Federal, and DID NOT send the documents to Brasilia (they done this for us!) They will give you a list of required documents, some with multiple options. Here are the documents we provided for my application

1. A photocopy of every page of my passport – The passport was not legalised at the consulate in UK, just checked by the workers at the federal.

2. A photocopy of every page of my partners workers book, with the current employer signuture recognised in a cartorio

3. A newly applied for Criminal Record Check and legalised at the brazilian consulate in the UK (This has to be done in your own country, I sent my documents to my parents, got them to send to the consulate, then got them to send back to me) then sworn translated here in Brazil

4. A public stable union / Uniao Estavel document (the more expensive one) between me and my partner

6. A Document done at the cartorio which stated my partner would be responsible for me financially while i am waiting for my visa

5. A declaration which I made stating that I was single in my country. My signature was then recognised.

6. My birth certificate which was legalised at the Brazilian consulate in my country then translated by a sworn translator here in Brazil. This was to support my Single Status, but was not listed on the application requirements.

7. Life insurace that my partner got  naming me on the policy to receive – We chose this as we couldnt put my name on the Apartment Contract

8. Health insurance – This was a worry because i did not have a residency number, but actually we found some companies which accept applications from foreigners with their passport!

9. 2 witness statements from friends stating – I (name) CPF NUMBER, PASSPORT NUMBER, ID NUMBER… also stating that They know you are in a stable relationship stating for how long, they state your intentions to live in Brasil. Then signatures recognised at the cartorio.

10. The payment of the application fee – given to us by the federal and paid at any bank or supermarket

11. My partners Documents photocopied (ID etc)

12. My partners payslips for up to the last 6 months to prove funds are there to support me. We also supplied online print outs of the Food cards given from the work, and copies of the actual cards.

13. Photo copy of my CPF – Easily obtained at a Correios

14. A photocopy of a bill in my name – We chose to change the engergy bill.

Things that stumped us:

CPF – Yes you can get one, Easily and quick. Apply at the Post office. Get a protocall number. Check online for the status. Go to the place that deals with CPF applications and give your details again in person. I was told this was an interview. It was not. Simply just getting my details again. They then gave me a printable CPF – Aparently they dont send cards in the mail anymore, but, i got one anyway!

Bank Accounts – Its not nessersary to get a Joint Bank account as there are other options on the application. We found it basically impossible as i needed the Residency number (i think its called RNE) which you dont get until your a resident!

Health Insurace – Yes you can get it! Call around local insurances and just state the situation. They were happy to apply with my passport number, and give me the protocall number & basic information that day!

Protocall – The plus doing the application with the Federal is you get the number instantly – keeping you in Brasil! If I sent the documents to Brasilia, i could potentially be Illegal without knowing it! I can now travel in and out of the country as long as i dont stay outside the country for more than 3 months. The protocall needs to be renewed after 6 months, until Brasilia makes a decision – This could take a while!

I can now do everything that I could do if I was an actual resident. E.g. Work, Bank account etc.

Warning

I got upset many times, because everytime we went to the federal we seemed to see a different person who told us we needed different things. Just always remember to take the list they give you, and just try and get Everything it states. We didnt have Health insurance as we were waiting for my partners company to confirm, we were told it was fine to send the application. The next day we were told it wasn’t. So we just took out another policy. As long as you have all the documents on the list. Its fine! This is a new type of Visa so expect some doubt!

I understand this can be a stressful time, so if I can help in any way don’t hesitate to contact me!

Good luck to everyone,

Chris

P.s. A site I was using for help (and hope!) was http://www.gringoes.com/forum/ Just be aware that the information is from a personal point of view, and not always fact! Remember this is a new type of Visa, so people stories are sometimes very different as it seems there is no ‘Right way’ to apply for it!