Need some insight

@Nap380

Hello,

I can answer a few things.

I believe when you visit in April is when the new visitor visas for Canadians start, for entering Brazil. I forget the exact date, so I would look that up.

I was going to sponsor my wife originally for canada. However, the wait times were long over a year. So I ended up getting my family reunification visa. However, we did that while I was in Brazil and since your not married or in a stable union that is kind of off the table for you currently.

Another idea we had was since we're were married. I could bring my wife to canada on a visitor visa and do an inland sponsorship for her, as her spouse. That would mean she could have gotten an open work permit while the process was under way.

Getting married helped in Brazil helped us a lot for document verification and translation.  However, I ended up leaving Brazil for canada and doing visa information from the consulate, which helped knock down some of the bureaucratic issues we faced in brazil.

Getting married I found was the best way to ease immigration issues on both ends.

03/01/24 @Nap380.  Welcome!  Based on your story as you've told it, I would agree with @Canforbra that your best bet would probably be to get married in Brazil and for the two of you to live here, at least for a while.  If you arrive fully prepared, then with a little luck it shouldn't be too hard. 

There's no tactful way to ask this question, so I'll just ask it straight out, because it's extremely important:  is your fiancée still going to want to marry you if it means living in Brazil?  There's no point in going to the work that will be required if her heart is set on emigration. 

Assuming that the answer is "yes", you'll need to obtain all of the Canadian documents relative to marriage on this list and bring them with you; having duplicate originals is always a good idea:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1058676

You'll need duplicates of some of these documents to get married in Brazil.  The sequence of events would be:

• arrive in Brazil
• obtain Sworn Translations of your Canadian documents
• get married at a Brazilian registry office, a "cartório"
• apply for Brazilian residency at the Polícia Federal (PF)

This year, Canada became a participant in the Hague Apostille Convention, which makes things easier for Canadians coming to Brazil:  their Canadian documents used to need legalization at a Brazilian Consulate, but now can be legalized by Canadian officials with an "apostille" that the Brazilian Government recognizes.  Contact Global Affairs Canada to find out who the Apostille Authorities in Canada are.  In the United States, Federal documents require an apostille from the Federal Government, and State documents require an apostille from the responsible State; I'm not sure whether Canada is following a similar procedure, or if all apostilles will come from your Federal Government.

As soon as you arrive in Brazil, you should locate a Sworn Translator, and have your documents and apostiles translated.  This is a legal requirement for using your documents in Brazil.  A search on "Traduções Juramentadas (name of city)" should identify Sworn Translators near you. 

While you're finding a Sworn Translator,  you and your fiancée should go to the cartório most convenient to her (or the one that specializes in marriages, if there is one) to confirm the requirements.  In fact, it would probably help if she had a preliminary discussion with them before you even arrived.  Generally, cartórios require a 30 day waiting period between issuing the marriage license and performing the marriage, so you have to include that in your calculations.  In preparation for visiting the cartório, your fiancée may find reading this helpful:

https://www.casamentocivil.com.br/estra … -no-brasil

Cartórios will not marry you if your visa has expired, and the PF may object to processing you for residency if your visa has expired, so you want to get all this done before you're in an overstay situation.,

Once you're married and have your Brazilian Marriage Certificate, you can apply for residency via the PF's MigranteWeb system.  Once you're married, I imagine that you can also apply to the Canadian Embassy in Brazil for a spousal visa for your wife, and approach it that way.

Thomas,

It has been a while since I looked at that process.  However, just by looking at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-re … dren.html, the waiting list for getting the permanent residency is 12 months in English Canada vs 36months for Quebec. 

Not sure if you need to be in Montreal - but if you apply for Ottawa or Toronto, you will benefit from a shorter processing time.

I agree that given the long waiting list to get the permanent residency for your spouse, getting married in Brazil and then starting the whole Canada residency process from Brazil - as explained by Abthree - would ensure that your spouse and you stay together as a married couple the whole time.

Good luck.

@Nap380

@abthree makes such a good point.. albeit somewhat indirectly.

Your problem is to convince the authorities that your relationship/marriage is the genuine article. They are absolutely looking for marriages of convenience to circumvent the rules - and yours looks decidedly fishy. Sorry.

    03/03/24 @Nap380
@abthree makes such a good point.. albeit somewhat indirectly.

    -@Peter Itamaraca

Peter, you give me too much credit:  I was trying to be tactful, not indirect.  I'm just not very skillful at either. 😂

Thank you so much everyone for your answers and insight.

You have no idea how much we appreciate it! 

About your question @Abthree if my fiancée still going to want to marry me if it means living in Brazil?

I can 100% say yes to that. We even talk about that and I think she would prefer that to be honest.

@Peter Itamaraca, It might sound fishy the way I wrote it here, but it is completely sincere and genuine. I get that we have to show the authorities it is genuine and we will.

I guess its a patience game at this point but I definitively consider moving there if it means be with her during the lenghty process.

Thank you again everyone.

God bless

Thomas

   
03/05/24 About your question @Abthree if my fiancée still going to want to marry me if it means living in Brazil?
I can 100% say yes to that. We even talk about that and I think she would prefer that to be honest.

Thank you again everyone.
God bless
Thomas
    -@Nap380

Thomas, in that case, I think that if you follow my advice above to the letter and make sure that you have all the right documents, and you two act as quickly as you can, you should be ok.  Best of luck to you!

Applications for visas are still on backlog. 2 years waiting +++ for my kiddos authentication of citizenship ( first generation only ). Not moved one bit even though they have all the accurate information. When your down. Set aside the Canadian mentality ( Canadian here too ) things are super different in vast comparisons for better and worse ! Good luck !

@Peter Itamaraca, It might sound fishy the way I wrote it here, but it is completely sincere and genuine. I get that we have to show the authorities it is genuine and we will.
I guess its a patience game at this point but I definitively consider moving there if it means be with her during the lenghty process.

Thank you again everyone.
God bless
Thomas
   

    -@Nap380

Great to hear that you are fully aware of the challenges facing you - good luck to you both.

About your question @Abthree if my fiancée still going to want to marry me if it means living in Brazil?
I can 100% say yes to that. We even talk about that and I think she would prefer that to be honest.
@Peter Itamaraca, It might sound fishy the way I wrote it here, but it is completely sincere and genuine. I get that we have to show the authorities it is genuine and we will.
I guess its a patience game at this point but I definitively consider moving there if it means be with her during the lenghty process.
    -@Nap380

@Nap380, before I joined the Brazil forum on this expat site, I had no idea of the intricacies of inter-country marriages.  However, the experts above have seen and helped many forum participants deal with / resolve those challenges. 

I would recommend going through the various threads posted by the contributors (@abthree, @roddiesho, etc.) to see what awaits you along the way.

Having lived in Canada for a while, I have noticed that your fiancee and you already have something in common.  Both of you are used to being patient.  People in the USA tend to not be that patient.  Processes in Canada do take their sweet time.  I am in the same predicament as @Canforbra w.r.t kids citizenship documentation - but this does not bother me.....

Good luck in your upcoming wonderful event.  Don't forget to apply for the e-visa if you intend to get into Brazil after April 10, 2024.  This e-visa is required for tourists from Canada.

Thank you all again. I know it will be challenging but we will be alright, methodical and patient. Thank for all your insight and encouragments.

Quick question about marrying her there. I understand the list of documents needed, but is it true that my documents translated and apostilled are only valid for a 3 months period ? I saw that somewhere and I am a bit confuse. Of course I'll continue to go read and dig up all your advices on the forum. Just thought I could ask about that while I was here.

Take care everyone and have a great week!

Thomas

@Nap380

Hi,

Your background check for sure is only valid for a 3 month period. Meaning you have to submit it with your other documents in that time frame. I had a background check done from brazil first. However, my visa ran out before I could get my appointment with the police so I went back to Canada and since the 3 month time frame was over (date background check was issued to the point of submitting it to the consulate) I had to get a new one. Good news is it is much more straightforward to do in canada.

The other documents had no time frame on them.

@Pablo888

Kids citizenship documents?

    @Pablo888
Kids citizenship documents?
   

    -@Canforbra

I am a Canadian living in the USA.  My kids were born in the USA and need to apply to get Canadian citizenship.  Is this the right way to call those documents?

Sorry - not very smart here....

@Pablo888

As you are a canadian citizen, your kids are eligible for dual citizenship.

You will need their birth certificates from the usa, and your birth certificate from canada, (long form for both) that will show both your parents names on yours and you and your partners names on theirs. You will need your passport or some second valid piece of second ID as well. (Picture ID)

You can apply for their citizenship through the canadian consulate.

The best thing to do is contact the canadian embassy or consulate closest to you to verify what is needed.

@Canforbra

Thank you for the information.  I have done all of the mentioned bits and submitted everything online (and paid the fees online too).  Just being patient. 

Since I have 3 boys, I had to do this 3 times....  I am very good at being patient now.... which is the point that I was making before....