Documents

Hi lacret60,

The following is a fairly decent (English language) description of the marriage process here in Brazil:

http://brazil.angloinfo.com/family/marr … uirements/

With a few minor exceptions it is completely accurate. One of the main things is that it does not mention at all that you are allowed to get married on a Tourist Visa (VITUR) and in this case you do not have a RNE number or CIE (Carteira de Identidade Estrangeiro).

It also doesn't clearly state that the documents necessary for marriage aren't necessarily the same as those for applying for a Permanent Visa (VIPER).

It clearly describes that the marriage is a three step process. Applying for Permission to Marry, Issuance of the Marriage Licence and then the Marriage.  It may take up to a month or two just to get permission since the Marriage Banns must be posted in the Diário Oficial de União (DOU) and then permission is granted. So if one comes on a Tourist Visa, it's best done when they've not been in Brazil in the previous year so can extend their 90 day visit to 180 to allow adequate time to get things all done and apply for the Permanent Visa.

What you need from home before you come here:

Birth Certificate (long form - showing your parents' names)
Certified Criminal Record Check (for the Permanent Visa, not marriage)
If previously married - Original of the Divorce Certificate (or Decree Absolute which will cost a lot more to translate)

Your Birth Cert. must be 'legalized' by your country's consulate here in Brazil before submitting to the Cartório and also be translated into Portuguese by a notarized translator in Brazil (Tradutor Juramentado). The same goes for the Divorce Certificate or Decree of Divorce. Since the Decree is generally a multi-page document this will really be expensive to translate so opt for the Divorce Certificate if you can go get one.

You don't need the Certified Criminal Record Check to get married, but you do to apply for the Permanent Visa. It must be 'legalized' by the Brazilian Consulate in your home nation (where the document was issued). All this is best done before you come to Brazil.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks so much for your detailed response!!!! I've yet to read it word for word, but I apologize that I failed to mention this marriage I spoke of would be a same-sex union. I didn't stop to think that there may be different requirements. That being the case, I utilized the website you recommended and then saw that same-sex marriages did fall under a separate category and so I clicked on "same-sex unions" as it suggested and found it all very helpful, so again the information you provided proved very useful even though it turns out my quetion to you proved not complete. That being said though, that website and its "same-sex unions" section spoke of the rights and responsibilities of united same sex couples, but does not state whether the documents required (and which you laid out for me in your reply)for a HETERO couple (one an ex-pat, the other a Brazilian national, as is my case)would still be required for a SAME-SEX UNION in Brazil. PLEASE let me know. In other words, are all the documents you detailed as needed for a hetero marriage the same ones required for a same-sex union?

Also, regarding the Birth Certificate: I was born in Cuba and came to the states with my family when I was 3 and have no idea where my Birth Certificate is! Could my original CUBAN passport serve as a Birth Certificate?

Hi lacret60,

Yes, the documents you will need for a same-sex civil union are exactly the same as those for a heterosexual civil marriage.

As far as I am aware there is no acceptable substitution for your original Birth Certificate (with the possible exception of the distruction or loss of ALL the original records in the country of issue). I know it might be extremely difficult for you to obtain the document, however the legislation is quite clear and I don't think the Federal Police really care how much trouble you need to go through to obtain it.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team