Marriage in Brasil

Hi Laura,

All the information you need about the marriage process and the subsequent application for the VIPER Permanent Visa based on marriage can be found in the following topic posting:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280525

The first part of the list is the documents for the marriage permission (habilitação de casamento) and the marriage. The second part of the list is for the VIPER Permanent Visa application.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Hi William,

Thank you for providing such detailed information! It's most helpful, I just have a couple of (potentially silly) questions...

1. What exactly does it mean by the Birth Certificate must be issued within 180 days.....I thought that you just kept the one copy for your whole life, so must I request a new copy to be written (ie not the original)?

2. Did I read correctly that the police check must be issued in Pakistan? Is this correct?

Finally I have another question which aim hope you don't mind me asking.....would you have any idea of a ball park figure of how much the whole paperwork side of the wedding + visa process costs? Speaking to friends in Brazil, we have been told that the translation alone can cost thousands of Real per document. I am just curious how much we should be prepared to set aside for the paperwork.

Many thanks again for your help

All the best

Laura

Hi Laura,

1.  Yes, you must request a new Birth Certificate (long form) in some countries called Registration of Birth. This is the one that contains not only your full name, DOB, birthplace, but also the full names of both of your parents, their origins, etc. It must be submitted to the Consulado-Geral do Brasil for legalization within 180 days of the date of issue or it is not considered valid any longer. It also must be authenticated by the British Embassy or Consulate once here in Brazil (very important not to forget this).

2. The Criminal Record check in your case would be from the UK.

Regarding the overall cost of the marriage and visa process, it's really hard to say with any accuracy. Translators charge whatever the market will bear in any given part of Brazil, so if there is only one translator he can charge whatever he/she wants. In major cities where there is competition they all charge pretty much the same fees. I got my stuff translated in 2005 and it was R$200 per page back then in Belo Horizonte, so it's likely to be a bit more expensive now.

The Cartório fees I really can't say, you'd have to check with the specific Cartório they too charge different fees.

The VIPER process fees are Pedido de Permanência Definitiva R$102,00 this one you pay first of all when you apply. Later you will pay two others once the visa has been granted and you must register, they are Registro de Estrangeiro R$64,58 and Carteira de Identidade Estrangeiro de Primeira Via R$124,23. Then on top of that you're going to pay fees at the Cartório for notarizing your signature on documents (Reconhecimento da Firma por Autenticidade) and for making certified copies of any documents requiring copies. Your passport all pages (even blank) must be copied and that alone will cost a bit since they'll only copy the two open pages at one time so you're going to need around 18 separate copies for one 36 page passport, certified copies are around R$3 - 4 each in most Cartórios. Notarizing signatures is about R$12 - 13 each time (por Autentidade) and of course you'll need to register your signature at the Cartório first, can't remember the fee for that probably around R$6,00.

All told, I'd say for the marriage fees and the visa fees you should allow yourself a budget of R$2000 to 3000 just to be on the safe side. That would certainly cover everything.

A couple of months ago I paid just around R$1000 total for the translations in Boa Vista. It would have been cheaper, but they wanted my passport translated (I guess this isn't the norm) and my single declaration (even though it was written in Portuguese...tell me if that makes sense)

All in all, it was 4 documents translated, so R$250 each

The Cartório fees were pretty minimal, I can't remember the exact amount though

The legislation requires that only documents that are not originally written in Portuguese need to be translated, so you got ripped off when they told you the Single Declaration needed to be translated.

I have never before heard a case where they required the passport to be translated, this is not only completely out of the ordinary, but it's also quite absurd. Who was it that told you that would be necessary and where (Cartório or Consulado-Geral, location)? Sounds like somebody at the Cartório has a relative that is a Tradutor Juramentado or is taking kickbacks from one!!!

Sorry for the delay in replying. Thank you so much for managing to to give some much information! Well that is pretty good news as I had been expected a significantly more terrifying number! Thanks again, all the best, Laura