VISA Stay

Your visa, in fact, is for a period of 90 days which is renewable for a further 90 days at the Federal Police headquarters nearest where you live without having to leave the country.

A tourist visa permits a maximum stay of 180 days per year (6 months). If for example you entered the country in the beginning of July you could stay until the end of December (with a visa stay extension) at which time you would have to leave the country. You could theoretically spend a few nights in any other country (Paraguay for example, since there is no requirement that you must return to your country of origin - just that you leave Brazilian territory) and return to Brazil for another stay of up to 180 days since your entry was in the new year. In other words... you could come to Brazil in July after 90 days ask for a "prorrogação" (extension of your stay) in October. You leave for Paraguay on New Years Eve and spend a few days sightseeing. You could then come back into Brazil in the beginning of January of the new year with no problem and stay a further 180 days by applying for another extension of your stay in the beginning of April. So you have thus stayed in Brazil for one year having only been outside the country for a few days.

Most tourist visas permit multiple entries in any given year. What happens in that case, the number of days of your previous stay(s), including both day of arrival and day of departure, is subtracted from 180 to determine the maximum stay for the current entry. Hope this information helps.

Are you sure your visa is valid for 10 years? Unless they have changed since I came to Brazil a visa must be renewed after five years.

Regards,
William James Woodward

Hi Stan,
I am an American from Georgia who is currently living in Jundiaí on a 90 day tourist visa. You have a couple options. And yes, the new visas are good for 10 years. My passport is good for 10 years as well.

First, you can extend your 90 day visa to be 180 days or six months. You have to go to the Federal Police in Campinas. There is a lady who lives nearby in a house that can assist you with filing your extension but she does not speak english, so bring your girlfriend. I would go early as well, if you don't get a number, there is no guarantee you will speak to anyone. You need to pay 67 Reais to extend your stay. You need proof of financial means, your entry stub that you got on the flight over, proof of extending your departure and your passport. I was advised to wait until 15 days before I am scheduled to leave to file the extension.

You would have to marry to stay longer then that. That is another process and your local cartorio would know what you need and it is a lengthy list. If you are considering marriage, I would recommend that you get your US birth certificate "legalized" at the Consulate of your jurisdiction. My guess would be yours is Houston, TX:  houston.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/legalization_and_authentication_of_documents.xml
I have to send mine to Chicago, since I was born in that jurisdiction. Understand? If not, message me, it seems easy but can take a long time.

The other option is that you go back to the USA and wait an entire year to come back to Brazil. Since you are here when I am, I can only believe that you have arrived sometime close to when I have. In that case, you are to leave way before the New Year. Otherwise, that would be a good idea.

We are starting the process to extend my stay and get married.

One need not wait a full year before returning to Brazil on a tourist visa. Dates of an individual's stay in Brazil are calculated on a calendar year (as opposed to a "rolling year" i.e. date of departure). So for example if your 180 days were used up by late November, you could return to Brazil any time after January 1 of the following year and stay up to 180 days.

A civil marriage is the best way to get permanency. However, it is still a complicated and drawn out process. You should be very careful also to understand the "regime de comunhão parcial de bens" which you should likely marry under. Simply put, the assets that one spouse has before marriage are property of that spouse only. What is acquired following marriage is community property. Real estate presents a special problem since even if it is owned by one spouse prior to marriage, the other spouse has rights to a division of any part of an increased value due to renovations, additions or new construction which takes place following the marriage.

If you do marry then it is important to enter the permanancy process as soon as possible. Once you have done so the clock stops (with regard to your tourist visa) and you are legally allowed to remain in Brazil no matter how long the process takes to complete. Actually, once you are legally married you have the right to stay in the country visa or no provided that you do not commit some crime. Once married even with an expired visa you are not in the country illegally, just in an "irregular" situation. If you carry a copy of your marriage certificate you would never have any trouble with regard to your status in Brazil.

hi william,

i saw your correspondence with stan and was quite impressed with all the information you had, specifically regarding that the tourist visa renews upon calendar year. 

i have two questions for you

1. i was in brazil for approximately 5 weeks in august,  then another 6 or so weeks in october and then i returned to brazil on december 24, 2011.  i plan on staying in brazil until june 16th.  when do you suggest i apply for my 90 day extention?

2. my friend arrived in brazi on november 20th, 2011.  does he have to leave 90 days after november 20th or does he have november 20th plus a new 90 days from janury 1st?  if he has to leave in february, when should he apply for the extention....what is the latest he could (or anyone) apply for an extention?

i realize the 2nd question contradicts the first because you have already said that we get a new 180 days per year starting in january but we just want to use this example to make sure we understand how the system works. 

also, if you suggest any resources for us to look into, let me know.

i really appreciate your help and your time.

sincerely,

american and aussie abroad

I do want to be clear on one issue. I arrived in the beginning of August and my 90 days were up in the beginning of Nov. We accidentally went two weeks early to renew my visa. I thought it would extend it out to February but instead it only extended it until the middle of January. They considered that my 90 day extension, even though I did not use all 180 days.
Meaning, you have to go, as close to your deadline as possible, to get the full extension. If you do not, you lose those days.
Believe me, I was astonished. The police thought they could give me those extra days I was going to need but their computer system would not allow it. This was per fiscal calendar year. Meaning, it does not matter if Jan 1st is a new year, it means until your visa is valid for one year! They said I would had to have left the country and came back in August.
They told me to prepare to go back to the states.
We said screw it, went to Fortaleza, Ceara and got married there in 5 days (no translator needed). We came back to Campinas, SP and filed for the RNE.

For anyone wanting to file an extension, wait until the very last day of your initial 90 days, then go to the Federal Police to file for the extension. All you need is the updated travel itinerary and credit card and/or cash to show them you have $33 Reais a day for each day you want extra. Plus your passport, obviously.

Sorry for the confusion, the information I gave previously is outdated, based on my past entries. The system for calculating visa stays has been changed. It is no longer based on the calendar year, but rather on a "rolling" year. Which I will explain...

You enter Brazil today, they look back 365 days from your day of entry and count the total number of days (including day of entry and day of departure) of any previous stays in the country during that time. This is subtracted from 180 days, the maximum stay in one year and gives the total number of days you may legally remain in the country.

Example 1: You arrive today and during the past year you have made 4 two week business trips to Brazil, this totals 56 days.

180 days - 56 days = maximum stay this visit 124 days

Don't forget that the 90 day period is all you are allowed without applying for a extension "Prorrogação de Estado" in order to get the extra 34 days.

Example 2: You arrive in Brazil today and you have been in Brazil for a maximum stay of 180 days, you left the country 210 days ago. You would be allowed to enter Brazil and stay for ONLY 30 days since they would count 150 days of your last visit which fall withing the 365 previous days to your entry.

Once you have used up your 180 days you must be out of Brazil for 1 year in order to qualify for another 180 days. Being out of Brazil for 180 days just resets the count to zero, but you haven't "earned" any days yet in order to re-enter the country. You earn one day in Brazil for every day over 180 that you have been away.

A Tourist Visa stay is for a period of 90 days, which may be extended for an additional 90 days at the Federal Police headquarters nearest you without having to leave the country. You are allowed a maximum of 180 days in a "rolling year", at which time you must leave the country.

After a stay of 180 days (6 months) you must then wait 6 months for the count to go back to zero, after 1 year from your departure date you would then have accumulated enough time for another 180 day stay. Between 6 and 12 months you would accumulate one day for every day after the the 6th month from your departure date. So, if you wanted to re-enter Brazil, say
seven months after your departure you would be allowed only 30 days. This assumes you had used up your full 180 days previously. If not you may enter and leave Brazil as many times as you wish until you have exhausted that 180 days in any given year. Don't forget though, doing this would make the Federal Police quite suspicious that you were up to no good! LOL

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

Hi William-

Your posts are very helpful.  However, I still need clarification on what happens in the following situations:

1. I was last in Brazil from 2 Aug 11 until 4 Sep 11.  I will return to Brazil on 1 Sep 12 and stay until 24 Nov 12.  I assume that means that I will be able to return to Brazil for a maximum of 93 more days before my 6-month absence/waiting period starts up again?   

2.  After the 6-month waiting period, do you accumulate days even if you are in Brazil?  In other words, say 7 months have passed since my last visit and I go to Brazil for a month, having accumulated a month's worth of time beyond the 6 months. Do I continue to accumulate more days while I am in Brazil for that month so that I could theoretically extend my stay for say another month beyond that and so on until I have exhausted another 6 months?  I hope that makes sense.

Hi Dunkam,

Your first question is easier to answer than the second. But first of all I would advise you to put off your trip until September 4, 2012 if you can since that is the anniversary date and you will be allowed to stay in Brazil for 90 days which can be extended for a further 90 days by the Federal Police for a total of 180 days in a "rolling" year. If you do not plan on staying that long or you can't put off your trip the extra three days then your entry date won't matter since you will be allowed the 90 days and you will be able to extend the visit for a another 86 days or so if needed.

I guess you misunderstood my statement earlier. The way it works is the Federal Police look at the 365 days prior to your day of entry into Brazil in order to calculate the maximum stay. If you have been in Brazil during that time period then they reduce your maximum stay by the number of days that you were in the country previously. What happens is you gain one day for every day outside the country so if you used the full 180 days in one year then you would have to wait a full year until you had earned another full 180 day stay. Six months (180 days)from your departure date puts you back at zero, from that point on you earn one day for each day that passes. This only applies if you have used all your 180 days. In your case you entered the country and were here for only in the country for a total of 32 days (they count day of entry and day of departure as full days), therefore during the 180 days following your departure you could have returned to Brazil any number of times and stayed for a total of 148 more days.

If you do travel to Brazil on September 1 as planned then you will be allowed a total of 176 days, so you can see that it really won't make a lot of difference either way.

I presume that your visa has the "multiple entry" provision which is pretty standard. That means that there is no restriction on the number of times you can enter Brazil, just on the number of days in any 365 day period.

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

Thanks for your quick response William.  I think I got it now

Hi im from philippines and im going to brazil next month.  my roundtrip ticket is only for 6 days.  if i want to extend my stay for another week what procedures will i take?and will it be granted right away?

Hi superganda,

First of all you do have a visa, don't you? If it is a tourist visa and you have not been in the country during the past 365 days then your stay can be 90 days, which you can extend for an additional 90 days at the headquarters of the Federal Police, so it looks like you won't have any issues about staying one more week other than the air ticket. (Please be aware that you must show a return ticket when entering the country and I do not believe the date can be OPEN). As far as staying an extra week, if you are entitled to a longer stay (your 90 days - or part remaining of the 180 day per year total) then you do not have to do anything. The Federal Police look at your passport on departure and see that your visa is valid, no problem.

If you have been in the country during the 365 days previous to your entry this trip then the length of your stay depends on how many days you have been in the country during that period and how many days have passed since your departure from Brazil. The exact way of calculating this is shown in the posts above so I will not repeat it here.

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

I am an American currently working in Chile. What is the procedure for obtaining a Visa to enter Brazil? I am located in Northern Chile.
Christian

You should consult the Brazilian Embassy closest to you. 

You can go to the Consular website at www.portalconsular.mre.gov.br or you can visit the Ministry of External Relations at www.itamaraty.gov.br/o-ministerio/o-brasil-no-exterior, for a list of their offices worldwide.

Good luck!

oh ok coz philippines doesnt need a visa when going to brazil as long as it wont exceed 90 days....thanks for the info sir...

OMG! You're right you do not need a visa and I forgot my own advice... to check the list of visa exempt countries. I must be getting forgetful in my old age.

So the rule for you is exactly the same as for anyone with a visa, 90 days (you can ask for a 90 day extension too) and a total of 180 days in one year. So your only issue is your ability to change your return flight without costing too much.

Good luck!

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

Hi

I was wondering if I overstayed my tourist visa by 8 months and left Brazil with paying the fine, when I could return? Would the count start from the end of my first tourist visa or from the day I leave the country even though its without a visa?

Hi k22,

You would have to go 1 year from the date of your departure from Brazil to be entitled to the full 180 days. The first six months would put you back to zero and then you earn one day for each day that passes, that's how it works. After the first six months, you can come back into Brazil, but the length you would be allowed to stay would be limited to the number of days you had earned. After 9 months (270 days) you would be allowed a 90 day visit, but it could not be extended.

The other problem that you might face stems from the fact that you previously overstayed your visa. While it is only considered and "administrative" infraction, that is to say one that is not subject to deportation", you might have problems re-entering Brazil. It is probable that you might have to provide extra documentation or give some guarantee that you would, in fact, leave the country when your visa expires. You would be wise to check exactly what will happen before you leave your home country. It would be rather inconvenient and troublesome if you were to arrive here in Brazil only to have the Federal Police put you right back on the very same plane bound for home, so check exactly what documents you will need, any extra bureaucracy involved, etc. If you explain the details to the Brazilian Consulate nearest you they will be able to better inform you.

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

WJ,

I have been reading over your replies and am interested in them - I have a similar situation to K22 where I overstayed my visa and am looking to return to my home country so that I can marry there.  My partner and I can no longer marry in Brazil as my visa already expired.  Would I simply have to wait for my permanency visa to come through or would I have to wait a specific time given to me by the PF due to my overstay?

Also I know overstaying is not acceptable but at the time it was the only option - I have not thought about the problems it may evoke.  For instance having overstayed, when I choose to leave will I be let back into Brazil? Will they stamp my passport with a visa violation?  Is there a chance this could cause problems for me entering other countries?  I just want to be able to come back within 9 months time.  Not sure I could be away too long from my partner.

Cheers

Hi Stressedoverboard,

Despite what you may be thinking overstaying your visa here in Brazil is not such a big deal. It certainly generates a fine (somewhere in the area of R$900) and that's about all. It is considered an administrative infraction, not a criminal offense and as such it DOES NOT prevent you from re-entering the country at a future date. (You would, of course, be subject to all the same time restrictions as to how many days you could stay in the country). Depending on how many days you have actually been in Brazil, your date of departure, etc., you could have to wait up to a year before you could come back and be entitled to the full 180 days. You would be entitled to 90 days after 270 had passed from your departure.

It is advisable you pay the fine before you leave Brazil or you will be escorted to the nearest Bank of Brazil by a Federal Police agent to pay it upon returning. If you can't pay it upon return I presume they'd put you right back on the plane so you don't want to go that route.

If you have loads of money there is another way you can go about getting hitched without leaving Brazil. It is called 'casamento por procuração' or marriage by proxy. You would have to arrange this through a good immigrations lawyer however and it costs around R$8000 or more.

What happens is that your intended bride takes a quick trip to one of the neighboring countries, Paraguay, Uraguay, Argentina, etc. and gets married to you by proxy in the registry there (you do not attend - somebody stands in your place). It can also be done with two proxies and she doesn't leave Brazil. Once the marriage takes place the lawyer then submits the documents for a permanent visa. I don't know ALL of the details, but I do understand that it works and it is legal. Are you still in Brazil or have you already left the country? If you're still here this is an option you might want to check out right away, before you leave. You may be able to do this now and not even have to leave Brazil. Once your permanent visa application has been accepted you can legally remain in Brazil until the process it completed.

Check it out at this link:

http://www.casamentocivil.com.br/index. … g-by-proxy

Good luck whichever way you choose to go.

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

A double proxy wedding (where neither of the partners is present, both have stand-ins) can be obtained in Paraguay or Mexico City so I understand.

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

Hello WJ,

I was working on a cruise vessel like a foreign worker in Brasil, i have Seamens Book. When i disembarked the agent gave me a paper that prove that i worked on this Cruise Ship and now i'm disembarking and leaving the country. In the Immigration control police federal told me that i overstayed by 27 days my visa.. and i don't know about what visa they were talking about, and told me when next time i visit Brazil i have to pay some amount of money.  I guess they were talking about FOREIGNERS work visa on a cruise vessel.

I have few questions please:

1.Is the foreigners visa the same like tourist visa and the days are being calculated together? or i can get a new and fresh tourist visa without counting the foreigners work visa.
I was working on the ship in Brasil from 14/11/2011 till 12/03/2012, its 3 months and 27 days. Now i plan to take a vacation in Brasil for 3 months from 21/10/12 till 17/01/2013. I got a fly ticket already with the date of the flight to go back.

2.I still have to pay the money? from what i know if i work on the vessel that stays in Brazilian international waters, so the workers on this vessel are not needed for any kind of visa.

Thank you,

Hello Adrox,

I am not completely clear on your situation. Was the cruise ship you were working on a Brazilian ship or you were employed by a Brazilian company?

If that is the case then yes, I do believe that it would be the same as a Tourist Visa with a 90 day limit which can be extended for a further 90 days at the Federal Police. However, I can't understand why the cruise line would have let your visa expire. Didn't they look after getting the visa for you in the first place?

If the visa was your own responsibility then you should have gotten the extension (prorrogação de estado) at least 3 weeks before it expired. In this case you will have to pay the fine (around R$900). This fine MUST be paid upon your arrival in Brazil if you didn't pay it when you left for home, otherwise you will not be permitted back in.

If the company was responsible for your visa then there is a good chance that you can get them to pay the fine. Another thing you may want to check with the Federal Police if you were in international waters most of the time you may not actually have to pay a fine at all, but they will be the ones who decide how that works. If your ship remained in Brazilian waters then it is the same as being on land.

As far as your returning to Brazil if you overstayed your visa by 27 days you will not be able to return to Brazil and stay 3 months as you plan. You will only be allowed to stay 63 days, since the 117 days you were deemed to be in Brazil will be subtracted from the 180 day limit per year.

Since you have only a short time remaining before your planned trip you should contact the Federal Police by telephone before your travel date to get confirmation of exactly how they will treat this situation. Your must consider this for the return passage and get the date for your return changed so you will not overstay your visa again this trip.

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

WJ,

I was working on a not Brazilian company ship, i was working on MSC this is an Italian company. Most of the time the ship is in international waters and going to destinations like Uruguay and Argentina and some part of Brasil.

When i left Brasil, PF told me that i have a fine to pay and i can do it on my next re-enter. Which of course i consider as the best option because i was late for the flight.

I had overstay of 27 days and like you said it's 117 days overall, but now for my trip i return to Brasil after 7 months. I exit at 12/03/2012 and i return at 22/10/2012. Like you said after 6 months away i get new days counting and i have one month in additional for  possible extension, it's 93 overall days.

The funny thing, that when i left they didn't make me a stamp in my passport, so i have no entry and no exit stamps because when i enter the country i enter with the ship. And when i exit they didn't stamp me. And i don't have any visa for Brasil in my passport....

My question is:

Is it possible to pay the fine when i re-enter like they told me? or i have to find another way to do it.

Another question: I don't know what kind of visa i had or maybe i didn't had any visa.... So maybe i will get a new and fresh tourist visa?

Thank you for your attention,

Hi Adrox,

Yes, if you have been out of the country for 7 months then your calculation is correct as far as I can figure out. Regarding paying the fine, from what I have been told by someone else who had a fine - when they arrived in Brazil a Federal Police officer accompanied them to the nearest Bank of Brazil where he paid the fine. Following paying the fine he was allowed into the country without any difficulties. I presume that had he not paid they would have put him right back on the plane - YIKES!

As far as the visa, if there is no visa and just stamps for entry and exit you are on the list of countries exempt from a visa ( in this case you are treated the same as if you had a Tourist Visa). If you are an Israeli citizen then yes you are exempt from a visa, but all the same rules apply. So the short answer is that you never have to 'apply' for a visa, your visits will be subject to all the same rules as a Tourist Visa and your stays calculated in the same way.

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

Thank you William for the help,

I will bring with me when i enter Brasil all the documents that prove my work during my last time in Brasil on a Cruise Vessel from foreign company.

In additional i will go to the embassy and check again all my details.

Thank you again,

Hello William,

I have one more question please,

My first entry to Brasil was at 14/11/2011 and now in 14/11/2012 the rolling year is going to end. The question is if i come before the rolling year ends, from the next rolling year they will start my new 90 days? or i will have to leave the country for couple of days, and return.

I mean if its possible to get 90 days before the end of rolling year?

Hi William

DO you know if the criminal records that are required for a permanent visa have to be legalized by the consulate before they are submitted?

Hi Tom,

Yes, they have to be legalized by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in the country issuing the Criminal Record Check. I see you are from Topeka,Kansas I do not know where the nearest consulate to you is, but you should be able to find it by a Google search. The fee depends upon the consulate.

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

thanks William, I was trying to search for the information even on the consulate websites but did not seem to find that specific information, and I had seen on some other site that said they did not need to be legalized and was not sure what would be current requirements.
I had another question, my plan is to get married to a Brazilian citizen on my tourist visa and then stay and convert that to a permanent visa.
On the consulate websites, they say different things about how much time the criminal records need to be issued within. I know that this is for specifically applying for the permanent visa when not in Brazil.
I wondered if the Federal police would have a time limit they need to be issued within in these circumstances. Do you know?

All documents used for official (legal) purposes here in Brazil must have been issued within the six months previous to their use, or for some strange reason I can never figure out they are considered to have lost their validity. I think this has been done specifically to guarantee that the cartórios (registry) are a very thriving business. The exception to this rule are documents that must be legalized by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil such as your criminal records check. Once legalized these never lose their validity. If you read my posting "A Gringo's Survival Guide for Brazil" you will find out much of the information about marriage to a Brazilian. Your birth certificate must be the long form (bears your parents' names) and it must be authenticated by your own consulate/embassy in the US before submission.

The criminal records can take quite some time to obtain, for this reason the Federal Police will even let you enter into the permanency process and provide it when it has arrived.

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

Hello William,

Crew members that work on a cruise vessel that remain in waters under Brazilian jurisdiction and have the International Maritime Card( Seaman Book or Panama Book, same name) in this case, are exempted from a work permit?

When i left Brasil they told me i overstayed some work visa and i have to pay a fine.. and i think by the law i'm not needed to have any kind of visa if i'm a crew member with Panama Book on a Cruise Ship.

Because i don't speak Portuguese i think a mistake was made before, and now i will have to prove them again? i will show them my Panama book and the stamp of MSC the company i was working with that i remained on Board for the period of my work on the ship.

Thank you again for your attention, i'm a little bit confused here...

Hi Adrox,

Can't you get anybody from MSC administration to help you sort this out with the Federal Police? I'm sure that they would get better results than you trying to do it by yourself.

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

Hello,

I am an American Citizen and my finace is Brazilian citizen. I have been traveling to and from Brazil frequently to organize my wedding here in Brazil as well as organize my paper work so we can get married.(note to anyone getting married in Brazil, there is ALOT of paper work to fill out) The last document that I need is my back ground check from the policia federal. This is my main problem. The policia federal is currently on strike and doesn't seen to be returning anytime soon, and my visa is almost expired for this year.(I have reached my 180 day limit per year that I am allowed to stay)Is there any possible way that I can still be allowed to stay given the cirumstances? If I have to return to the states, all my plans will be ruined and I will lose alot of money if I have to replan the whole entire wedding for the following year. Is there any agency I can contact here in Brazil as well since the Policia Federal is unavailable?

Hi tucansam,

Unfortunately with the Federal Police strike there is not a whole lot you can do. If you live in São Paulo the Regional Superintendency in Lapa is still functioning because they are all contracted employees in the 'Setor de Estrangeiros'.

There is nothing you can really do if you have reached the end of your 180 days for the year. That is the maximum stay permitted. To get married you do not need your criminal record check, that is only for the process of obtaining the permanent visa. Did you actually get to the point of fixing a date for the wedding at the cartório? If so, see if you can move it up and get married now. Once married you can enter into the permanency process right away and remain in Brazil until it is completed.

The only other alternative to waiting until you can return to Brazil next time in (a full year from now) would be what is known as a marriage by proxy (Casamento por procuração). The wedding ceremony would be held here in Brazil at the cartório as if you were present. Your bride is there and a proxy stands in for you. This proxy has the legal authority to sign all the documents for you and takes the vows in your place. There is a specific form to be filled out, but it is quite common actually. Once married you can apply there in your home country for the permanent visa and since you are married to a Brazilian it usually is issued in less time than one gets issued here in Brazil.

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

Hi William,

I came to Brazil last april on a tourist visa which expires very soon. I came to find a job and am currently in the final stages of various recruitment processes. I'm considering overstaying my tourist visa to be able to finish the selection processes, hoping one of them will lead to an actual job offer. I read your previous posts about overstaying a tourist visa and the time one has to be outside Brazil before being able to come back again. My question is whether this applies in all cases or whether it just applies if you want to come back on a tourist visa again.

Picture the following situation: I overstay my tourist visa and continue in the recruitment processes. After some weeks a company offers me a job. I go back to my country to get the documents needed for my work permit and I pay the fine at Policia Federal upon departure from Brazil. I apply for the work permit at the consulate in my country and wait for the visa to be granted (generally, the processing time is about 3 months, which means I could have the permit before 365-180 days have passed). In this case, could I enter Brazil with this visa directly after it is granted, or won't the Federal Police issue a work permit with "starting date" before this time has lapsed? That is, does the 365-180 rule also apply if you want to re-enter Brazil with a non-tourist visa?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Carol,

As far as I am aware the maximum stay would apply to any visa. You would really need to check that out with the Federal Police or the Brazilian Consulate to be certain. However, I would recommend NOT overstaying the visa just for that - Not worth the hassles. The main problem being that the Federal Police will stamp your passport with an annotation about the visa overstay, this could jeopardize getting a Temporary Work Visa issued. So if, in fact, you can come back to Brazil right away with some other kind of visa you don't want to risk screwing up that chance.

If you can't get an interview scheduled in your time remaining perhaps you can arrange to have one via Skype, lots of companies conduct telephone, video or Skype interviews. That way you can also apply for a Temporary Work Visa from home and I believe that as you guess there is a possibility that you could get one that would permit your return without waiting out the year. Any interested company will generally look after the immigrations details too.

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

Hi William,
In converting my tourist visa to a permanent visa after marriage, do the federal police want only a legalized copy of my identification page(s) in my passport, or the original passport legalized?
And other than this and getting my criminal records legalized, is there any other documents I need to legalize for the permanent visa specifically, before leaving for Brazil?