Expert: Ken Rapoza Cruz - 1/4/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I would like to know the marriage procedures in Brazil.
I am Indian nationality working in UK on work permit. Myself and my Brazilian girl friend planning to marry in Brazil. My family and her family are happy for our marriage.
1. Can I travel to Brazil on tourist visa and marry her.
2. What are the documents needed for our marriage.
3. What is the legal procedure for registering our marriage (in Brazil).
4. How long it will take for the marriage procedures and registration process.
5. Should I register our marriage with Indian Embassy.
6. When and where should I apply for Permanent Resident visa(UK or India) if we plan to move to Brazil in future.

ANSWER: yes, you can travel to brazil on a tourist visa and marry her there. once you are legally married, you will go to a registrar's office, called the "cartorio" and say you want to register a marriage. They will give you all the documents to fill out. Your priest, or your minister, or your local justice in the city or town where you were married, will file the documents stating that you both are legally wed.  This takes maybe a week or two. Or less. Then you take those documents and you both go to thelocal federal police immigration office. If you live in a very small town, you will have to go to a bigger city to get to a PF immigration office. In there, you will say that you are both married, provide the documentation from teh cartorio and you will apply for a permanent resident visa. The PF immigration officer on duty will give you eitehr a passport stamp or a sheet of paper identifying  you as someone going through the perm resisdent visa applicationprocess. This means you can now legally live and work in Brazil. The process of legal residency takes about a day. You will then get your office RNE -- Foreign National Resident -- card and a permanent stamp in your passport within the year. But you can travel with that sheet of paper documenting that you are going through the process. And you are legal to work in the country, so no big deal.

Once married in Brazil, you will take all of your legal documents and bring them to the INdian consulate nearest you in Brazil to have your marriage legally recognized in India. If you had chilidren, you would immediately do the same, before their 3 month birthday, to have the child registered as an Indian citizen.

You can only apply for a Brazil perm res visa once you are married, and you can ONLY do that in Brazil.
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Good luck.  Brazil loves those INdians these days. Boy oh boy!



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi,

Thanks for the detailed reply. I specifically asked this, because I work in UK but I am Indian nationality. Will the procedures be different in getting the documents legalised/translated for the marriage?

Answer
no different. you can even just get married in the UK if you both work and live there, then go to your respective consulates to get the marriage recognized. HOWEVER, you will only be able to change your visa status when and if you decide to go to Brazil. You will need to stay in Brazil for around 4 months, at least.