Expert: Sandra - 7/10/2011

Question
I have met a man from Brasil and we would like to marry. He is in the navy there, an officer. I would be moving from the USA to live with him in Brasil. We would like to take my mother as well to live there.
Is it better to marry here or in Brasil? How does that effect me living there for good? I will be a nurse, how difficult will it be for me to find employment in Rio de Janeiro? What all do we need to do for me to live there? What do we need to do for my mom to live there? Is there duel citizenship? How do we(me and my mom) become Brasilian citizens? Is it difficult?
Can I apply here in the USA -like in LA to become a citizen of Brasil or do I do it when I'm in Brasil? If I am married to a Brasilian citizen will they let me stay?
How difficult will all this be?
thank you
jackie

Answer
Hi, Jackie.
First of all, you must understand that U.S. raised citizens often find Brazilian bureaucracy slow-moving and very frustrating, so try to prepare yourself.

In order to marry in the U.S., you would have to apply for a fiancé visa, which is really geared (process, cost and difficulty) toward someone who intends to live in the U.S. with their U.S. citizen spouse, and requires that the person not be out of the U.S. for more than 6 months each year.  The process currently takes about 7 months from first application to his interview at the U.S. Consulate in Brazil. If the fiancé is accepted, he can travel as soon as he receives an official packet to present on entry at customs. It is technically illegal to come to the U.S. on a tourist visa with the intent to marry, if indeed he could get a tourist visa in the first place (the process is quite stringent). The fiance visa leads to possible citizenship in 3 years, after which the person is not required to live in the U.S.

In order to marry in Brazil, he should go to the cartorio he intends to use for the marriage and request a list of required documents. (Each cartorio is an independent business and as such, can have a slightly different set of requirements.) Your documents have to be “recognized” as real/legaland stamped at the Brazilian Consulate with jurisdiction over where they were emitted (cost U$20 each). Each of them have to be translated, in Brazil, by a translator on the official government list (cost about R$60 per page). You may want to draw up a procuracao/power of attorney at the Brazilian Consulate giving him the right to act for you before you arrive.  When all his and your documents are ready, he submits them to the cartorio, and a date, about 30 days out, is given for the marriage.

After the marriage, you can apply for permanencia (permanent residence). It is faster and more expensive to do this at the Brazilian Consulate in the U.S., and does not require the surprise home visit by the PF that applying in Brazil will bring. After several years, you may apply for Brazilian citizenship.

As far as your mother’s residency goes, I believe you could apply for a visa for her on the basis of family reunion, especially if she is dependent on you, but you probably should consult with a Brazilian lawyer. There is also the possibility that she could apply for a retirement visa if she has sufficient pension income to qualify.

With permanencia comes the right to work in Brazil. However, nurses earn very little in Brazil. You would first have to have your degree and detailed transcripts translated and evaluated by a state school in Brazil that had a similar course.

You should be prepared for your standard of living to be quite a bit below what you may be used to in the U.S. As a person with permanencia, you have the right for a fixed period to move your possessions to Brazil without tax. I would suggest you consider carefully what you might feel lost without in Brazil, including small appliances, large appliances, comfortable furniture, etc, as prices as very high and quality very low in Brazil.

Good luck.