Brazil: Pitfalls Of Legalising Our Stay

THE Brazilian authorities have been giving us the runaround. For instance, it took us over two months just to get Kobra's birth certificate!

First time I turned up to register Kobra's birth at the Forum (like a town hall in England), I was told that Jamie and I needed both our birth certificates (in Brazil documents for identification always include your parents' names). And when I went back with them at a later date, the lady working in the office was on vacation and, incredibly, no-one had been brought in to replace her. 

Finally, we got it done, but not without a few spelling mistakes, which is something we now have to live with. The aggravation that comes with having it changed is too much.

However, the matter of legalising our stay in Brazil has been even more challenging. For starters, we have to travel to Ilheus, about two hours away by car. This not only means taking the whole family over the bumpy road from Piracanga to Itacare, but, because the Police Federal are open only from 9-11am, the journey each time begins at the crack of dawn.

As I wrote in our blog on extending our visa, we were three days late first time visiting Police Federal (because Jamie had given birth and was advised not to travel) and were handed a fine and told to fill in forms, pay the penalty, return with Kobra's birth certificate etc.

Because getting her registered took so long, our return to Ilheus was delayed. We finally planned the trip, got up at 5.30am, left Piracanga at 7am and arrived in Ilheus just after 9am.

We had to have passport-size photos taken and then photocopies of every page in our passports. Armed with these, we went to a small internet shop opposite Police Federal that prepares your papers (at a cost). But their printer had broken down.

The clock was ticking while I waited for the owner to return with the printer. And finally, at 10.30am, she did. However, she struggled for about 15 precious minutes to install the cartridge. Florian, our Romanian friend who drove us to Ilheus, finally helped her, but we were left with only 10 minutes to spare by the time it was installed.

Quickly, she printed off our documents and I paid R130 per application (R390 in total).

Then we dashed across the road to Police Federal and waited some more - until it was our turn.

And when we got to see someone, he looked through our papers, decided Zenchai had to apply separately but not immediately, and that our paperwork hadn't been completed properly.

Just as happened on our first visit, Police Federal gave us no leeway. "We can't do it today," he said. "There's no time." He basically said to come back when everything was together in the right order and moved on to the next and final customer in line.

So, after he closed his door on us, we departed and contemplated staying the night in Ilheus and returning the next day. 

But we found Ilheus much too hectic - a real bombardment on the senses, especially with two young children - and, anyhow, it would be cheaper to return to Piracanga and try again another time. 

We waited another month before the right opportunity came our way and made the long journey again. This time we went straight to the internet office across the street, made sure our papers were in order and then across the road to Police Federal.

Despite all you hear about preferential treatment for pregnant mothers and mothers of newborns, it doesn't apply at Police Federal in Ilheus. We waited again several hours for our turn. Then the officer in charge took away our papers, returned several minutes later and, surprise surprise, told us we needed to pay more fines before the application could begin.

Why the officer hadn't pointed this out on our last visit I do not know. But it transpired that since our first fine we had accumulated more illegal time, amounting to R753.25 each (for Jamie and myself). That's about £295.

So we left again, this time wondering whether proceeding further - given we don't know if we will return to Brazil after we leave and fines are only paid on re-entry after you depart the country - is actually worth it. 

 

However, here are some tips for foreigners applying in Ilheus for temporary Brazilian residency.

1. Important! Avoid overstaying your three-month visa - apply for an extension before the expiration date.

2. If you are a family with a child born in Brazil, only the mother and father need apply. Siblings do not.

3. Make sure any fines for overstaying are already paid and keep a copy of the receipt.

4. Make copies of your baby's birth certificate for each applicant.

5. Have passport-size (3x4) photos of the applicants on a WHITE background.

6. Take copies of EVERY page in your passport.

7. Make sure you complete and sign a declaration form (obtained from the shop across the street from the police).

8. Ensure there are no errors on the application form. There is no margin for error. Anything crossed out or in the wrong section will mean you being asked to do it again. 

9. Turn up early and be prepared to wait. 

10. Take plenty of cash. If you use the internet shop across the street from Police Federal, they will not accept any other method of payment. 

 

Comments

[Raw Chef Eric Rivkin, Costa Rica]

Congratulations on Kobra's birth! She' quite beautiful and Jamie radiates! I go through similar stand-in-line pains in Costa Rica, but I have an insider at Immigration who actually will come with me personally and go to the head of the line, every agency. He's so friendly, like a Santa, and his last name is Flores (flower). Figures. If you're still wanting to live in the tropics, Jewel of the Sun has some new information for you, and immigration here isnt nearly as bad as Brazil. Website is www.vivalaraw.org, your old pic is in there. Families are coming here this fall to look into moving here. Many young families in region now. I hear countries won't allow travel from Brazil unless you've had vaccinations for yellow fever. Know anything about that? I know raw fooders in Rio de Janeiro. Where are you located in relation to Rio or Natal?
Happy journeys and much love,
Eric

[Jamie]

Thanks for the update on vivalawraw. You're fortunate to have someone on the inside in CR. We could probably formalise our stay here by paying the hefty fine. But things do move slowly in Brazil. Never heard of the Yellow Fever warning and we know families here who routinely fly from Brazil. We are a long way from Rio and Natal by road. The closest large city is Salvador, six hours away by coach. Even flying is difficult as the nearest airport is two hours away. We've not seen much of Brazil. We're figuring out how, with a young family, to do that before we leave for other shores. Good to hear from you.
Claude

[Chelly]

Totally feel your frustration! It was the same hoopla when we were living in the south pacific. We'd have a form filled out and the payment, get to the office and find that it's the wrong form and not the correct amount. So we go back with the right things in the afternoon, only to have a different guy say it was the form we originally had and the original payment. They have a strange system to things that I cannot understand. They want us to be on top of things and get the forms to them asap but they take foooorever to do anything with them!

We also decided not to renew our residency and came back to the US and we'll deal with it should be decide to go back. The main thing that I don't like is the money because it's always more than they originally say. Like, paying for the residency and then we have to pay a processing fee and then a fee to get the residency paper. aaah! So much easier in the US & UK. And you're so right about getting receipts because that's when some fees will disappear as the worker can't pocket the cash then. We have had workers try and bribe us but it's always under the table, nothing on paper and you don't know if they even work there or if they're someone's brother!!

It'll work out, you just need patience and a money tree!