Showing posts with label Brazil visa process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil visa process. Show all posts

Friday, 1 October 2010

Applying for RNE in Sao Paulo

So we are in the midst of getting our appointment with the Federal Police in Lapa and came across a really helpful thread on gringoes and wanted to copy it here as the more help you have, the more prepared you are and the easier (and less stressful) the process will be.  I will, of course, post a new blog on our personal experience when we finally have our RNE!! Wish us luck!


Note to self : never rely on cheap agents again!! We are currently photocopying all stamped passport pages to be notarised this morning and hopefully be back in Lapa this afternoon for our appointment.


This was originally posted on gringoes.com by user Molendinar:

Finally got my permanency on basis of marriage approved so a big thanks to everyone on here for all their help, in the end it was a relatively smooth process and has only taken 5 months from start to finish (I am in São Paulo).

My timeline was:

27-04-10 - handed in documents
17-06-10 - Police visit
09-08-10 - appears on MJ website - Aguadando Análise
24-09-10 - Proposta do Chefe - deferido
27-09-10 - Publicado no DOU

In order to get the page from the DOU I did two things.

First I went to the Imprensa Oficial in Mooca, Rua da Mooca 1921, São Paulo 03103-902. You go in the door past reception, go to the right and it's the second desk on the right. I asked for the DOU for that day but it hadn't arrived, this was about 3pm) so they gave me a phone number and said to phone the next day to check before coming (2799-9482, 2799-9797). I phoned the next day at 9am and it had arrived so I went back and they photocopied the page, reducing it to A4 and then stamped the back of it. I was charged R$2.

Because of the delay at the Imprensa Oficial I also printed a copy myself of the relevant page from the Internet (http://portal.in.gov.br/in select Pesquisa nos Jornais then "Leitura Completa dos Jornais and then put in the publication and the date) and took it to a cartório to get authenticated. They refused to do this initially but I insisted the only copy available was from the Internet and the boss agreed so they authenticated it and stamped it with "Esta AUTENTICAÇÃO não dispensa consulta à internet para verificação da validade". This was the copy I gave to the Policia Federal in the end and was accepted with no problems.

I then took all the documents to the Policia Federal in Lapa and joined the queue for RNE. I was then given a form to complete and a blank "declaração de desembarque" statement as well as a list of the documents necessary. I was also told I needed to make an appointment, luckily I was able to do it the same day, but I needed to go back to the ground floor and register at the first window on the left after you come through the metal detector. It was about 11am by this time.

After getting a number I had to then fill out the form, and the declaration then join the queue again.

I was asked for the following documents:

• RNE application form, which will be given to you at the DPF office when you arrive. You fill it in there and submit with the other documents. Only fill in the part in the red box, only sign it on the back - you sign the front in the presence of the police officer)
• Two (02) recent colour photographs, size 3cm x 4cm with a white background, no date on photos
• valid passport, plus authenticated copy from a cartório of ALL the pages except for the blank ones i.e. photo page plus every page that has a stamp in it
• autenticated copy of marriage certificate
•authenticated copy of page from the DOU reduced to A4, with no pen marks (if yo have been published more than once then you need to bring all of them)
• original protocol (this was a stamp in my passport)
• declaração de desembarque (fill in the blanks in the statement about when you arrived in Brazil)
• recpeipts for the payment of the two fees. Go to the web site https://www2.dpf.gov.br/gru/gru?nac=1 from which you need to print out vouchers for: Code 140082 (REGISTRO DE ESTRANGEIROS/RESTABELECIMENTO DE REGISTRO) R$64.58 and Code 140120 (CARTEIRA DE ESTRANGEIRO DE PRIMEIRA VIA)  R$124.23. Pay these at a bank before you go to the DPF office.

I was not asked for  a Consular Certificate.

Here's the paper I was given (he asked my nationality, when I said British he ticked the boxes):



Once I handed all this in I was told I had to come back at 15h00 to get my passport back and receive the protcolo. However, he never told me I would be called for fingerprinting, but luckily I decided to wait. After 20 minuted I was called to do the now digital fingerprints where they scan your fingers and take your photo. The woman there then told me I didn't have to come back till 15h30.

I decided to wait, not a lot of things to do in Lapa and by this point it was 13h00 and I'd brought a book to read.

At 14h30 they started shouting out people's names, it was very hard to make out what the names were, some of the police offices used a microphone and speakers while others just shouted the names. You really needed to pay attention. They do this every 10 minutes. Anyway, 15h30 came and went and finally at 16h15 my name was called and I was given my passport back and my protocolo.

I asked about getting a certificate to prove I was awaiting the RNE and was told to come back in 3 weeks by which time my name should be in the system and I could then request a certificate.

Hope all this helps someone.

Wednesday, 8 September 2010

Almost there!

In Buenos Aires trying to sort out our visas... not the worst place to be I guess but I am dying to get back to Sao Paulo to finally start settling in. We have been travelling since 29th December 2009 and our 3 month trip / living out of our suitcases has extended to Month No. 9!

Our visa story so far... 

March - process started
April - process for UK police reports takes up to 2 months (no online application so dependent on Brazil post which is actually not so bad...)
May - police reports need to be legalised at Brazilian consulate in London
June - agent submits application but won't be ready for our June London trip so we elect Buenos Aires
July - question about application comes back, agent re-submits with clarifications. Wedding cert and Sophie's birth certificate needs to be translated into Portuguese by an authorised translator. Agent also just remembers that these documents need to be legalised by the consulate (nice of her to remember after going already in June!)
August - one of Tim's colleagues sits next to someone who works in the Ministry of Trabalhadores and explains the situation. He takes her contact details and that week Tim emails the case file.
August 15th - one week later the visa is finally approved BUT we have to pick it up in Buenos Aires, which is a bit of pain as we are heading back to the UK for some weddings.
August 26th - another visit to the Brazilian consulate in London but (obviously) they will not legalise our wedding certificate which is New York issued. Nightmare! Tim finds an agent to send the certificate to in New York but it turns out that it needs to be notarised by the State Department first, and then the City Clerk before the Brazilian consultate in New York will legalise it. 
September 2nd - In Buenos Aires by now and the agent calls as he needs Tim to send a notarised letter giving him permission to have our wedding certificate released to him. There is a specific letter format required. The notary system is not as simple as it should be (in New Zealand I had just called up a notary in the yellow pages, went to visit him and it took 2 minutes, literally). A client of Tim's recommended some notaries but we couldn't find one that spoke English so we winged it with one. It turns out that they have to produce a separate formal letter to confirm that they have checked his identification and have it sent off somewhere else and it was going to take 6 hours. When we returned at 5pm they told Tim that it wasn't complete as the formal ID letter also needed to be sent to the School of Notaries to be stamped..... we decided to Fedex it up to NY as it was anyhow.
September 3rd - the NY agent managed to get the certificate legalised at the consulate and fedexed that night. woohoo! Appointment had to be rescheduled for Wednesday as Tuesday was a public holiday.

TODAY - WOOHOO our passports are with the Consulate now. Our appointment was for 12:30 and we turned up but it was really just to submit our forms and passports. She was happy with all our legalised documents, thank god! We were honestly prepared for something else to happen to delay our visa! The fee was much higher than we thought. Our agent in Brazil had told us it was Peso $421 for all of us but it turned out to be $2,400 instead! I think there were additional fees for processing only the British passports but because I hold a NZ passport (and New Zealander's love Brazilians, they have a study/work visa available for Brazilians) there was no additional fee for me.  There was no way that they could fast track it so we pick it up on Monday. Flights have been changed to Monday evening now and we have an extra 5 days here in Buenos Aires so going to make the most of it as don't think we'll be back here for awhile.


*I haven't mentioned the Brazilian agent's name as we haven't completed the process quite yet and I don't want to jinx it! But I will do once we have them in our hands as a warning to anyone not to use her... I guess we got what we paid for, and less : (