And on to the Brazilian passport

Check out that new fancy schmancy Brazilian passport! I like to tease E that Brazil wants to be more like the U.S. because their passport used to be green and now it's blue?? Weird. Anyway, E's passport expires in two months (since it's only valid for 5 years), and he needs to renew it in order for me to apply for my permanent visa. Apparently we both need to have valid passports at the time I apply for my visa. Even if we didn't need to renew it for my immigration paperwork, we'd still have to get him a new passport before we move to Brazil. The process to renew the Brazilian passport for an adult (vs a child) is relatively similar to to that of renewing an American passport. In fact, I remember only waiting about a week when I renewed/applied for a name change to my passport back in '08. I'd imagine that it's an easier process to renew a passport then to apply for one in any country. At least, I'd hope so.

Since we live in Florida, E is supposed to request for his passport at the consulate in Miami. However, the beauty of living in a city inundated with Brazilians is that the consulate makes frequent trips up north and visits a Brazilian church in Orlando for one day every other month (at least I think that is there plan) to assist those citizens living in central Florida. Since I was aware of this, I asked the consular last month when we were in Miami when the next trip to Orlando would be. We were told that it would be the final weekend of January. Good. Neither one of us has much time or energy to make another quick trip to Miami, especially when we have to go there to get my visa within the next few months. Unlike applying for a permanent visa, renewing your passport can be done at the consulate visit in central Florida.

In order for a Brazilian citizen to renew his or her passport, the requesting person must present the following documents:

1. the complete application (which can be found on-line or at the consulate). If this is not done at the consulate, the signature must be notarized. [of course, Brazilians LOVE notaries!]

2. a passport style picture taken within the last 6 months

3. the original passport (and a copy), including the page with the citizen's signature and picture

4. the original (and a copy of the) military document for men ages 18-45. This proves that the man has registered with the Brazilian military.

5. a money order for $80. If the Brazilian renews his/her passport at the consulate, this person can pay at the Banco do Brasil machine and can just present the receipt as proof of payment.

In addition to the above listed items, if the passport is expired [which is our case], the Brazilian citizen can also present his/her national identification, work identification, Brazilian driver's license, a professional identification, birth certificate, or a marriage certificate (as long as it was a Brazilian marriage certificate).

From when the application and supporting documents are given to the consulate, it should take about 20 days (about 3 weeks) for the person to receive his/her new passport.

Luckily we have everything required to renew the passport except for the passport picture (but that takes 5-10 minutes at your local Walgreen's drugstore). And so it seems that we are on the right path to taking care of all of the legalities of emigrating to Brazil.