U.S. Citizen Services - Brazil

As I prepare to move abroad, I've been searching for information that will be helpful to us as American citizens living in Brazil. E doesn't have an American passport yet, and although it'd probably be more convenient to get one before we leave, it's not necessary. The American embassy in Brazil explains on their website the process how to get a U.S. passport from the embassy/consulate closest to you. In our case, that'd be Brasilia. This actually makes me wonder if I'll have students whose parents are diplomats; I say it's highly likely.

The U.S. embassy's website also provides advice for Americans who plan to reside in (or travel to) Brazil. It is suggested that we register with the embassy once we arrive so that they know who we are and where we're living. This should facilitate the process of proving that we are American citizens should we ever need their assistance. In addition, if there is ever an emergency then they know who to contact and how to get a hold of us.

The following information was taken from the U.S. embassy's website (encouraging Americans to sign up with the embassy's/consular's Consular Section). The embassy does not provide information only about passports and registration, but there is an abundance of valuable information for expatriates, students, tourists, etc.

Travel Information

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program

The U.S. Mission Brazil encourages all U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Brazil to sign up with the Embassy's or Consulate's Consular Section.
Signing-up with the U.S. Embassy/Consulate allows us to contact you in the event of an emergency or send you the latest information about living or visiting Brazil and other important notices, including Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts (where appropriate). Enrollment can be also useful to help verify U.S. citizenship after the loss or theft of a passport.
The information submitted is covered by privacy laws, accessed only by cleared personnel in Embassies, Consulates, and the department of State and no information submitted will be released without your express consent.

Signing up On-line

U.S. citizens around the world who travel or reside abroad can sign-up on-line at the Smart Traveller Enrollment Program (STEP) directly at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui.  We invite you to enroll yourself and your family and get acquainted with STEP. You only need to sign-up once.
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program for American citizens allows you to sign up and update your contact information on the Internet at any time, making it easier for you to keep your information current.

Signing up in Person

Those citizens without Internet access may sign up directly with the Embassy or Consulate. Each post has consular jurisdiction over an area in Brazil. Please check the Contact Information and Working Hours to find out the appropriate address and working hours.
If you choose to come to enroll in person, please bring your U.S. passport (or other proof of your citizenship and identification document) and if possible one photograph of each member of your family. You should fill out and sign the enrollment form bellow, one per family, and bring to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy/ Consulate.

The following form is a PDF file that can be viewed and printed using Adobe® Reader®. If you don't have this software in your computer, please download it free of charge by clicking the box at your right.  Sign up Form      

Am I required to sign up with STEP?

It’s not mandatory, but highly recommended.
For updated Consular Specific Information on Brazil, please access the link:  http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1072.html

Frequently Asked Questions about STEP

Source: United States of America Embassy: United States Diplomatic Mission to Brazil

Passports, and Visas, and the Consulate...oh my!

I'm frustrated because I think I was given false information by the consulate. Before we registered our marriage back in December, I had sent the consulate a number of e-mails asking about marriage registration and the permanent visa. I wanted to know if my husband needed to renew his passport before I could apply for MY visa since he has to prove his nationality (even though he has his birth certificate?). I was told "YES". That is what I think was misleading/false information.

I've recently been over obsessing about my visa and the more I REread, again and again and again, the more I'm convinced that the people who respond to e-mails at the Miami consulate just don't know English well. Even the website doesn't explain well the steps to getting the permanent visa; it lists what we need but not how to go about doing it. On top of that, the consulate won't accept visa-related phone calls. You have to send e-mails (to people who have not quite mastered the English language).

All of this is confusing and a bit frustrating. So, after conversing back and forth with the consulate, via e-mail of course, I have come to the conclusion that I don't need to wait any longer to apply for the visa. And frankly, should not have waited this long. But, just in case they were right about needing to renew my husband's passport.....it came in the mail today....

Now we both have blue passports

I have decided then to take a trip to Miami this week to apply for my visa. I will take everything, and more, that they require and hope for the best. We have probably 4 1/2 months before we move so I don't want to wait any longer (although the visa shouldn't *crosses fingers* take that long). I'm also taking my husband along because I don't want any issues about applying on the basis of marriage and then not being with my husband when I apply in person (because you can't do it in the mail - go figure).

Apparently if you've been married for 5+ years to a Brazilian then you only need to wait 5 business days to get the permanent visa; otherwise they have to wait on authorization from Brazil. The person who responded to my last e-mail told me that and their English was the best. I'd read this on a forum recently as well so it was nice to hear it from the consulate.

Maybe I'm just overwhelmed with work and graduate school and years of the U.S. immigration process as my husband went through it all here. I know I'm nervous about doing everything right and making sure we follow the steps and all that this entails....I guess it's just taking it's toll on me. I'm tired and can't wait until this is over. On a good note, however, I must have done a stellar job when I sent off for my husband's new passport because it took less than 2 weeks to get it back.

I just hope that my visa process goes as smoothly. I only have so many personal days that I can use at work so I can't miss a day unless it's for something productive that cannot be done via the phone, the Internet, or through the mail.

Brazilians sure do love public notaries

I just don't get it. Why the fascination with notaries? I mean, really, aren't they only supposed to be used in the incident that you need someone to verify that it is in fact YOU that is signing "that" document? Not for everything else.

But I swear that everything that I send to the Brazilian consulate has to be notarized. The problem I have with this is that it's a pain in the behind. I have to go out of my way and depend on other people. Apparently this is something that I don't enjoy doing because it makes me royally annoyed every time.

We had to ask friends to follow me around town to have their signatures notarized when we were legalizing our marriage in Brazil. My signature had to be notarized when I wrote the letter to the consulate swearing I'd never been married to a Brazilian previously. Now for E's passport renewal we have to do it all again. And this time it's not just to verify that E is who is he when he signs the application. We also have to have his documents notarized stating that they are in fact copies of his documents (passport, military ID, birth certificate).  I don't get that, but then again, I don't want to send his birth certificate in the mail so getting a notarized copy is a better choice. The thing is that the bank, or notary, has to make copies and then notarize them. They won't accept the copies I made.

So here's the story.....

I tried to hurry home from work today to meet E so that we could go to the bank together. We made it before they close at 4 p.m. and didn't have to wait too long before we were called on to have our documents notarized. Luckily for us, the banker who helped us recognized my husband and knows one of his trainers, AND is Brazilian, so he used his "jeitinho brasileiro" (for lack of a better translation, his "Brazilian way") to persuade his co-worker to notarize everything since his commission had expired. He knew exactly what to do as far as notarizations for the consulate and he, and his dissatisfied and grumpy co-worker who just wanted to go home, took care of everything for us. We were in and out in 20 minutes (which is good for our bank).

I feel everything was done to par since the Brazilian banker knew what he was doing. E's passport will be in the mail by the weekend - heading to Miami. I called the consulate this afternoon just to verify that we have everything and that we don't need to send originals (yea!!!) besides the expiring passport (obviously). I'm a satisfied customer.

Would you put your passport in the mail?

Oh, a tricky question. One to which I want to scream the answer "No!" to, but can't. I actually have mailed my passport before. Twice. The first time was when my passport got so full that I needed to request for more pages (yes! every travellers dream) since it was not going to expire for a couple of years but I had nowhere to put another visa. This service was free (to my delight) and provided by the government, but I had to mail it for the additional pages. There was no place, no agency, for me to visit. That made me nervous, especially because it was not too long after Hurricane Katrina and I believe I had to send it to New Orleans. But, all went well and I, rather quickly, received my new-and-improved passport. Well, not really improved because they did not put the pages in straight so the middle section always stuck out a little at the bottom. That was always annoying.

The second time I mailed my passport was to the Brazilian consulate (in Miami) because I needed a new Brazilian tourist visa. I was less worried/nervous that time since I had previously sent off my passport into never-ever-land (AKA Louisiana) for the additional pages. My passport was again returned safe and sound to me in the SASE I had sent my passport with - visa and all. I again sighed in relief.

Now it's E's turn. Yes, we have still not renewed his Brazilian passport; but this is not because of me. I am a bit OCD with paperwork and if it had been just my responsibility, it would have been sent off already. But it's not. I guess he's not in a hurry since our trip is not until July; it must seem long off to him. However, I cannot apply for residency until he has his passport because we have to present valid passports at the time I apply. So, let's get on it!

Now we thought the visiting consulate would be in central Florida last weekend since that's what we were told in Miami when we were there last month. But this is not the case. Thanks a lot to whoever told me that lie. 

As a result, I've been reading about our options on passport renewal - do so personally in the consulate, do so by mail, or visit a "travelling" consulate when they are in your area. The quickest and safest way is go to the consulate and renew in person (because if you make a mistake there is someone to give you immediate feedback for you to correct it OR photocopy/sign anything missing). But the next best option is by mail. It's only supposed to take an additional 10 days for you to get the new passport and you don't have to pay for gas, drive back and forth to Miami, or miss work to make the visit. So it's easy. BUT, if you are missing something (which would delay process) or (God forbid) something is lost in the mail, then well, you can pretty much say you are sh*t out of luck. Forget the "travelling" consulates option, their time for passport renewal is 2 months. Who has time for that? Not me, I'm moving to Brazil.

So of course it makes me nervous to mail E's passport (and other important documents), but I guess that's the best option now. It'll save us time and money and once it's sent off we won't have to do anything more, just wait. We just have to make sure that we send it express mail - both there and back.

Do I cross my fingers or hold my breath?

PAWsport for kitty

The adults are not the only ones preparing to ship off to Brazil; the kitty gets to go, too. People always ask me if I'm going to take my cat, which isn't such a weird question when even MORE people ask me if my husband is going. Um, YES. Why the hell not? I mean, are people serious? They must be because this is a common question that I get asked when I share my news of moving/teaching abroad.

Yes, the cat, my cat, my baby Sebastian (or Sebastião since I wanted my "son" to have a name easily pronounced in Portuguese) is going to Brazil. And he's excited! Tells me every day. E likes to make jokes that he won't be able to communicate with his neighbors (the cats, that is) because he "speaks" English, but I'm sure he's bilingual. After all, we do speak to him in Portuguese as much as we do in English. I don't know why or how but that's how it works.

Kitty doesn't need a passport, but he does need to be OKed by the Brazilian consulate 10 days before moving. The consulate's website reads:

International Health Certificate for Pets (dogs and cats only) issued by veterinarians must be certified by the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). The International Health Certificate must show that the pet identified was examined by a veterinarian in the ten days prior to shipment, not showing any clinical sign of disease


However, when I do a little bit more research it seems that Sebastian needs to have all of his papers in order, as well as his recent visit to a veterinarian. According to AngloINFO, a Brazilian website, we will also need:

A certificate of vaccination against rabies for any animal over 90 days old (obtained 30 days before entry in the case of animals vaccinated for the first time). This must be valid for at least one year

Proof of owners full name and address including state and country

Documents showing the animals name, breed, gender, size, colour, coat and any other specific markings

Copies of all relevant documents for animals imported as cargo

Fair enough. Not too complicated or expensive.

It's funny how E and I have grown to love this cat and think of him almost as a "son" when I promise you we never thought before that that could happen. I mean, what's not to love?


When we first got him

And distract his mommy from her school work



Sleeping beauty

He loves to watch TV, especially Animal Planet

Watching "Garfield"

Mommy's boy

Doing research on-line

Sebastian



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.

Destination: Miami

"Welcome to Miami. Bienvenido a Miami." or even better, and as the husband  (E) would appreciate...."I'm in Miami b*&^%."

In order for me to move on with the immigration process of moving to Brazil, we have to register our marriage first (something that I've been meaning to do for years) and then we can proceed with the spousal visa for me. None of this is new to us since we've been through the immigration process with the husband (E) here in the U.S., but now it's my turn. Soooooo, we have to make a visit to the Brazilian consulate in Miami for that.

In addition to registering our marriage, the husband (E) needs to renew his Brazilian passport since it's going to expire in March 2011. Once our marriage is registered with the consulate and the husband's (E's) passport is renewed, we can request the spousal visa.

I feel good about starting all of this as soon as possible because it would make me nervous otherwise. Plus, who wouldn't want to go to Miami during the winter?

Not me. Especially after the col weather we've had in Florida during the month of December.