LEGALIZING YOUR ENTRY AND STAY IN BRAZIL
Thus, upon arrival in Brazil, foreigners who will remain in the country for more than three months must request a Residence Permit from the Federal Police.
Exchange students, students regularly enrolled in Undergraduate and Graduate courses (Masters and Doctorate), Postdocs, Visiting Professors and Researchers have a maximum period of 90 (ninety) days to regularize their legal status in the country, and the procedures vary according to the type.
To regularize the situation in the country, the foreigner must make a prior appointment on the Federal Police website and, on the scheduled date and time , go to the service station in the city in which he resides and present all the required documents. Failure to present all the documents may take the foreigner need to make a new appointment.
Once the Residence Permit procedure has been carried out, the visa (consular tag attached to the passport) loses its validity, the validity and renewal terms refer to the identity document called, as known as National Migration Registry Card – CRNM (acronym for Carteira de Registro Nacional Migratório).
Below is briefly explained the types of procedures to be carried out by foreigners linked to Unicamp. For complete information on all the necessary procedures and documention, foreigners must access the Federal Police website and, in case of doubt, use the Migratory Regularization Guided Navigation service.
Travelers on student Visas and Travelers with Mercosul Visa
Foreigners who entered Brazil on a student visa or accordingly with the Mercosul agreement must follow the procedures called Visa Registration. On the Police Federal website, this process appears under the title Register as a Foreigner in Brazil, “Registrar-se como Estrangeiro no Brasil”.
Travelers without a visa (entry as a tourist)
Due to some bilateral agreements, travelers from several countries can enter Brazil without the need to previously request a visa, entering the country as tourists (only the Federal Police stamp is given at the airport where the traveler disembarks). In these cases, foreigners who will remain in the country for more than three months must request a Residence Permit from the Federal Police within a maximum period of up to 90 (ninety) days.
On the Federal Police website, this process appears under the title of Obtaining Residence Permit, “Obter Autorização de Residência”. The required documentation depends on the modality and the foreigner must pay attention to this, as incomplete and/or incorrect documentation can affect the process of regularizing the stay in the country.
Foreigners from MERCOSUR countries can choose the MERCOSUR Residence Agreement option, “Acordo sobre Residência do MERCOSUL”.
Foreigners from other countries who will have a student bond with Unicamp (exchange students and students from Undergraduate and Graduate courses (Master’s and Doctorate)) must choose the Residence Permit for Study Purposes option, “Autorização de Residência para Fins de Estudo”.
The procedure for renewal is the same as for the first Residence Permit.
Postdoctoral Visa Travelers, Researcher, Visiting Professor
If entered Brazil without a visa, upon arrival in Brazil, a foreigner must apply for a residence permit, as per Normative Resolution No. 01/2017, “Resolução Normativa nº 01/201”.
As this is a labor immigration policy, even if there is no employment relationship, the residence permit must be requested from the Ministry of Labor through the Migranteweb system. To help in this process, the Brazilian government’s Immigration Portal provides tutorials on the process to be carried out in the system, as well as technical information and other general guidelines.
Once the residence permit application has been granted (accepted), the decision is published in the Federal Official Gazette (D.O.U, acronym to Diário Oficial da União) and the foreigner must register with the Federal Police post closest to his/her residence. Information about this process can be found on the Federal Police Portal, in the Register as a Foreigner in Brazil, “Registrar-se como Estrangeiro no Brasil” service.
Important: the documentation for this type of Residence Permit is different from that required for other foreigners. Therefore, the foreigner must pay attention to the complete list of documents, being able to consult them in the Registry based on the publication in the Federal Official Gazette, “Registro com base em publicação em Diário Oficial da União”.
For more information, access the materials below that we have prepared for you.
