Marrying in Brazil: Where to get a certificate of freedom to marry?

[Velvety 4]

So my fiancee is brazilian and I am a US citizen. I have searched countless times on these forums as to WHERE I can obtain this so called "certificate of freedom to marry". I know that the US doesnt exactly have an official certificate so... what do I do? where do I go? WHO GOT MARRIED IN BRAZIL AND WHAT DID YOU DO???

What I need is my:

*birth certificate

*criminal record

*US passport

AND

*certificate of freedom to marry ( certidao de celibato)

and on top of all that I need to take all documents to get them "certified" at the brazilian consulate in Los Angeles? What else is there ? Also, does anyone know if I am UNABLE to obtain this certificate stating my single status, would it be eaiser to get it at the US consulate once I get to brazil? HELP PLEASE!

[LBeachey 44]

You may have already see this but these instructions seem reasonably clear:

http://brazil.usembassy.gov/marriage-info.html

However, you are posting in the K-1 Forum, a K-1 requires you to get married in the US. I might suggest you post in the Brazil forum to get better answers.

[Velvety 4]

Sorry Im new and wasnt aware of where I filed this topic

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

***** Topic moved to correct forum and duplicate removed *****

[Ban Hammer 13,321]

you might consider asking in the brazil thread, in the south america forum:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/99253-brasileiritchas/page__view__getlastpost

[sorchaine 10]

My husband and I were originally going to get married in Brazil, we instead went with the K1 option. But previously to that decision we had done what we could to do in order to marry in Brazil. Here's the information from what we did, though it can vary greatly what you will need as far as documents since each cartório can require different things. For us I had my birth certificate authenticated by the Brazilian Consulate here in the US. Since I was actually already in Brazil at the time, I had my parents mail it to the consulate and then put the address of where I was staying in Brazil as the return address so it was sent directly to me in Brazil as soon as it was done. It didn't take too long to arrive. As far as the single status document, that was easy to obtain from the US Consulate in Brazil itself. They will just required your ID for documentation, probably passport and then you just sign some form stating your single status, very easy and was about $50. I had my original birth certificate, already notarized by the Brazilian consulate in the US translated into Portuguese in Brazil. I was also requested to have a CPF, which was easily obtained at a post office in Brazil. I was also needing proof of address in Brazil, which was a bit harder to prove since they (the cartório) was requiring strict requirements on that. Lastly we were going to need to wait a few months before they would approve everything and give us the go ahead to actually get married there, which by the time that would be approved I would have already returned the US. Due to that fact and the problem we had with the permanent address in Brazil, we decided just to do the K1 instead. Which for us was much better as then once we were married we wouldn't be separated waiting for my husband's visa to get into the US. As for the criminal record, I was never asked for that, nor did I have it if they would have asked. So for that part, it was never really an issue.

[K and L 27]

When my husband and I looked at getting married in Brazil in 2009, the process/costs looked something like:

1) My birth certificate & its translation (translated by a sworn public translator) authenticated by the US consulate in the US ($20 + the $25 translation fee)

2) A sworn statement made at a US consulate stating that I was single and eligible to get married ($50)

3) A CPF (available freely in the US at the consulate or in Brazil all over the place)

4) Get the sworn public translation authenticated by a tabelião (R$20 IIRC)

5) Registered intent of marriage at the cartório (R$75)

6) 30 day waiting period (which, for us, was the problem, because I couldn't go back to Brazil within the valid 3 mo period or stay long enough for it)

7) Get married & register the marriage with the cartório (R$20x a bunch, because there's a fee for each and every page they needed)

We ended up talking to both the Brazilian consulate and his local cartório to get this info, and as sorchaine said, varies by cartório.

At the end of the day, with the travel necessary (both within the US & in Brazil, to hit the consulates), it just wasn't practical for us, so we went the K1 route & paid a small fee to our photographer to add videography, and made subtitles of our wedding in the DVD we burned for his parents ^^

Edited September 11, 2011 by K and L

[Bryan and Isabel 29]

So my fiancee is brazilian and I am a US citizen. I have searched countless times on these forums as to WHERE I can obtain this so called "certificate of freedom to marry". I know that the US doesnt exactly have an official certificate so... what do I do? where do I go? WHO GOT MARRIED IN BRAZIL AND WHAT DID YOU DO???

What I need is my:

*birth certificate

*criminal record

*US passport

AND

*certificate of freedom to marry ( certidao de celibato)

and on top of all that I need to take all documents to get them "certified" at the brazilian consulate in Los Angeles? What else is there ? Also, does anyone know if I am UNABLE to obtain this certificate stating my single status, would it be eaiser to get it at the US consulate once I get to brazil? HELP PLEASE!

Hello My friend,

first of all , breeeeeeeeeeeeeath, its going to be ok....

I was going to get married in brazil but then we changed our minds and went for the K-1 instead, but i did get all my documents ready for this so I know what you need. ok first off:

The Declaration of being Single is a letter that you write, stating that you have never been married in the state that you reside in or in any other state in the United states. This letter must then be taken to a notary and stamped and signed by them. that is it !!!!

As for the certification, it can only be done at your nearest Brazilian Consulate, so that may mean traveling. ON TOP of that you need to get them translated into portugese which can also be done at the Brazilian Consulate. So prepare for more than one visit to this place. One to drop them off and then one to pick them up later on. Takes about a week or two.

bryan

[Velvety 4]

Thank you all so much! It really helps. So looks like I should just discard the fee of providing my criminal record right? looks like only our cartorio is requesting it

I'm actually in the US right now so I know this whole process will take a while so I'll be mailing my paperwork before I get there so my fiance can get a headstart

Edited September 14, 2011 by Velvety