Any tips/advice for marrying in Brazil?

[jworld34 0]

Hi all,

I'll be marrying my Brazilian girlfriend in Brazil sometime in January. I was just looking for some general advice on the process. I understand most of it, however still need to find documents such as proof of my single-status, proof of residence, etc.

Questions mostly are how I go about obtaining such documents, do I need copies, how do I "certify" them (Just send to Brazilian consulate?), and an idea on the total cost of just getting married.

I know I have to get my documents translated and everything, but just trying to make it as smooth as possible. I've asked numerous other times, but in this situation, you can never ask enough, right?

Thanks,

J

[Tricia599 2]

Hi all,

I'll be marrying my Brazilian girlfriend in Brazil sometime in January. I was just looking for some general advice on the process. I understand most of it, however still need to find documents such as proof of my single-status, proof of residence, etc.

Questions mostly are how I go about obtaining such documents, do I need copies, how do I "certify" them (Just send to Brazilian consulate?), and an idea on the total cost of just getting married.

I know I have to get my documents translated and everything, but just trying to make it as smooth as possible. I've asked numerous other times, but in this situation, you can never ask enough, right?

Thanks,

J

Have your girlfriend go to the cartorio where you will be married and find out exactly what they need from you. Each one is different, so confirm everything. Everything is easier to get while you're in the US rather than a frantic phone call home to have someone else track something down and get it to you fast.

Statement of Single Status I got from my county Clerk of Courts. Proof of Residence/Good character I got from my local police office. Everything else was pretty straight forward (birth certificate, passport, etc).

If they want everything authenticated by the Brazilian consulate, the consulate for your area should have instructions on their site. My consulate is in DC, and before I could even send it to the consulate I needed to get it authenticated by my state (the Secretary of State's office). Before I could send it to the state, I needed it notarized by a non-expiring notary or a notary registered with the consulate. It's a lot of mail back and forth - and fees ranging from $5-20 (this was about 5 years ago, so the prices may have gone up). Luckily, you should be able to do everything by mail. This will be the bulk of the expense - paying for stamps/seals and mail (make sure you can track everything).

If you need to get stuff translated for your cartorio, you need to find a registered translator in Brazil. If I recall, I think the US consulate in Rio's website had a list of some names if you couldn't find a translator.

In addition to the stuff I had to get from the US, I had to get a letter from the Federal Police saying I was in the country legally. Then I had to take everything and get it registered with the local cartorio, of course, for another small fee (not much).

Once you have everything and turn it in to the cartorio, you pay a fee and then set the date. There is some mandatory waiting period (our city was 45 days), so it's not a quickie Vegas-type thing. We didn't do a church wedding, only the cartorio, so I don't know how they work the civil ceremony with the religious. I lived in a small town and you had to do 2 weddings if you wanted it in church - the first at the cartorio and then at the church.

Hope this helps. Good luck!