amazingly it’s taken me 2 years to get around to writing this post, I guess that’s what happens when you move here, you really relax ;)

Getting to the Brasilian Consulate

Get yourself to old London town and head to: 3 Vere Street, London, UK, W1G 0DG. You will have already setup your appointment of course in the last step. Once you get there, like many things Brasilian, be prepared to queue, be patient, remember the people that work there are just as busy as you are, and you really don’t want to have to come back again, especially if you don’t live in our Capital. Eventually you’ll be ushered to a window where a person will meticulously check your paperwork, if you have messed something up, this is where your in trouble – you’ll have to fix the problem and come back another time (they’ll let you know).

Waiting time for Visa

If all is well, the consulate staff will take all your paperwork and start the process, incredibly I only had to wait for about 5 days, and wham, my SAE landed back in my mailbox in Devon – 2 year Visa stuck right in there – I’m off to Brasil and that’s where the fun starts.

Getting to Brasil

You’re good to go, as by this point I had been waiting for nearly 9 months for my VISA to process and go through, I was on a plane out of the UK 2 days after my visa turned up. I decided to leave most of my stuff in the UK (and what I didn’t leave I sold) and managed the trip with about 80kg of luggage (2 cases and a backpack for carry on), it’s around 11 hours from the UK to Brasil, but it’s a pleasant enough flight, just not something you’d want to do every few weeks.

More Documentation

Upon arrival in Brasil (after going through immigration / customs and arriving at your final destination), you’ll have 30 days to register with the Federal Police. Find your nearest Federal Police station on their website and there you can apply for…

RNE (Registro Nacional de Estrangeiros)

Literal translation – National Registration of Foreigners, sounds a little rude, but the word Estrangeiro (foreigner) does not carry to same negative connotations as it does in the UK, so don’t be bothered by it. This is a pain in the ass to get, and you really really need it. All natural born Brasilians have an RG (Carteira de Identidade) number, this is an identity card and you are required to carry it with you at all times. This is the first thing you’ll apply for in Brasil. You do it at the federal police. Bring your passport, a notarised copy of your passport, 2 passport photos, every piece of documentation the consulate gave you, all pieces of paper you still have, a copy of your contract (notarised), and anything else that you have regarding your employment in Brasil. They have a list of what you need to bring but in my experience, when you get there, people are not 100% which pieces you need, so take everything to be sure. Took me a few attempts to get this one right.

Work Card

Anyone working in Brasil needs a ‘Carteira de Trabalho’ or work card (it’s actually a little blue book the same size as a passport) – it’s list your current employment and any notes that are pertinent to your job. You’ll need to apply for one at the ‘Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego’, basically the ministry of work, find them here. In order to apply for this you’ll need your RNE. Again, I ended up going to the MTE office 3 times before someone actually got it right and I got a work card. Same applies, take every piece of documentation you have, including copies of everything, notarised if possible.

CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físical)

This is basically a financial number, you can use it when you buy items in Brasil and receive a tiny payout from the goverment every 3 months. Everything you do in Brasil needs a CPF, without it you don’t exist. They are very easy to get as well, head to Correios (post office) and find your nearest branch, take your Visa with you and enter an application for a number – they’ll issue it right there and then.

The above will take you a few weeks to sort out, what with working in your new job, finding somewhere to live and getting used to the culture, don’t panic, relax, be a Brasilian – calm.