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Hello,

Well, first of all some good news... Brazilian winter is just around the corner so you won't have to worry about the heat making you ill. You will have ample opportunity to adapt to the climate once it starts heating up. The seasons here are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere which may take some getting used to (it did for me).

Now the bad news... since I'm a Canadian I have no helpful information regarding the British Consulate, but perhaps you might have more luck if you try contacting the Consulate here in São Paulo with any visa questions you may have. Generally speaking, all of the consulates here are much easier to contact.

I have been living here in Brazil for over 9 years now, in  various cities. I have passed through Santos a few times, but really don't know it well. I don't think you will have much trouble meeting English speakers, but strongly advise you to learn some Portuguese before coming here, it will make your life a whole lot easier. Also check into any regulations regarding professional certification here. There are few international reciprocal agreements, so depending on your line of work your qualifications may not be recognized here.

Money????  Leave most of it back in England, safe in the bank. If you don't already have an account at HSBC Bank, open one and deposit your money there. You will then have the advantage of being able to use any of the HSBC (or affiliated system) ATM machines in Brazil. Otherwise you will need to do foreign transactions only through specific ATMs only at the major branches of Banco do Brasil. Trust me, HSBC will eliminate all the headaches... you can thank me later.

PATIENCE is the keyword if you are coming to Brazil. There are endless lineups for everything and bureaucracy has been refined to a science here... get used to it, stay calm and just go with the flow.

Leave your conscience and compassion back home in Jolly Ole England... it doesn't work here. Everyone has a sad story and begs in the street, on the bus or subways and trains. Keep your wallet in your pocket, they probably have more money than you do. If someone asks for food, that is an entirely diferent story. There you can use your good sense if you want to be a good samaritan or not, but buy the food and don't just give money.

Security... dress down, no jewelry or expensive watches, cameras, etc. Don't ever take out your wallet in public. Carry with you only the money you will need for the time-being, or a specific purchase and not much more. Keep a small amount in your pocket, the rest in small amounts inside your shoes, socks, moneybelt and only very little in your wallet.

Documents... go immediately to a Cartório (Registry) and make certified copies of all your important documents (Passport, Birth Certificate, ID, etc.) Keep the originals in a safe place and carry only the certified copies in your wallet. CPF and RNE (Registro Nacional de Estrangeiro) you will need to carry the originals of these two documents only.

Good luck, and enjoy.

Hello all!
   WJWoodard, great advice. I'm living in Canada right now, and would like to know, what visa process did you follow? I really want to just visit SP for about 5-6 months. I'm not looking to work, just blend in and enjoy the culture. No, I don't speak the language (hence your advice on learning very useful), but I'm a pretty quick learner once I'm surrounded by native speakers.

What I'd also like to know is, for someone on a tight budget who won't be working, are there hosts/host families I can stay with while I'm there? If I have to work temporarily/help with chores I have no problem with that. I just don't have enough to rent a place of my own for that long. I'd like a safe and reliable network to plug into before I arrive. I'm planning for the end of the month departure.

Thanks!
Freddy

Hi Freddy,

Welcome to Expat-blog!

If you have more questions, i would suggest you to start a new discussion on the Sao Paulo forum.

Thank you.

wjwoodward wrote:

Hello,



Money????  Leave most of it back in England, safe in the bank. If you don't already have an account at HSBC Bank, open one and deposit your money there. You will then have the advantage of being able to use any of the HSBC (or affiliated system) ATM machines in Brazil. Otherwise you will need to do foreign transactions only through specific ATMs only at the major branches of Banco do Brasil. Trust me, HSBC will eliminate all the headaches... you can thank me later.



Good luck, and enjoy.

I agree with the rest of the advices, but the one about the money is not completely correct.
I still have money in Spain, my bank is a very small one but I can use my Debit and Credit cards on any Banco 24 Horas ATMs, they are almost everywhere, I can withdraw money with no worries. Actually I´m gradually bringing my money from Europe because the savings rate in Brazil is much bigger than Europe...

Good luck!

To Slyfitness and Freddy,

Check out the list of Visa Exempt Countrie s on the hyperlink below.

Good news for you Sly - you don't need a visa if you have a Great Britain passport, you are able to enter the country and stay for 90 days with just your valid passport (check with the Brazilian consulate about extension for a further 90 days because I don't have that information).

Freddy,

Visa requirements for you depend on whether you are travelling on a Canadian Passport or from some other country. If your passport is from some other country then check out the hyperlink below. If you are a Canadian citizen travelling on a Canadian Passport then you need at minimum a Tourist Visa, which is available from the Brazilian Consulate in Toronto. You can get the visa application form online, fill it out and then you either send it along with your passport and the required fee (I recnommend either Registered or Express Post)and if I remember correctly they also require a prepaid, self addressed return envelope (same recommendation as above)and they will send the passport with visa back to you. You can also take it to the Consulate in Toronto and apply in person if you live in Kingston then Toronto isn't too far a trip. By mail they were saying (in 2001) when I got my visa the processing time was 3 business days. I would guess that in person you would get it processed on the spot. I came to Brazil on a Tourist Visa and while I was here I got married to a Brazilian if that answers your question about the visa process I used.

thank you mp garcia and woodward

thats good news about hsbc and the visa!! thanks alot }:^)

Thanks Jim. That's very helpful info.

mp_garcia,

It could be that your bank in Spain is affiliated with Santander, which operates here in Brazil and that is why your debit card works here and you can access your account. As far as credit cards go, they all work here. When I arrived in Brazil I soon found out that there was ONLY one way to make international ATM transactions and that was through Banco do Brasil as I mentioned. Some international banks that operate here make international ATM transactions possible, like Citibank for example, if your account is with them. However having said that, the only truly international bank here in Brazil that makes international transactions from any part of the world available and has enough branches and ATM locations to even consider is still HSBC. I have no affiliation with the bank and what I am saying is in no way to advertise them, it is just factual information that I had to learn the hard way before opening an HSBC Canada account from Brazil (an extremely difficult task) in order to resolve the constant nightmare of trying to access my funds in another bank in Canada. I am simply relating my personal experience in hopes of saving others the same headaches I went through.

Hi wjwoodward,

I know you are just relating your experience, actually your advices are very usefull. My bank is actually afiliated to Santander, but before moving back to Brazil I used to come for vacation before Santander was even thinking about comming to Brazil, and I was able to withdraw money easily. Same thing happened when I first moved to Spain and had my money in Brazil, I had no problems at all withdrawing money... If I´m not wrong, if your bank card is Master Card or Visa, you can withdraw on any Banco 24 Horas!!!

Hi there!

Nothing in Brazil is very friendly. Not because they are bad S attitude morons, but because they are not well versed in customer service...

Just relax ... Not too worried bout paperwork. If you are an Englishman, a native one, you will find very easy going to live here ...

We have other worries ..., but nothing compared to the Crown !

Welcome to Brazil, let me know if you need further help.
We re about 50 miles north of São Paulo, in a more laid back town.

my fiancee is from Sao Paulo and wants me to move there with my children,however, the idea completely scares me,I am learning Spanish right now, should I be learning portugese? How is the British community in Sao Paulo, does anyone have some positive feedback for me please about life in Sao Paulo,childrens facilities, ie, English kisd going to school and how difficult the transitin might be for them, they are aged from 14 down to 3.