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Hi, I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I don't know how it works in South Africa (Im American) but I had my documents Apostille at the state house, not the Brazilian Consulate. I don't think the Consulate can Apostille documents but again that's here in the States, don't know about South Africa? But yes, either way everything has to be apostle before he applies for PR in Brazil, If he does get an FBI Background Check , that I know for a FACT has to be Apostille in the U.S.

Finishing up this nightmare finally after 6 months.  Wife has cancer and leaving her side was not an option.
The Policia here have been outstanding...we went to them in March and explaind the whole situation...they took my prints for me and also for their system saving us a later step. 
The issue is the US State Department and Covid...there is a 45 day backlog on Appostille processing in the US...though the Appostille companies will not inform you of that.  We had to keep going back every month for extensions. 
Steps:
Get your prints...must be current.
Send prints to FBI via DHL
To obtain electronic copy of your background check
Get all other identification documents in order both US and Brazil.
Find a US Appostille and email your background check to them.
($300) or so...no more.
Wait 45 days for fedex
From Appostille.
BTranslate the Appostille professionally here.
Bring it all to the police.
Good luck
Be honest...be nice...it helps.

06/13/21

gabbiecorrea,

Your husband needs a background check from everywhere he's lived during the past five years.  So, if his year in the US was during or after 2016, then he needs it; if prior, no.

If he's still in the US, it will be much faster and easier to obtain the Background Check through an Authorized Channeler and an apostille service.  If not, the steps recommended above by Facetedfriend should work.

On the same theme
my lawyer Bozo the Clown has just screwed up my whole permanent residence process over the apostilled documents. I'm doing the investor visa, and from what I understand the investor visa needs to be approved by someone else (department of work?) before I can go to the policia federal. I'm in a really bad situation now, as after a year i still do not have a bank account or a brazilian document, and it looks like I need to go fix this myself now. I have my investment trapped in a Brazilian corporation I can't legally sign for.

Can somebody A. Recommend a competent immigration lawyer?
or B. Tell me the name of the department where I can go to fix this? I have apostilled criminal record dated after i arrived in Brazil, but getting a new one right now dated within 3 months is more or less impossible. The department that apostilles birth certificates in California appears to be closed. I need to know who I can go talk to in hopes I can find someone willing to be reasonable.

Thank you!

06/15/21

ge,

Did you start the investor visa process at the Brazilian Consulate in the US (or Colombia, if that's where you are/were), or did you come on a tourist visa/visa waiver and try to start it from here?

Came on a tourist waiver and started it here.

gringo express wrote:

Came on a tourist waiver and started it here.

06/15/21

That's a problem. 

  With the partial exception of family reunification (which currently seems to be a gray area at the discretion of the Federal Police), tourist visas/visa waivers can't be bootstrapped into permanent residency.  Authorization for Residence normally requires having a special visa in advance; investment is one example.  An investment visa requires pre-approval from the Justice Ministry, and sometimes others; the Consulate normally provides the guidance on this.  Here's a typical example from the Consulate General in Chicago, which usually keeps its site up to date:

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Immigration law is a very rare specialty in Brazil; normally, I suggest to people that they find a trustworthy generalist attorney who's willing to learn what they need to know to provide good representation, but you've tried that already and had bad luck.  If you have the time, energy, and resources to try again, you could contact attorneys in your area through .  They shouldn't charge for an initial visit to size them up.  If you can't find someone you're comfortable with quickly, or if they don't give you reason to be optimistic, your most efficient choice might end up being returning to the US and applying for an investor visa at the Consulate responsible for your region.

Thank you for your reply.

The lawyer is now demanding payment in full for his services (i.e. failing to get the visa) and that isn't happening.

Who can personally recommend a lawyer here? This guy screwed me over in a number of things, and now it looks like I need to clean up the mess he made.

Wow, lucky you do not have a bank account. That lawyer will place a lien. Now he has a lot of your information I would not be surprised if he does not cloud any further immigration steps.
All my years here I have not found a true immigration lawyer, but I never needed one.

****

06/16/21

gringo express

An unsettled dispute with your attorney will certainly leave the funds that he's already holding unavailable to you, probably make further financial transactions in Brazil impossible,  and may even make it difficult to find another attorney to represent you.   If at all possible, it will be to your advantage to come to an amicable resolution privately as soon as possible.

gringo express wrote:

Thank you for your reply.

The lawyer is now demanding payment in full for his services (i.e. failing to get the visa) and that isn't happening.

Who can personally recommend a lawyer here? This guy screwed me over in a number of things, and now it looks like I need to clean up the mess he made.

Wow, just wow.  This is not looking like a great way to get started in a new country and culture.  Just my opinion, but I would certainly resolve this before attempting to move on. I have a great guy I would recommend to almost anyone...almost, sorry.

I used Sergio Botinha to get my permanent resident visa. They speak English and were able to help me get the visa. Was a slower than expected process but maybe that's just the way it is in Brazil with the beaurocracy. Worth a shot giving them a ring. Good luck

abthree wrote:

gringo express wrote:

Came on a tourist waiver and started it here.

06/15/21

  With the partial exception of family reunification (which currently seems to be a gray area at the discretion of the Federal Police), tourist visas/visa waivers can't be bootstrapped into permanent residency.  Authorization for Residence normally requires having a special visa in advance; investment is one example.  An investment visa requires pre-approval from the Justice Ministry, and sometimes others; the Consulate normally provides the guidance on this.  Here's a typical example from the Consulate General in Chicago, which usually keeps its site up to date:

Hey abthree,
regarding your message. I thought it was possible to arrive on a visa waiver 90 days stay and once the união estável certificate   all other required documents handed in to the PF, you get a 2 year permanent residency based on reunião familiar?

Did I miss some changes? 

mitchel85 wrote:

abthree wrote:

06/15/21

  With the partial exception of family reunification (which currently seems to be a gray area at the discretion of the Federal Police), tourist visas/visa waivers can't be bootstrapped into permanent residency.  Authorization for Residence normally requires having a special visa in advance; investment is one example.  An investment visa requires pre-approval from the Justice Ministry, and sometimes others; the Consulate normally provides the guidance on this.  Here's a typical example from the Consulate General in Chicago, which usually keeps its site up to date:

Hey abthree,
regarding your message. I thought it was possible to arrive on a visa waiver 90 days stay and once the união estável certificate   all other required documents handed in to the PF, you get a 2 year permanent residency based on reunião familiar?

Did I miss some changes? 

07/25/21

Hi, Mitchel,

No, you didn't miss anything.  A união estável - as long as you have it documented by the cartório  - should qualify as family unification  for purposes of applying for permanent residency.  This answer was addressed to a non-family unification situation.

oh thanks for clarifying abthree   I was already shaking since I'm in the process of preparing the papers