Kelli28

hi does anyone know where i can buy books in portuguese, i have a brazilian student staying with me for 6 mnths and she would like to buy books online to ship to australia.

RCJ

Now where do I start my mate!
First of all you will need your full birth certificate (authenticated and translated) you will need proof of residency. You will need a police record check (takes six weeks in the uK to come to your door) She will also need her full brithcertificate (well she will know what she needs) The best place to check up all the stuff that you will need is the Brazilian Embassy in London, they have a good site and it tells you all on there that you will need. Remeber you will need stuff to bring out with you and it will take a lot of planing. DO you speak portugues? WHat do you paln to do to earn a living?
The way it goes is that you register your wedding at the local "cartorio" registars office. You organise a judge to marry you. Once all has been cleared with the Judge that will marry you. You then go to her office and she will marry you. Then you normally have the wedding again in front of the family during an evening reception, where the judge (for a nominal fee) will preside and "marry" you again in front of all the family. Then the party begins.
As I said the process once you have all the paper work in place is pretty straight forward, but getting the paper work together is the job you have to sort out in the uK before you come. Once in Brasil you have to get it all translated and authorised. Then you can go see the Judge and she will tell you which Cartorio she uses and then you go there and start the ball rolling.
I hope this makes sence to you!
Anything else I can answer just ask.
I have been living in Rio for seven years now, married for four of them, I love it here and wild horse would not drag me back to the UK

marelli

Hi Caca
We are very interested in living in brasil permanently and you seem to have many answers to other peoples questions, so please could you help us? Myself and wife plus two children in early teens have moved from rainy england to sunny Italy where we have lived for nearly three years. Unfortunately our dream has turned sour and we find ourselves looking towards what we hope will be brighter prospects in NE Brasil, which appears to offer everything italy doesnt....
We know very little about Brasil as a whole, but have centred our attention at the North east if only for the beaches... We are not rich but should have just enough to comply with the immigration requirement 50.000 USD to qualify for an investors visa as a path to permanent residency. The plan is to move over late this year or early next year with the minimum baggage and settle in before I open a business of some sort. We have seen beach bars and small restaurants for sale and are starting to wonder why they are for sale if tourism is expanding in Bahia etc?And why in all the photos are the beaches deserted? Another small problem, aside from english we speak italian which in some ways is similar to portuguese-would we be able to communicate at all over there? In italy even the slightest mistake in pronunciation of an italian word is not understood. Non capito,sadly.very off-putting and bad for confidence. Are the Brazilians forgiving of mistakes? Is the region entirely full of holiday homes or do people really live there all year round? Would you also know whether my daughter could attend a school in Brasil speaking only english and italian, is this a major problem? We hope you have some of the answers to all these questions and thank you very much for your time in helping us.
Mark and Cheryl

cwoern

Mate, I spent there almost 10 years before I moved to Australia. I was living from the South up to Belo Horizonte, lived in all major cities and traveled to the north. I would say I know Brazil, the country, problems and mentality quite well.

50000 USD is not bad, but not that much to start a business and live with a family with potentially no income within the first year.
Whatever somebody tries to tell you, the fact is:

1.) Any service, simple work (Lanchonette, Bar, Pousada, small restaurant) can be done by a local better and cheaper. He has the connections, he knows the rules and he speaks the language. You have to find something where not that many can compete with you (specially in the Nordeste), because your desired salary or profit will be beaten by them.
2.) You can survive with 1000 Reais, but you don't have any health insurance (the public one is de facto not existing), your kids are visiting public schools (with almost zero chance to enter later a university or higher level of jobs), you drive an old car without insurance, you live in the favela or at least close by and your main dish are beans.
3.) For a comfortable live in a city (Sao Paulo, Rio, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia...) you can estimate following:
a) For an acceptable apartment (houses are often very unsafe) with a minimum standard you know from Europe calculate approx. 1000 Reais/month
b) Add 300 Reais condominio/month
c) Family health insurance about 600 Reais/month
d) American school (Belo Horizonte) about 3000 R$/month and kid
e) Kindergarten: Starting from 300 R$ up to approx. 1000 R$/month
f) Filling up a fridge for 2 adults and 2 kids: 1000R$/month
Smaller cities may safe you 30% but don’t offer the infrastructure you may need to run successfully a bar or to find a job in case that fails (very likely).
4.) If you depend on a salary consider following:
a) A bricklayer or electrician earns about 400 R$
b) A technician in a solid bigger company approx. 1000-1500 R$
c) A seller in a shop about 400 R$ plus approx. 250 R$ commission
d) An engineer between 2000 and 6000 R$
I always earned a good salary, we had a comfortable but not luxury life, had one car, an apartment, insurances, 2x private Kindergarten, paid always all bills, had a cleaner and went out sometimes. We spent having that kind of life about 7000R$/month in Sao Paulo.

You really should think carefully, especially because you have children. With your Italian language knowledge you may arrange things, but as you know, it is not Portuguese.
I would suggest that you go there for 4 weeks, check locations, prices… and decide then (to stay where you are)

Abracos,

Chris

Jules Europe

Italian despite being very much a latin language is not as similiar to Portuguese as you think and therefore you need to treat Portuguese as learning a new language. The nearest language to Portuguese is Spanish as both are eastern Iberian languages. Sure..........knowing Italian is going to make it a lot easier than somebody just speaking English learning Portuguese.

As for pronunciation its very much down to how well the locals of a certain area have interacted with foreigners etc. An insualar propulation will always have more problems as opposed to those that are used to tourists.

Jules Europe

Several years ago here in Spain I knew a couple Portuguese/Bulgarian who sold everything and moved to NE Brazil (Natal) had a big budget and bought a hotel there. Impression I got, was the area was hot for investment then hence meaning a lot of competition for businesses etc to flourish, I think a trip there and getting good advice from someone who knows the situation there to be vital for your future plans.

cwoern

Exactly. Don´t do the mistake to start a business you don´t understand much of (many start with hotels, pousadas, restaurants... without having ever worked in that business).
Be very, very careful with advices and "quick friends", decide carefully if those tips and advices from locals (or even foreigners living there) are true, apply to you and most important: Be really careful not to get ripped of!!!
Brazilians are very nice and warm people but as soon they can reach your wallet, friendships often stops (have seen this so many times).

Do not think all Brazilians are stupid and you can do things better. You may do things more efficient but they know the Brazilian way and loop wholes you don´t know (yet) and they can be very smart if there is a chance to make quick money (from foreign investors for example).
I want to point out that not all Brazilians are bad, I have great reliable friends there, met very intelligent and hard working people but you have to learn whom you can trust, who only talks "blablabla" and who is a source you can benefit from.

Good luck, as I mentioned before, check and think carefully, you are planning a major step, which is in my opinion very risky.

Christian

LiaP

Hi Santeago

I'm British, live in Brazil and I'm married to a Brazilian. It wasn't that difficult. I came here with a tourist visa and then got married. This was almost 3 years ago and there is quite a lot of paperwork but nothing impossible. From what I remember to get married you need your passport, possibly your birth cert, the entrance/departure form that you get at the aiport and a statement from the British Embassy saying that you are who you are and that you are not already married or anything like that. Apart from that I think you just need a sworn translator at the registry office if you don't speak portuguese yet. Oh, you'll also need a couple of witnesses that have IDs and maybe proof of residence.

When you get to Brazil, go to any cartório (registry office) and they'll give you the list of things that you need.

It's the process AFTER the wedding that involves much more beauracracy.... when you apply for your permanant residency.... then there's a whole list of docs you need and I probably won't remember all of them now but they include various copies of the marriage certificate, birth certificate, docs from your spouse and witnesses, a police record and all British docs have to be translated into Portuguese by a sworn translator. Policia Federal can tell you everything you need, but be prepared for some headaches, because they always tell you "everything", but then you go back and it's missing "something" . After you get approved (took me 9 months), you have to go through another load of beaurcracy to get your ID card...

It's all worth it, though. Living in Brazil is wonderful!!!!!!

boughtinbrazil

Hi my name is Lisa, my husband and I bought an off plan property in Ponta Negra, Natal (Jacques Cousteau) and my husband is currently living there whilst I toil away in Cold London, anyhoo the property has not been completed no surprise but I am hearing disturbing rumours that the company we bought with MRI has gone, bust so am concerned especially as my Brazilian lawyer has now gone very quiet on me.

I would like to know if there is anyone out there, who can point me in the right direction or is in a similar situation (safety in numbers)

We only paid a deposit but still it was a fair chunk, please get back to me !

cazhoney

Lisa,

what exactly do you need? My parents live in Natal, maybe they can help you or your husbando with something....

Carol

tikinaylor

Do you know of any international schools near Natal in Brasil, Rio grande do Norte?

cazhoney

Tikinaylor,

in Natal there is a french school and a swiss school, but they are not different from Brazilian schools, the only difference is that they have more french/swiss classes.

What exactly are you looking for?

tikinaylor

Hi and thanks for your response.

My kids have been born and raised in Spain and I was hoping that I could send them to an English or Spanish school nearby. My little one would adapt well to Portugese but the older of the two is just getting his head around spanish and I imagine would find it difficult.

Tikinaylor

cazhoney

When are you moving to Natal? Where are you going to live there?

kingbloke

Hi there. I am considering being a Wealth Consultant or Independent Financial Advisor in Sao Paulo. Do you know if there is a requirement there for Independent Financial Advice, mostly within the expat community, and how such people are recieved there ? Thanks, Stuart.