BRAZIL: Relaxation of New Police Clearance Requirement for Residence Renewal Applicants

March 15, 2018

The Ministry of Labour has issued a Technical Note stating that current resident visa holders applying for residence renewal in Brazil are not required to present a legalised and translated police clearance certificate from their country of residence covering the last five years. Instead, these applicants must provide a certificate of criminal record issued by the Brazilian police.

This applies equally to residence renewal applicants whose current residence status was obtained under the previous immigration law, before the five-year police clearance certificate requirement took effect.

Note that this relaxation does not apply to first-time post-arrival residence applicants, holding visitor visas or visa waivers, who are required to submit a five-year police clearance certificate.

Background

New immigration regulations came into effect in December 2017, implementing a new immigration law (13445/2017, published 25^th May 2017). The regulations introduced a requirement to present a legalised and translated police clearance certificate from their country of residence covering the last five years for initial residence authorisation applications.

Depending on the country of residence, it can take several months to obtain a police clearance certificate. However, obtaining one too early will result in having to obtain a new one, since it must be less than 90 days old at the time of the initial temporary visa or residence application.

Our Advice

Companies employing residence holders in Brazil whose residence is due to expire should contact their Newland Chase immigration specialist to check whether they need to provide a legalised and translated police clearance certificate from their country of residence covering the last five years.

For advice and information on immigration to Brazil in general, please email us at [email protected]