Immigration
Brazil | Fewer appointment slots for registration at the Federal Police
Summary
It has gone widely noticed that Federal Police appointment slots have either decreased in number or the waiting period for obtaining an appointment has increased in several weeks. Foreign individuals who need to comply with their registration appointments are the target population affected.
The detail
Registration appointments are mandatory for all foreign individuals who are expected to work, study or live in Brazil. These appointments are often identified in the immigration process cycle as the last step.
Examples of foreign individuals seeking registration appointments are: South-American nationals seeking to be registered under the terms of the Mercosur Residency Agreement; foreign individuals in general who had an Authorization of Residence application approved by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security; foreign individuals in general who obtained a Temporary Visa (VITEM-type) stamp to their passports.
Over the past few weeks, it has been widely noticed that the Brazilian Federal Police has either decreased the number of appointment slots available for foreign individuals or increased the waiting period to obtain a new appointment by several weeks.
The repercussions arising from the fewer appointment slots to both the company and the individual are:
(i) without being able to be registered at the Federal Police, some foreigners may have their payroll admission dates be postponed, refraining them to start working in Brazil.
(ii) registrations of foreigners who have had their immigration processes submitted within Brazilian territory must be completed in a maximum of 30 calendar days counted from the date when the Approval Notice was published in the National Official Gazette. In the eventuality that term is not complied with, and that the appointment takes place beyond the 30-day stipulated term, the foreigner individual risks being fined at approx. USD 20 per day up to a maximum ceiling of approx. USD 2,000.
(iii) registrations of foreigners who have obtained a temporary visa in their passports (VITEM-type visas) must be completed in a maximum of 90 calendar days counted from the date of arrival in Brazil. Failure to be registered within that timeframe will also bring upon the foreign individual the same range of fines indicated above.
With that said, there is no clear announcement from the authorities why the appointments were reduced.
Our Vialto Partners Immigration team recommends that the appointment slots picked up are effectively used, otherwise rescheduling for a later date may trigger fines for late-appointment show. Ad hoc appointments (out of the regular schedule system) remain a possibility, however will ultimately depend on the authorities discretionary powers to accept them or not, based in the arguments provided for such request.
In view of the recent announcement, our Vialto Partners Brazil team remains available to take any queries from our clients and remains readily available either to advise or to assist in any urgent case.
Contact us
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Flavia Fernandes
Immigration, Employment, Social Security and Tax Partner
André Sousa
Immigration Manager
Antonieta Mosquera
Senior Manager
Patrícia Kater
Senior Manager
Renata Araújo
Senior Manager
Jocelyn Mares
LATAM Immigration Advisory Lead
Sharan Kundi
Global Immigration Lead
Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
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