Brazil Spouse Visa: Residency Through a Brazilian Spouse or Partner, Including União Estável

The short version

Brazil has no separate "spouse visa" rule. A spouse or partner comes in through family reunion (reunião familiar), the same basis that covers children, parents and some other relatives.

Point	What the rules say	Where
Who	The spouse or partner of a Brazilian, or of an immigrant with residence, "sem discriminação alguma" (without any discrimination)	Lei 13.445 art. 37; Decreto 9.199 art. 153
Unmarried couples	A união estável qualifies, with set ways to prove it	Portaria Interministerial 12/2018, arts. 3 and 7
From abroad	A temporary visa for family reunion, at a consulate	Portaria 12/2018, arts. 2 to 4
From inside Brazil	A residence request at the Federal Police	Portaria 12/2018, arts. 5 to 7
Work	Any activity, including paid work, like a Brazilian	Decreto 9.199 art. 153, §10
Later	A new indefinite-term residence after 4 years; naturalization after 1 year of indefinite residence	Decreto 9.199 art. 160; Lei 13.445 art. 66

This is general information as of November 3, 2026, read in the official texts on that date. The procedural act, Portaria Interministerial 12/2018, was read in the Ministry of Justice's digital library copy; check for later amendments before relying on a specific item. For the whole move in order, see the hub: Moving to Brazil from the US.

Who qualifies

The Migration Law grants a visa or residence for family reunion to the immigrant who is the "cônjuge ou companheiro, sem discriminação alguma" (spouse or partner, without any discrimination) (art. 37, I). The regulation adds "nos termos do ordenamento jurídico brasileiro", under Brazilian law (art. 153, I).

The sponsor ("chamante") can be:

• a Brazilian citizen; or
• an immigrant who holds a residence authorization, unless that residence is itself based on family reunion, or is a provisional residence (art. 153, §2).

Married or not: the união estável

Brazilian law recognizes the união estável (stable union) as a family entity (Constitution, art. 226, §3). The Civil Code describes it as a public, continuous and lasting cohabitation established with the aim of forming a family (art. 1.723). Unless the partners sign a written contract, their property follows the partial community regime (art. 1.725), the same default as marriage.

How a partner proves it for immigration

Portaria Interministerial 12/2018 sets out the proof, in the same words for the visa (art. 3, §§1 and 2) and the in-Brazil residence (art. 7, §§1 and 2):

1. First option: a certificate of stable union issued by the competent authority of the applicant's country, or proof of the stable union issued by a competent court in Brazil or the corresponding authority abroad.
2. If that is not possible: a certificate or similar document from a civil registry authority, Brazilian or foreign, plus a declaration, under penalty of law, by two people who attest to the union, plus at least one of:
   • proof of dependency issued by a tax authority;
   • a religious marriage certificate;
   • provisions in a will that prove the relationship;
   • a life insurance policy naming one partner as the insured and the other as beneficiary;
   • a registered property deed naming both as owners, or a lease naming both as tenants;
   • a joint bank account;
   • the birth certificate of the couple's foreign child;
   • another document able to prove the union.

Registering a união estável in Brazil

Brazil's Public Records Law lets court decisions, declarations made before the civil registrar, and public deeds of stable union be registered in Book E of the civil registry where the partners live or last lived (art. 94-A). Two limits: a union of people who are married to someone else cannot be registered unless they are judicially or extrajudicially separated (§1). And a union declared abroad, with at least one Brazilian partner, can be registered if the document is apostilled and sworn-translated (§§2 and 3).

A união estável can also be converted into marriage by a request to the civil registrar where the partners live, without a judge or a wedding ceremony (art. 70-A). Getting married in Brazil from scratch is covered in Getting Married in Brazil as a Foreigner.

Route 1: the family reunion visa, from the US

Under Portaria 12/2018, art. 3, the consular request is filed with:

• a valid passport;
• an international vaccination certificate, when Anvisa requires one;
• the consular fee receipt, where applicable;
• the visa application form;
• proof of transport into Brazil;
• a criminal record certificate from your country of origin, or an equivalent at the consul's discretion;
• the marriage certificate, or the proof of união estável above;
• a joint declaration by both spouses or partners, under penalty of law, that the union continues;
• the sponsor's identity document;
• a declaration that the sponsor lives, or will live, in Brazil.

Three rules to know:

• No proxy marriages for the visa. The spouse visa is not granted if the marriage was performed by proxy (art. 2, §4).
• Validity. The visa is valid for up to one year (art. 4), and its validity is not the same as the residence term (§2).
• Registration. You register with the Federal Police within 90 days of entering Brazil (art. 4, §1). See Brazil Federal Police Registration.

US documents (birth and marriage certificates, the FBI record) need an apostille from the issuing US authority, and a sworn translation to have effect in Brazil, as the Los Angeles consulate explains.

Route 2: residence from inside Brazil

An immigrant or visitor who is already in Brazil may apply for family reunion residence at a Federal Police unit (Portaria 12/2018, art. 5). Article 7 lists:

• the Federal Police online form;
• two 3x4 photos;
• a valid passport or official ID;
• a birth or marriage certificate, or consular certificate, if the passport does not show your parents;
• the fee receipts: the Federal Police residence service lists R$168.13 for processing and R$204.77 for the card (checked November 3, 2026);
• criminal record certificates from everywhere you lived in the last five years, and a declaration of no criminal record anywhere in that period;
• the marriage certificate or proof of união estável;
• the joint declaration that the union continues;
• the sponsor's identity document and a declaration that the sponsor lives in Brazil.

Any migration fines must be paid before the request is processed (art. 8). The authorities may interview the couple, in a setting that protects their privacy (art. 10). The Federal Police estimates up to 180 calendar days for the residence service.

What the residence gives you, and for how long

• Work. You may carry out any activity in Brazil, including paid work, on the same terms as a Brazilian (Decreto 9.199, art. 153, §10; Portaria 12/2018, art. 9).
• Term, immigrant sponsor. If the sponsor's residence has an end date, yours ends on the same date (art. 153, §5). If the sponsor's is for an indefinite term, yours is too (§4).
• Term, Brazilian sponsor. The texts we read do not state the initial term when the sponsor is a Brazilian citizen. Expect the Federal Police decision to set it.
• Renewal and change to indefinite. Portaria Interministerial 3/2018 has Federal Police procedures to renew a family reunion residence (Annex VII, with a declaration that the sponsor still lives in Brazil and that the union continues) and to change it to an indefinite term once the sponsor's has changed (Annex VIII).
• Your own residence after four years. After at least 4 years of residence on family reunion, you can request a new, indefinite-term residence by proving means of support and a clean criminal record (Decreto 9.199, art. 160). This does not apply where the original link was fraudulent.

If the relationship ends

The residence rests on the relationship. The regulation declares a residence lost when its basis ends (art. 135, I), and you must tell the Federal Police when you stop meeting the conditions of your residence (§1). Losing one basis does not stop you from applying on another (§2), and after four years the art. 160 route above may apply. A residence obtained by fraud is cancelled at any time (art. 136).

Citizenship

Ordinary naturalization normally needs 4 years of residence. The Migration Law cuts it to 1 year for someone who has a Brazilian spouse or partner and is not legally or factually separated from them when naturalization is granted (art. 66, III). Only periods of indefinite-term residence count (Decreto 9.199, art. 221). More in Brazil Permanent Residency.

If you married in the US

A Brazilian who marries abroad must register the marriage in Brazil within 180 days of returning, at the registry of their domicile (Civil Code, art. 1.544). For the immigration file, a US marriage certificate needs an apostille and a sworn translation.

Myths checked against the text

• "You must be married." A união estável qualifies, with defined ways to prove it.
• "Same-sex partners can't use family reunion." The Migration Law says spouse or partner "without any discrimination".
• "A spouse visa doesn't let you work." Family reunion residence allows any activity, including paid work.
• "A proxy wedding is the quick way." The visa rule excludes marriages performed by proxy.

Where to go from here

• Marrying in Brazil, at the civil registry: Getting Married in Brazil as a Foreigner.
• A Brazilian child and the parents' residence: Having a Baby in Brazil as a Foreigner.
• Every route to an indefinite stay: Brazil Permanent Residency.
• For document and apostille trackers and a 90-day arrival timeline to fill in yourself, the Brazil Digital Nomad Visa Kit has the same US paperwork steps a family reunion file needs.