Police Registration

The Brazilian government stipulates that in order to remain in the country, any visitor planning on staying for more than 30 days must register with the Brazilian government. This week meant that this task needed to be addressed, as we were about to cross the 30-day mark. My team members and I arrived at the Niteroi Federal Police Department, where we need to wait for about 2 hours until our numbers were called. The clerk then handed over a list of documents required for registration. Since all the instructions were in Portuguese there was difficulty in deciphering the requisites. After few minutes of being perplexed, we decided to go back to our university and ask Dr. Esteban for assistance. He translated the form for us and told us what documents to take. 

The Brazilian Government required:        

1. 2x3 Photos (not passport pictures)

2. Notarized copies of passport pages (all pages used)

3. Registration form

4. Bank fee (to be paid at any local bank)

5. Finger Printing

6. Name Verification

After paying the bank fee, the teller told us that there was a notary at the corner and to look for the Cartonio (Portuguese for Notary). This became another obstacle since no one could understand what we were looking for. After 25 minutes of walking we finally found the Cartonio and got everything taken care of. The next day business day we went back to the Niteroi Federal Police department, and waiting in a large line for almost two hours. After submitting my paper work the clerk told me that I forgot to include two of my passport pages that had been used. After receiving this exasperating news, I rushed with one of my PIRE colleague, who coincidentally had the same problem, to the Notary to get the situation resolved. Upon returning, the clerk informed us that the officer who does finger printing is out to lunch and will be back in two hours. After two hours of waiting, the finger print officer finally showed and proceeded to give me a hard time for not relaxing my finger. I thought perhaps after all this, the process would be complete, but I was wrong. The document-receiving clerk went out to lunch and showed up 30 minutes later, and I was able to get my passport stamped, finally allowing for some peace of mind.

Weekend trip to Buzios

Our PIRE buddies finally manage to get out the city to visit Buzios. This small town is approximately 150 km from Rio. We took a boat ride and visited two beaches in Cabo Frio. 

Dr. Clua with his Wife