Brazilian Customs, Border Patrol and Police

Clearing in and out of Brazil takes time. Consider this post your seeing eye dog for a Brazilian paper pushing adventure.   Embrace the process of being lost, being told conflicting instructions by different parts of the government, and traveling through the non-tourist parts of Brazil.   Once I had the right attitude, I enjoyed living like a Brazilian –  life is always ok in América do Sul.

THE KEY PLAYERS

 

Polícia Federal:  This branch of the government is like the FBI and border patrol merged into one.  No joking with the Polícia Federal because their day job is fighting violent criminals.   The Polícia were firm, but always professional.  They stamp your passport and check your visa. They are focused on proper border entry, gun possession, time in the country, and whether your yacht is a stolen vessel.   If you stay past 90 days, they can extend your time in Brazil.  They are more concerned with the people than with the yacht.   I approach all entry agencies holding the passports of the entire crew and acting as agent for the crew.   This makes it much easier to appear organized for the Policia.   At the end of process, the Polícia will ask to see the crew.

 

Capitania dos Portos (Marinha do Brasil):  The Port Captain is the Brazilian Coast Guard and is part of the Brazilian Navy.  It is good to have their emergency number programmed into your satellite phone.  They are the only department you visit that goes to sea.  We were never boarded, however, we did see two boats being boarded by the Marinha do Brasil while we were in the north.  They expect ALL visitors to be dressed properly in long pants, shoes (not flip flops) and a collared shirt.   This is good policy for all the Brazilian offices and expect to be turned away if  you don’t comply.  I always enjoyed visiting their offices, since they were often stationed inside a major working port.   These offices tended to have the longest lines, but the staff were very friendly.

 

 

Receita Federal:  The Receita Federal is the Brazilian IRS and Customs Department.  The Receita are not interested in your safety, rather your wallet.   Brazil has a 100% boat importation tax and unscrupulous Brazilians try to avoid the tax by flying a US ensign.  The Receita’s job is to encourage the tax cheats to rethink their decision and pay the mandatory tax.  At our first Brazilian landfall, we had to meet the taxman an excruciating four times.   They were concerned that Two Fish was a sailing charter business because she is owned by an LLC.   Receita agents insisted on boarding the yacht which I think was driven by curiosity after seeing the yacht’s assessed value.   The agents boarded with black soled shoes and asked to see our ship’s log.  The collection of 4 meetings went from 9am to 7pm.    I found these folks to be buffoons and bullies.  So they have something in common with the US revenue service?   Good news is you only need to see them twice (entry and departure from the country).     Warning: they want to know your last port in Brazil.  The best port to use is Fortaleza since this is the farthest northern town a Yacht would enter and gives you more flexibility in departure.

Papers you need

1)  Passports of all crew with Brazilian Visas

2) Certificate of Documentation (Department of Homeland Security – US Coast Guard):  I always furnished a color copy and was never asked for the original.

3) If your boat is owned by an LLC, then papers that show you are allowed to control this boat.   I talked about this in a previous post.

4)  Initial entry documents from Uruguay will only be needed for your first port of call.

Papers I had but never showed

1)  Insurance

2)  US radio license

3)  ASA sailing certificates

4)  Marriage and birth certificates

5)  Vaccination cards from our doctors

Process

First landfall in Brazil

1) Polícia Federal:   They will stamp your passport and inspect your visa.  Your passport will not be stamped again till departing the country but will be inspected in every state.  The Polícia Federal will give you a “Passe de Entrada” de embarcação  (Entry pass for a ship).   Do not throw out the “Passe de Entrada” as you will need to return it  to the nice fellow who just gave it to you when you check out of this port.   You will always have either a Entrada or Saída when in Brazil.  This will prove you are either checked in or checked out.  We have a notebook where we keep of all of the ship’s papers and we bring this on our official visits to reduce the chance of forgetting a document.   We do scan many of our key documents and store them on the cloud.   Also, we sometimes only furnish a copy to protect the original.

There are many Polícia Federal in larger cities, so ask other boaters or the marina and they might send you in the correct direction.  In most northern cities the marina will ask you to travel by cab or face certain death.  To compare this to an airport, after the Polícia visit, you have made it passed border patrol and can go to the luggage carousel but you are not really in the country.

2)  Capitania dos Portos:   The port captain will ask you to fill out a 2 page form with odd questions such as your engine’s horsepower and whether the boat has a VHF.   This  is another do not lose document.  It will be checked for the entire Brazil trip and not swapped like the Passe de Entrada.   The Port Captains across the country create a memento for you, by stamping and signing this at every port you check into.  Think of this document more like a passport for the boat.   Some Port Captains have AIS, so make sure your story at the office matches your arrival time in that remote bay.

 

3)  Receita Federal:  After being water boarded by the Receita they will give you a one page document, the TECAT (Termo de concessao de admission temporaria).  The TECAT will need to be shown many times in the future.  The document gives you the right to enter your yacht without paying tax because you are transiting and not staying or running a business.   Keep it close to your Coast Guard documentation as it is a favorite of the paper pushers.   You will only visit the Receita at your first and last port in Brazil.

 

Exiting a state but staying in Brazil

1) Polícia Federal:  Hand back your  “Passe de Entrada” and get a “Passe de Saída”.   Show Polícia but keep passports, TECAT, and Port Captain documents.

2)  Capitania dos Portos:  Another stamp for your collection on the “Declaracao de Entrada/Saída.   They will also ask to see the Passe de Saída that you just received from the Polícia.

Entering a state but already cleared into Brazil

1) Polícia Federal:  Hand back your “Passe de Saída” and get a new “Passe de Entrada”.   Show Polícia but keep passports, TECAT, and Port Captain documents.

2)  Capitania dos Portos:  Another stamp for your collection on the “Declaracao de Entrada/Saída.   They will also ask to see the Passe de Entrada.

Leaving Brazil

1) Polícia Federal:  Imagine that now you are flying out of the airport.  They will give you an exit stamp in your passport and your final Declaracao de Saída.   If you expect your stay to be longer than 90 days, then this office may offer you an extension.

2)  Capitania dos Portos:  Your final stamp – they will let you keep the memento of your trip.

3)  Receita Federal:  Despite threats from the taxman, Two Fish was not confiscated or taxed 100%.   The Receita will also give you a exit document.  I would keep this if I planned to return to Brazil.

When to check-in

US vessels are supposed to check in and then out every time they sail into a new Brazilian state.   We did not follow the rules 100%.   We skipped checking in while in remote locations, on very short stays and on non-business days.   We also typically checked in a day after arriving in a new state.   Forgiveness for late check in was easy to find but permission was impossible.   The dream bureaucratic maneuver was the combination check in and check out.  Like a unicorn it is written about but rarely seen because this shortcut is  reserved for yachts that arrive in the morning and leave in the afternoon.   A few times we got a pet unicorn for stays longer than 2 days.

 

Brazilian State	Did we stop?	Check in?
Rio Grande do Sul	Yes	Port of Entry (3 agencies)
Santa Catarina	Two stops	No
Parana	No
Sao Paolo	No
Rio de Janeiro	Four stops	Once
Espirito de Santos	Yes	No (only stopped at offshore island)
Bahia	Two stops	Checked in at second stop
Sergipe	No
Alagoas	No
Pernambuco	Two stops	Checked in at second stop
Paraiba	Yes	No
Rio Grande do Norte	No
Ceara	Yes	Yes

 

TOP SHORTCUTS

1)  Check in Check out on the same day (disused earlier)

2) Website  (www.edbv.receita.fazenda.gov.br)  This just started when we arrived so we filled out the form online but in the Receita offices.

3)  Finding the offices:   Do not ask for immigration or customs or any similar American places.   They will not make sense to Brazilians with decent English.  Instead use the proper Portuguese names that I have included in the post.

4)  When you arrive at the offices use the term “Entrada or Saída par un embarcacao veleiro”.

5)  Do not have your entire crew come to the desk, just the captain.

 

With the right attitude you can enjoy these trips.  We did.