Overstay Brazil visa - fine

Sam, it does cost $R100 per day plus interest. Are you in Brazil?
If not you have to pay when entering.
If in Brazil:
I would go to the PF office at the nearest international airport. (Domestic airports do not deal with immigration much and can be given misleading information.)
Once at the airport go to the PF and ask for a hearing. You may have to wait, but there is an adjudicator that handles such.
You better have a good explanation to overrule this decision. Not many win.
You may be given 8 days to leave or be deported
Just bite the bullet and get the next flight home. Play the fine when leaving, because the fine continues to accrue interest.

08/08/21

The situation is exactly as Texanbrazil said.

And although the fine itself tops out at R$10,000, the interest begins to accrue from the day you leave Brazil with the fine unpaid, and there's no ceiling on that.

So, unless you're sure that you'll never return to Brazil, it's best to pay on departure,  if at all possible.

I had an overstay of 7 days in April this year, so they gave me a document stating my fine (100R$ per day= 700R), plus the account information. They didn't ask me to pay for it right there, I don't know if that's possible. I don't think there's any information on how to appeal, but I found an e-mail address of the immigration service, and that's where I appealed (flight cancellation because of Covid). They approved my appeal and canceled the fine, however, upon entering again last week, the immigration officer said I could only stay 83 days this time. When I showed him the cancellation, he went to see his manager and came back saying that I was getting the full 90 days. I have no idea if I had also gotten the 90days if it had been paid rather than canceled?

Word of advice: if you intend to appeal, do it quickly. You have 10 days to appeal, as a friend of mine learned the hard way: he has to pay 5000R$ (50 days).

I have no red stamp in my passport, just the regular exit date stamp.

Thanks for your reply - I've left Brazil and plan to return in 6 months. They said there would be no interest, is there anyway to pay the fine once you've left the country?

Sam,
I do not believe there is any way to pay a multa out of the country.

When I first overstayed my tourist visa waiting on documents to arrive, I was fined R$9500 and told almost the same thing as you - no interest and even that I'd be allowed back into the country upon my return if I paid. Tried to pay before leaving but they insisted I pay when I return. When I returned, my fine was around the R$13,000 mark. I landed in SP from Lisbon and when I went to change terminal for domestic flights, at the passport control, I was confronted about the fine, which I was fully expecting to pay the original amount for, but as mentioned, it had increased by a lot. They wouldn't let me into Brasil understandably, and confirmed that even if I paid the new amount, I'd need to leave for 180 days. They wanted to put me on a flight back to Lisbon but luckily I was able to negotiate with them to allow me to book a new flight to elsewhere in South America. After the 180 days were up and I could enter the country legally again, I was miraculously let in without paying straight away but with the condition that I was actively working towards paying it. I spoke to a lawyer once I was back in the country legally who said appealing is a waste of time and money and would definitely cost more than just paying the fine, so that's what I had to do to get my permanent status unfortunately. Definitely don't expect this to go away!

Thanks for this - very helpful!

How long were you out of the country for the fine to go up to 13,000 reais?

I won't be able to return for at least 6 months so worried it's going to grow massively!!

It's so annoying that they wouldn't let me pay at the airport...

So roughly, when I left for a holiday, the fee was around 9000-9500. When I returned about 3 weeks later, it had gone up to about 10,000, but as mentioned, I was able to fly elsewhere during the 180 days I had to remain out of the country and on arrival again, it was the 13,000  figure. I left in February, and finally paid the fine in December of the same year. I wish I could tell you there is a chance you won't have to pay it mate, but honestly, I think the chances are slim to none. I was overstaying on the assumption the fee capped out at something like R$30 a day, which it was before a pretty recent, back then, change to the fine. Good luck but I highly recommend paying it on arrival to avoid headaches. It took me a much longer time than it should have to get my permanent residency because of it.

Also regarding your last point there about not being able to pay on departure, this is the exact same bull that they pulled on me. I wanted to pay when I left because I knew I had to pay this fine. They straight up said not to bother, just pay next time I come to Brazil. That's what lead to the "promise" that on return, I can just pay the fine and enter again without the 180 day reset. That was obviously a lie, and when I did return after the 3 weeks, I went to pay and my wife spoke with them to confirm that part and after 10 or 20 minutes, the agent returned to say that wasn't the case and I could pay now but would still have to wait 180 days to enter again. That's what led me to find an alternative flight to the city next to where we live and wait it out to enter at the border again. I think entering on a land border is the only reason I was able to get in on a valid visa without paying the fine. The agents at the border where far more reasonable than at the airport.

Just to clarify and sorry for spamming the post guys, but I mistyped in that first reply when I said it was 13,000 on return, it was closer to 10,000 after the 3 weeks, and eventually was 13,000  when I paid.

08/09/21

It appears from people's reported experiences that the advice we've traditionally given -- to pay your fine on departure -- is no longer working.  I suspect under the current system, the PF agent at Passport Control only sees the fine when s/he reads a passport into the "Exiting Brazil" transaction, and then it becomes impossible to issue a boleto and let the traveler back into the terminal to pay it.  We need to change or advice -- what to do?

I would suggest arriving at the airport early, going to the Polícia Federal office there, and asking for your boleto, which you can then go pay at a bank in the concourse.  This will give you a receipt to show the agent at Passport Control, and should at least prevent interest from stacking up on top of the fine.

I understand that this is no use to people who have already been caught in this particular Catch-22 -- sorry about that -- but it may helpful to people who overstay in the future.  As for current fines, I've researched the question of paying from abroad many times, most recently this morning, and still haven't found a way to do it.

I agree with abthree.
For many years one received the boleto and went to the window to pay or after hours to Safra (GRU). Present receipt and go.
I was lucky to be shown around the secondary a few times and noted many paying and passing through.
I will know more in Sept. when a family member arrives from the Fortaleza PF office.

Hi guys. Let me explain about my overstay situation here in Brazil.

I arrived in Rio on my US passport back on October 23rd of 2020. I extended my Visa one time with the Federal Police, but now my Visa expired on April 21st.

I decided to stay in Brazil once I found out about the extension period given without assessment of fines. This extension is set to expire on September 16th, 2021. You can read the official extension info here: https://portal.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/p … -307058544

Anyway, I've been wanting to gain permanent residency status for a while. This is not my first time staying in Brazil. I was hopeful to gain residency by way of marriage since this is the simplest and cheapest method. My Brazilian girlfriend and I had discussed the idea but I was hesitant to go through with it with her. Good thing as we are no longer dating so I am stuck of what to do!

If I were to leave the country before September 16th then I believe there would be no fine assessed upon departure. But if I overstay beyond the 16th I am not sure if they would backdate the days of overstay from April 21st (when my visa expired) or if day 1 of fines for overstay would start on September 17th. Does anyone have a concrete answer?

Forgot to mention, can one apply for marriage if in an illegal status? I have read it is possible because it is a civil right, but maybe not in Rio. I read there are issues with the Federal Police in getting this done. As usual these matters are confusing and information provided can be different and/or incorrect.

Also about overstay fines. If you have overstay fines and then get married does one need to pay those fines first before applying for permanent residency with FP?

Of course I would prefer to stay and try to gain permanent residency by way of marriage in the near future (hopefully). I really enjoy living in Rio so I don't want to leave!

I'm not sure in regards to "marriage" but a stable union couldn't be done when not on a legal visa status. That was a very large part of my struggles getting my residency due to documentation taking to long to arrive before my initial visa expired. Ended up pushing the process of stable union by 6 months at least.

You should not have a fine before 16/9/21. After that, it is a gamble. They offered to help those who needed such, and now they may not be so pleasant.
I guess I am missing something as to just pick a partner to marry for PR.
Call me old fashion, but is love not a factor.
I have done stupid things, but finding a wife in 30 days???. Sounds like a Las Vegas movie.
The clock is ticking to apply for a CRNM and a marriage close to being overstaying will be looked at hard.

Thanks TexanBrazil. Yes before Sept. 16th I believe there should be no fine. The real question is will they backdate my fine from April 21st if I were to stay beyond Sept. 16th or would it start from Sept. 17th? I'll probably need to contact FP by email or make a trip to go discuss with them.

As for the marriage subject, no no, I'm not looking to get this done within the next 30 days. I'm contemplating the idea to stay in Brazil and at some point down the road, say 6 months to a year I meet someone I would want to marry. The question then becomes can I do that while in illegal status?

I've stayed in Brazil for long periods of time over different years and also returned home to the US a couple times.  But I always come back to Brazil. So while there are obstacles and challenges living here I just have to admit that I prefer it. I most certainly prefer Brazilian women to women back home so if I were to marry, she will most likely be Brazilian.

But no, I am not quick to do something like this. I've had 2-3 ex Brazilian girlfriends who proposed the idea of marriage to me. I was the one who didn't want to do it.

08/09/21

gspdac,

Good idea to talk to the Federal Police now, while you're still legal.  Best case, they'll tell you that you still have 79 days after September 16. If they balk, you can fairly ask them whether the clock didn't stop on your last extension on February 2; it's their decision, but they might agree, especially if you're pleasant about it.

If they tell you that your time's up on September 16, staying illegally is not a good idea.

They gave me a document that contains account information, didn't they give you that? It might have been the same paper where the reason and amount of the fine is explained, but about half of the page was something that resembled a payment slip. Fortunately I didn't have to use it, but I would think that if your bank does international payments, there should be enough information on how to do it?

sam1466 wrote:

Thanks for your reply - I've left Brazil and plan to return in 6 months. They said there would be no interest, is there anyway to pay the fine once you've left the country?

You may certainly apply at a cartório for marriage if you are not here legally; however, I know that in my city [Embu das Artes] the tabelionato will ask to see your passport and will not proceed if you aren't legal.  (I saw this firsthand; I went with a friend to serve as a witness for his marriage, and a couple was sent out rather unceremoniously and told not to return until the groom had a valid passport stamp). Furthermore, without a CPF, you can't have documents notarized (reconhecimento de firma) or register them at a cartório.

I looked at the document they had given me at the airport, back in April. Other than the page stating the fine, there's an entire page with a payment slip for an account at Banco de Brasil, and there seems to be everything needed to make a payment from any bank, I don't see why you couldn't do that from abroad. Also, at the top it says ‘O pagamento desta GRU Cobrança poderá ser efetuado em qualquer banco'.

Texanbrazil wrote:

Sam,
I do not believe there is any way to pay a multa out of the country.

sam1466 wrote:

Thanks for your reply - I've left Brazil and plan to return in 6 months. They said there would be no interest, is there anyway to pay the fine once you've left the country?

08/09/21

Kurterino wrote:

I looked at the document they had given me at the airport, back in April. Other than the page stating the fine, there's an entire page with a payment slip for an account at Banco de Brasil, and there seems to be everything needed to make a payment from any bank, I don't see why you couldn't do that from abroad.

Because the barcode on the GRU has to be transmitted from the paying bank to the receiving bank through the Brazilian boleto system, and foreign banks don't have access to that system.

If anyone manages to pay a fine successfully from abroad, please post here how you did it:  you'll be an Expat.com Hero.   

I thought I was a hero regardless, my mom always told me so.

However I will admit that I have never heard of this bolero system. Are you saying that it's impossible to make payments to Brazilian banks because of this system?

Out of curiosity, I logged into my account and started the process of making an international payment, and when I selected Brazil, no warning or anything like that showed up, I had the infos necessary to fill in the mandatory fields and the ‘Send/Execute' button was actif. Of course that doesn't mean it would have worked, as i stated before that I don't know anything about this boleto system. But I find it hard to believe that it's impossible to do a payment from abroad. Do you have a link to something that explains it more in detail ?

abthree wrote:

08/09/21


Because the barcode on the GRU has to be transmitted from the paying bank to the receiving bank through the Brazilian boleto system, and foreign banks don't have access to that system.

If anyone manages to pay a fine successfully from abroad, please post here how you did it:  you'll be an Expat.com Hero.   

Kurterino wrote:

Do you have a link to something that explains it more in detail ?

We're getting a little OT, but note the last sentence in the "How Does It Work?" section.

https://www.pagbrasil.com/payment-metho … -bancario/

Even at the state and city level, you have to physically take gov. boletos to BB. I got DTRAN's and the line at BB branch was very long, so I tried mobile banking and it said this bank cannot pay this boleto.

English Penguin wrote:

Also regarding your last point there about not being able to pay on departure, this is the exact same bull that they pulled on me. I wanted to pay when I left because I knew I had to pay this fine. They straight up said not to bother, just pay next time I come to Brazil. That's what lead to the "promise" that on return, I can just pay the fine and enter again without the 180 day reset. That was obviously a lie, and when I did return after the 3 weeks, I went to pay and my wife spoke with them to confirm that part and after 10 or 20 minutes, the agent returned to say that wasn't the case and I could pay now but would still have to wait 180 days to enter again. That's what led me to find an alternative flight to the city next to where we live and wait it out to enter at the border again. I think entering on a land border is the only reason I was able to get in on a valid visa without paying the fine. The agents at the border where far more reasonable than at the airport.

if you paid immediately the first time you would still have to go out for 180 days???? thks

Yes, no matter what, you will have to wait the 180 days for your visa to reset.

Hi there,
I'm gonna pay 5800 reais once Im arriving in Brazil in October. I'm all willing to pay the fine, but Im worried about the payment method. Do I need to pay the fine right at immigration (a bank there?)? Cause I'm only arriving after 5pm on a Friday and I'm super worried "their bank" will be closed by then and Im not able to pay the fine :-/
Cheers and thanks alot
Ronia

Ronia,
Which airport?
GRU has Safra and 24 hrs. I would think GIG has a place to pay also.

Oh amazing. Im gonna arrive in GRU.
So you're positive that Im able to pay it on arrival or how does it usually work?
(Sooryy Im super worried cause like most people here I had sooo many issues with extensions and fines etc😅 just wanna be sure)
Thank u alot.

I can not be 100%, it has been a couple of years since I was around the PF in GRU, but I know the RF sent many to pay customs boletos on imports after their windows closed.
The agent gave them a boleto and they went, paid, and came back for the items with the receipt.

Was looking for some other information, but because it might be helpful :

usend.com lets you pay boletos from outside Brazil. I used it to send r$1000 from abroad to my brazilian prepaid card, but the site supposedly allows you to pay larger boletos. the money showed up. i only used the company twice so i can't vouch for them beyond that, but it may be worth looking into for anyone stuck on this issue

English Penguin wrote:

Yes, no matter what, you will have to wait the 180 days for your visa to reset.

filippo456 wrote:

if you paid immediately the first time you would still have to go out for 180 days???? thks

A friend of mine just arrived here in Brazil, after having had about 2 months of overstay in April this year. Through a friend, he had paid the fine (about 5000 Reais) within the deadline (30 days after getting fined?), and came back to Brazil after just 3 months. Apparently, he had no problems getting the usual 90 days tourist visa.

Kurterino wrote:

A friend of mine just arrived here in Brazil, after having had about 2 months of overstay in April this year. Through a friend, he had paid the fine (about 5000 Reais) within the deadline (30 days after getting fined?), and came back to Brazil after just 3 months. Apparently, he had no problems getting the usual 90 days tourist visa.

09/24/21

He was lucky, and having paid the fine on time undoubtedly helped.  The Federal Police have broad latitude:  the agent may have considered the timely payment of the fine as having erased his overstay.  The agent may just have been having a good day, and liked the way that your friend presented himself:  Immigration Control is the last place that a traveler wants to be anything but pleasant and respectful.  Glad he was admitted. 

I had no choice but to stay in Brasil during the coronavirus pandemic and the state of the health emergency that was preclaimed worldwide. I was informed about the suspension of the calculation of stays in the tourist visas starting from the 16/3/2020 but, the member of staff, Sra. Monique Ferreira Portella at the delegacia especial of the Federal Police at the international airport of Rio de Janeiro in Brasil, did not follow the orders of the Chief of the Federal Police and did not start the calculation of the days in my tourist visa from the 3/11/2021 and calculated all of the days between 16/3/2020 -2/11/2020 she was ordered by the PF not to calculate and charge me a fine of 10.000 reais, the maximum penalty she could apply based on the article 108 of the Imigration Law in Brasil. Based on what I know the specific brasilian at the specific delegacia at the international airport of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, did not have the legal right up to the 16/9/2021 based on the orders of the PF, to apply a multa to a visa that had expired during the coronavirus pandemic and after the 16/3/2020. She applied the multa of 10.000 reais against my person on the 13/9/2021, without hearing anything about my situation, position during the coronavirus pandemic or about the orders of the Federal Police to the specific delegacia about the suspension of the calcualtion of the days in the tourist visas, did not comply with the orders and calculated all days she was told she could not calculate.  She did not even ask me and could not care to ask me , whether I can pay the 10.000 reais and what a financial disaster this would be for me. Does anyone have the same experience during the coronavirus pandemic with the specific delegacia especial at the internacional airport of Galeao at Rio de Janeiro in Brasil?. The specific employee at the specific delegacia also had not informed me where I had the legal and human right to present a written defense within 10 days. Does anyone know where written defense to the accusation and fine based on the accusation can be presented and whether the weekend , Saturday and Sunday are calculated in the 10 days?. Than you in advance.

09/25/11

universerules1111,

What were the dates of your arrival in and departure from Brazil?

I entered Brasil , 4 days before the boarders of it and airports closed and the state of health emergency in it was declared, on the 14/3/2020. As it was mentioned on my post, Sra. Monique Ferreira Portella on the 13/9/2021 at the delegacia especial da PF at the international airport Galeao of Rio de Janeiro in Brasil, applied a fine of 10.000 reais for illegal stay, calculating ALL DAYS she was ordered by the Chief of the Police and Diretor -Geral da PF not to calculate and applied the multa on the 13/9/2021 when she was ordered by the FP that this was not possible to take place up to the 16/9/2021. Obviously the day of my departure was on the 13/9/2021 passing from the specific delegacia and passport control at which for the first time in my life having been to more than 24/25 countries up to now, I have seen those employees who verified and checked the passports at it, not to be with the uniform of their own Police and the uniform of the Federal Police. They were with civil clothes and looked like they worked for a private company whose purpose was to make profit for them and the company they worked for, to make as much money as possible for company they worked for in order to benefit themselves financially and to be rewarded by  the company.

Hi guys,

I have a question as well. In 2016 I overstayed my visa for 392 days (back then the max. Fine was 900reais). When I left Brazil they told me to pay the next time I enter. But when I entered Brazil again, nobody said anything.
Now, I'm married to a Brazilian. We have been living in Germany for 4 years and I am 6 months pregnant. We want to move to Brazil in the end of October as my husband is starting a new job there. However, we have been having difficulties getting my family reunion visa. They told us we need to pay the fee first, which we would love to do. However, nobody is answering our emails. We sent our request to 5 different emails (policia federal in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo) - no response. I'm becoming a bit nervous since time is passing and I'm afraid I will not get the visa. We would then fly there anyway since as a German you are allowed access for 90 days as a tourist and then we would try to solve the issue in Rio de Janeiro. However, I'm afraid they will not let me enter the country. If I wasn't pregnant it would all not be such a big deal but I'm afraid I won't be with my husband for the delivery of our baby.

Does anybody know how to solve this issue or where to reach the policia federal?

Thanks guys!