Despite the legal pathways available for migrants entering Brazil, obtaining regular documentation takes years. Not everyone has access to accurate information, which can cause further fear and insecurity for migrants. Many people receive support from civil society organisations, including free legal advice and help with booking appointments. But applying is just the first hurdle. Once the asylum process has started, many migrants have to deal with a lack of guidance in languages other than Portuguese, waiting lists, and bureaucratic delays. As a result, they often try to resolve their situation independently. They pay private brokers and lawyers to try to expedite the process, marry Brazilian citizens, or even have Brazilian children to obtain regular documentation.
How will I settle down without documents?
“My arrival was not so difficult. The difficult thing was claiming asylum. I was fleeing domestic violence, not war, so I could not ask for refuge based on nationality. A lawyer at Caritas instead filed an asylum request based on the fact that I entered the country as a minor. But then the lawyer left the organisation and no one was left to follow up on my application.
My visa was valid for over a year and I had an open asylum application, so I was getting by. I managed to finish high school, but I couldn't get my certificate because I didn't have the right documents. I paid a lawyer to provide a statement that allowed me to enrol in college without a formal degree, and then started paying for courses at a private university. Two years in my passport expired and they said I couldn’t re-enrol until I sorted out my paperwork.
I went to the federal police, who sent me to the public defender’s office, who sent me to the consulate. The consulate said I couldn’t get a passport without a birth certificate, but to get that I would have to go back to my home country – which I couldn’t do. It was chaos. They sent me round and round and I got nowhere. I’ve now been without a passport or proper documentation for over eight years. The last time I managed to renew my asylum seeker status was before the pandemic. How will I settle down? I have no asylum documentation, no passport, no visa, nothing.”
A shout for help
“You have to tell your story to the federal police. You have to try as hard as you can to make it a shout for help. You get scared, and you wonder ‘will they hear my story? Will there be an irregularity in my story? Will they approve me? Will they deny me? If they deny me now, what will happen?’ After you tell the federal police your story, they torture you with forms. No translation at all, and if you fill it in wrong, it's gone.”
It's not just a visa, it's my life
“In the interview they were tough. They asked, ‘are you really looking for refuge?’ I had to demonstrate that I needed to stay here to escape the domestic violence at home. I had to give details of everything that happened. I started crying, and the officer was just listening, not saying anything. After I finished, they just said that they would study my case and that was that. It hurts, because it's not just the visa. It's your life! It’s something you put a lot of energy and money into, because you’re investing in your safety.”
They don't listen to us
“Caritas gives you a letter in Portuguese to take to the federal police. You take it without knowing what is written in that letter, or whether it is true or not. For people who do not speak the language, it is difficult. The police should have someone who speaks French or English at the reception desk, to be able to help. Instead the people who work there treat you very badly. They don't listen to us, sometimes they look right through you as if there is no one in front of them. Migrants are not treated well by the federal police.”
Not having information makes us vulnerable
“When you don't have information and you don't speak Portuguese, you become dependent on others. You might find another migrant who will help you, but even there you often have to pay them because it’s their way of earning money. They help with forms or with getting around, but sometimes their prices are very high. I’ve heard of cases where people paid up to R$100.00 (£15) just to learn where the federal police station is!”
I got married after seven years of waiting
“Sometimes we do things that we never thought of doing just to get regularised. I applied for asylum in 2014. I tried to renew my provisional documentation a couple years later, but CONARE [the National Committee for Refugees] rejected my request. Two different people from Caritas told me that I would have to get married or have a child to get the document.
A Congolese man told me to seek help from the lawyers at Missão Paz. They made an appointment for me to go to CONARE. I did two interviews, one in 2017 and another one in 2018. In late 2021 CONARE sent me an email saying that my request had been accepted, but by that time I no longer needed it. After seven years of waiting I had finally decided to get married. I had already gotten my documentation through that route.”
