Bureaucracy the Brazilian way

Vitória is the capital of Espírito Santo, a small State wedged in between Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. Having arrived in a new city and a new State we needed to check in with the Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy) at the Capitania dos Portos (Port Authority) and, so we thought, with the Polícia Federal (Immigration). The Capitania was an easy half hour walk from our beach, so we blew up our dinghy, rowed across to the beach, locked her up and moseyed on over to visit them.

Clearing in turned out to be a very quick and easy affair, in fact so quick and easy was it that our paperwork was all done and sorted within half an hour. What made it so fast was that in Espírito Santo it wasn’t necessary for us to visit the Polícia Federal. Bonus! Here we were thinking that we would have to spend half a day with the bureaucracy and instead we were done in 30 min and it wasn’t even morning tea time. What to do next?

Nightmare of Brazilian sim cards

What we decided to do next was to try and sort out our issues with renewing our mobile phone sim cards. Let’s just say that the rest of the day was lost in an office of the telecommunications company VIVO, VIVO being one of Brazil’s main mobile phone companies, trying to get one of our sim cards topped up. We hadn’t been able to do it online and we thought the company itself might be able to help. Foolish of us, really.

The folk at VIVO tried a few tricks, made us wait, tried a few more tricks and eventually asked where we’d bought the sim cards. Upon hearing that we’d bought them in Salvador, in Bahia State, there was immediately a lot of eye rolling all as if to say ‘but of course your card doesn’t work, it is from Bahia’. After that, all assistance was pretense only and it became pretty clear that we were wasting our time.

It was only days later, at another VIVO store where a far more competent and very patient VIVO employee got work on solving the problem, that we discovered that our Bahia sim card had not been assigned to our name and CPF number (Brazilian Tax File number) but instead to a certain ‘Walter’ whose birthday and CPF number was different to ours. And just who was this Walter and how did his details get onto our sims?

Not surprisingly this mismatch between name, birthday and CPF number meant that there was no legal way to top up our sim card. After much back and forth between different employees, it was decided that the simplest solution was to toss the old sim card and buy a new one that could then be linked to our actual details. Five minutes later it was all done and dusted and we have used it happily ever since. Perhaps the eye rolls about Bahia sim cards were not without reason…

Visa and permit extensions

Since we were waiting for the next weather window and were located in an efficient and modern-looking city, we decided that, having survived the private enterprise bureaucracy, it might be a good opportunity to re-engage with the Brazilian bureaucracy and see if we could extend our Brazilian visas with the Polícia Federal.

These are originally given for 90 days, with a 90-day extension possible for certain passports. If we were successful, we’d also have to extend the temporary import permit for Yuma with the Receita Federal (Tax Office). Two big issues. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, either or both of these might or might not have been a given based on the stories we’d heard from other cruisers. It appeared that much depended on who you dealt with. Our experience with Brazilian officials had so far been excellent but other sailors had apparently had issues.

While we still had time on our visa, not getting an extension would mean having to pay a fine if we overstayed and then applying for a 60-day permit to leave the country. Either would have been workable but extending our visas and Yuma’s temporary import permit was preferable.

Visit to Polícia Federal

So, one morning we took an Uber to the office of the Polícia Federal at the International Airport. There, in a huge and empty office, we were told by a very friendly but lonely police officer that, no, we had to go to their office in the city. Which, of course, was not too far from our beach anchorage, sigh. And as far as the Receita Federal was concerned, their office was just a little past the Capitania we had visited the day before. Double sigh.

While Ubering back into the city to the other Polícia Federal office, we read that we had to fill out Portuguese forms and make an appointment online. Not understanding much of the form, or the appointment page, we gambled on just showing up and hoping for the best.

And sure enough, here Brazilians come into their own. We arrived minutes before the office closed for lunch but the officer we spoke with assured us that if we came back in an hour all would be sorted.

After lunch, forms were filled out, invoices were paid (at the lottery office deep down in the parking garage), receipts handed back, and then with big smiles, ‘Stamp!’ our visas were extended by another three months and we were wished a very pleasant extended stay in Brazil. Hooray!

Visit to Receita Federal

The next morning, we went over to the Receita Federal to get an extension for Yuma. Here, a long line of patient but bored-looking Brazilians were waiting outside on the footpath. Not quite sure where we should go, Frederieke joined the line while David walked over to talk to one of the security guards.

After lots of Portugnol (a conversation in Portuguese, Spanish and a mix of both) and a bit of waving of forms, the security guard urged us to go inside, sit down and wait while she called someone who might know how to assist us. We did and time passed.

Some 15 minutes later our security guard let us know that we hadn’t been forgotten, it was just that they couldn’t find the right person. Ten minutes later a bloke came out of the elevator (let’s call him Chris) and walked over to us.

He introduced himself and said that he was not the right person to talk to and that this was not the correct office, but given that the right office was on the other side of the harbour and since we wouldn’t be able to find the correct office anyway given where it was located, he would see what he could do for us and off he went. About 15 minutes later he returned and took us under his wing.

Up we went to his office, 4 floors up and with a magnificent view along the estuary and across the water to the forested inselbergs on the other side. He switched on his computer, but then immediately turned around and offered us a cup of coffee in the little kitchen area on the same floor.

Here, we spent a lovely 30 min or so chatting away while gazing out at the splendid view over the Santa Maria da Vitória River. Eventually Chris remembered he had turned on his computer and was going to help us with Yuma’s permit and so he jumped up, we washed our cups and saucers and returned to his office.

Several phone calls later to the officer who dealt with this kind of paperwork across in the office we wouldn’t have been able to find, our temporary import forms had been filled out, copied and emailed off. The wheels of bureaucracy having been set in motion Chris leaned back in his chair and we resumed our discussion.

What followed was a most engaging conversation about his career in the Brazilian Customs service, in particular his time in Manaus where illegal drugs, weapons and wildlife trade were (and are) the order of the day, about how glad he was to be back in much-safer Vitória, about keeping freshwater fish (a shared fascination) and a most fabulous aquarium shop in Vitória, about our careers as marine and rainforest ecologists, and our travels with Yuma.

Yuma? Ah yes, Yuma, and the extension of her permit! About an hour had past and the mention of Yuma reminded Chris of why we had come to his office. He checked his computer, made a few more phone calls and voila! the desired paperwork rolled of his printer, signatures were applied, and we each got our respective copies.

After handshakes and obrigados / obrigadas, we left happily with Yuma’s permit extension and with the recommendation for a good quilo (buffet restaurant) just around the corner.

More Bureaucracy with the Marinha do Brasil

Since this post has been hijacked by the topic of dealing with bureaucracy (both public and private) we might as well continue on with the same theme. At the end of our stay in Vitória, we needed to check out with the Marinha do Brasil at the Capitania office. A week earlier, checking-in had been a very quick affair so we thought this wouldn’t take long. This time it wasn’t quite so fast.

It was the day before our departure, and so we duly arrived at the entrance during the office’s afternoon opening hours (1215-1400), where we were politely asked to wait; someone would chaperone us inside as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, out came Bento, a young Navy employee who asked us to follow him and told us he started learning English three months ago and would we mind if we talked in English so he could practice.

After some small chit-chat in English, Bento took us into the same office that we had checked-in in the previous week. He offered us a chair, asked if we wanted a coffee or some water and apologised that his colleague (who was needed for our paperwork) was still out for lunch. His colleague would only be 5 to 10 min longer.

Then, having again confirmed that we were happy to help him, he started practicing his English with us, getting his coursebook out to work through it (mind you, all in his boss’ time), all the while telling us about his family and his career plans. Bento was a nice fellow so this was all good fun for us.

Forty-five minutes later, when his colleague did get back from his lunch break things changed gear slightly. The colleague remembered us from our previous visit and simply asked “Yuma?” we replied “sim” and five min later, stamp, sign, and our paperwork was done.

So, we spent about an hour at the Capitania, 50 min of which was spent having a lovely social time with a very friendly student of English.

Brazilian Bureaucracy

Before arriving in Brazil we had heard a lot of grumbling about the Brazilian bureaucracy and its demands on cruising sailors, how people were officious, abrupt, and often unwilling to provide any guidance or leeway, how strict dress standards had to be met and how it was all difficult and time consuming. For whatever reason our experience has been the complete opposite to this.

We have yet to encounter anyone, from the Marinha, the Polícia Federal or the Recieta Federal who wasn’t friendly, helpful, polite and interested. When there were issues the people we dealt with always went out of their way to help us sort them out. Sure, things can take a while but in our experience that has always been because they are making you a coffee, asking about your travels or practicing a language with you. You have got to love the Brazilians, what a great country!

That is the Government side. Strangely enough on the private enterprise side things can be much more difficult – why does one need to give one’s name, date of birth, country, mobile phone number, CPF and passport number to pay for a washing machine and dryer at a laundromat or to buy a can of paint…?!

P.S. A great thank-you to Marina Santana, who guided us through the Brazilian food-scene with lots of tips and recommendations while we cruised along the coast of her country. We duly reported back to her with our findings and photos of all the Brazilian snacks, dishes and drinks we tried.