In order to apply for asylum, you must:
• Fill an ASYLUM CLAIM TERM (TERMO DE SOLICITAÇÃO DE REFÚGIO) at any Federal Police station;
• Inform an ADDRESS (where you live or are staying and where you can be found) TELEPHONE and EMAIL. Is it very important that you keep your contact information up to date at the Federal Police and CONARE, so that you can receive all the necessary notifications. If you move, you must inform your new address to CONARE through the email conare@mj.gov.br.

After registering your claim at the Federal Police you:
• Will receive a PROVISIONAL PROTOCOL, valid for 180 days and renewable until CONARE’s final decision on your asylum claim. This protocol will be your IDENTITY CARD in Brazil. It is proof of your regular migratory situation and that you are protected from being sent back to a country where your life is endangered. With this protocol, you will be able to obtain a WORK PERMIT (Carteira de Trabalho – CTPS) and a BRAZILIAN TAX NUMBER (Cadastro de Pessoa Física – CPF) and access all available public services in Brazil.
• Will have the right to be PERSONALLY INTERVIEWED by someone from CONARE or the Federal Public Defender’s Office, of the gender of your preference, who will ask you in details the reasons that led you to leave your country. The interview will be made in a LANGUAGE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND and, when necessary, you have the right to AN INTERPRETER.
• Can have a SECOND INTERVIEW with a lawyer from UNHCR’s partner organizations: Caritas Arquidiocesana do Rio de Janeiro, Caritas Arquidiocesana de São Paulo or Instituto Migrações e Direitos Humanos. In order to know where these organizations are located, check the section “Useful Contacts” on the last pages of this handbook.

It is important to know that:
• In order for the Provisional Protocol to remain valid and so that you can work legally, it is necessary to renew it at the Federal Police every 180 days. Asylum seekers who do not renew the Protocol within this deadline might have their claims filed. Be aware of the renovation date noted on your protocol and present yourself at a Federal Police station before this date.
• CONARE considers of importance any information or documentation that you bring along to explain the reasons why you left your country. In order to better understand this situation, it is fundamental that you provide as much information as possible about your country and region of origin;
• An asylum seeker who MISSES THE INTERVIEW without presenting a justification might have his/her claim FILED. If you have any doubt after receiving the notification to attend the interview, you may contact CONARE, the Federal Police or the civil society organization which is closest to you;
• You have the right to be ASSISTED BY A LAWYER from the Federal Public Defender’s Office or from one of UNHCR’s partner organizations, in an entirely FREE manner, in order to follow all your asylum procedure;
• You can also REQUEST ORIENTATION from CONARE, the Federal Public Defender’s Office, UNHCR or its partners from the civil society organizations.