Brazil and Haiti: Foreigner identity cards (Cédula de Identidade de Estrangeiro, CIE) issued to Haitian residents, including the purpose of the information indicated on them (2010-September 2017)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

The website of the Federal Police (Polícia Federal) of Brazil reports that the foreigner identity card (Cédula de identidade de Estrangeiro, CIE) [translation] "is the physical identification document for foreigners registered in Brazil … valid throughout the country" (Brazil 13 Sept. 2017). The same source indicates that, according to article 30 of Law No. 6815 of 1980, foreigners admitted to Brazil temporarily, permanently or as refugees must register with the Federal Police within 30 days of their arrival or after being granted asylum and, once registered, they are issued a foreigner identity card (ibid.). Article 30 of Law No. 6815 of 19 August 1980, which defines the legal status of foreigners in Brazil, states the following:

Art. 30. An alien who enters the country as a permanent resident, or temporary resident (sub-paragraphs I and IV to VI of art. 13) or as a political refugee shall be obliged to register with the Ministry of Justice within thirty days as of his/her entry, of the granting of the refugee status (asylum), and to identify himself/herself by fingerprinting in accordance with the regulatory provisions. (Wording based on Law no. 6964 of 12/09/81). (Brazil 1980)

Article 2 of Decree No. 2236 of 23 January 1985 (Decreto-lei no 2.236, de 23 janeiro de 1985), concerning the [translation] "foreigner identity document," provides the following: [translation] "The foreigner identity document shall be replaced every nine years, starting from the date of issuance or the date of extension of stay" (Brazil 1985). A document published in May 2015 by EMDOC, an "advisory firm" located in São Paulo that specializes in immigration (EMDOC n.d.), indicates that CIEs always have a period of validity, "even in the case of [foreigners] who already have a permanent residence permit" (EMDOC May 2015, 78). The website of the Department of Justice and Public Safety of Brazil (Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública) indicates that foreigners with permanent status have a CIE valid for a period of nine years and that they must renew their CIE before it expires (Brazil n.d.). The EMDOC document states that "as a rule, the [CIE] must be changed and the registration renewal must be done every nine years," thereby allowing the government to monitor foreign nationals living in Brazil (EMDOC May 2015, 78).

According to the same source, the National Registry of Foreigners (Registro Nacional de Estrangeiro, RNE) was created as a means to register all foreigners residing temporarily or permanently in Brazil, and enrollment in this registry is "what will prove the effective residence of the foreigner" in Brazil (ibid., 77-78). The same source indicates that the purpose of the RNE is to identify foreigners by their personal information, such as "name, nationality, date and place of birth, name of the parents," and by their fingerprints (ibid., 77). According to the website of the Federal Police, the CIE contains the RNE [translation] "alphanumeric number" (Brazil 13 Sept. 2017).

Article 2, paragraph 1 of Decree No. 2236 of 23 January 1985 provides the following:

[translation]

Foreign nationals holding a permanent visa who have previously completed a registration renewal and who

1. have reached 60 years of age by the date of expiration of the identity document; (clause added by Law No. 9.505 of 15/10/1997) and
2. are physically disabled, (clause added by Law No. 9505 of 15/10/1997)

shall be exempt from the replacement required under this article (single paragraph added by Law No. 9.505 of 15/10/1997). (Brazil 1985)

According to the website of the Federal Police,

[translation]

Foreign nationals holding a permanent visa who previously completed a registration renewal and who have reached 60 years of age at the time of the card's expiry date or who are physically disabled shall be exempt from the requirement to replace the CIE, including after the card's expiry date (Brazil 13 Sept. 2017.).

According to the website of the Federal Police, those individuals can, if they so wish, replace the CIE with a CIE valid for an indefinite period [translation] "by paying a fee" (Brazil 13 Sept. 2017).

The EMDOC document indicates that according to "Ordinance Number 2524/2008 of the Ministry of Justice," foreigners aged 51 years and older at the time of registration and disabled persons of any age shall receive a CIE that is valid indefinitely (EMDOC May 2015, 78). An article published on the website of Rolim, Viotti and Leite Campos (RV&LC), a law firm whose offices are located mainly in Brazil (RV&LC n.d.) and which deals with the issuance of CIEs to foreigners aged 51 years and older and to disabled persons, reports that:

This Ordinance [No. 2524 of 2008] sets forth that CIE with unlimited validity shall be issued to foreigners permanently resident in Brazil (i) who are 51 or more years old at the time of the registration and (i) who are handicapped, of any age

The Ordinance also allows foreigners permanently resident in Brazil, holders of CIE with limited validity and over 60 years old, to require, without any burden, the replacement of their CIEs in the nearest unity of the Federal Police (RV&LC 2 Feb. 2009).

For information on the laws relating to CIEs issued to Haitian nationals in Brazil, see Response ZZZ105986 of October 2017.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Brazil. 13 September 2017. Polícia Federal. "Cédula de Identidade de Estrangeiros." Unofficial translation by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada. [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017]

Brazil. 1985 (amended in 1997). Decreto-lei no 2.236, de 23 de janeiro de 1985. Unofficial translation by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada. [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]

Brazil. 1980 (amended in 2016). Lei n° 6.815, de 19 de Agosto de 1980. In The Foreign National in Brazil: Legislation and Comments, 4th edition, by EMDOC, October 2009. [Accessed 29 Sept. 2017]

Brazil. N.d. Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública. "Carteira de identidade de estrangeiro." [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017]

EMDOC. May 2015. Renê Ramos, Guilhermo Francisco Alves Ribeiro Dias and Fabiano Tatsushi Kawai. The Foreign National in Brazil: Legislation and Comments. [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]

EMDOC. N.d. "About the Company." [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017]

Rolim, Viotti and Leite Campos (RV&LC). 2 February 2009. "Issuance of CIE to Foreigners over 51 Years Old and to Handicapped Ones." [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017]

Rolim, Viotti and Leite Campos (RV&LC). N.d. "The Law Firm." [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Brazil - Brazil visa application centre, consulate in Toronto, consulate in Montréal, Conselho Nacional de Imigração; Conectas; Viva Rio.

Internet sites, including: ecoi.net; International Crisis Group; United Nations - Refworld, ReliefWeb; United States - Department of State, Library of Congress.