About brastras

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Citizen Of:

United States

Dual Citizen Of:

Brazil

Past Expat Posts:

United States

Advice for New Expats

Learn the language Check Visa requirements in BR consulate/embassy where you live now Do your homework and doublecheck everything Don't trust anyone

I would love to live in...

where I am now

Education:

UFRJ
  1959 to 1963

Some Forum Posts:

Brazil: Disabled going to Brazil:

If you receive SS disability benefits and depend on it you should check with SSA over the 0800 whether or not you will be eligible to continue receiving it while out of the US. Do it now, before anything else. There is no SSA services coverage out of the US although you have to pay for it. That was my personal experience decades ago. Good luck!

Brazil: Advice for English Teacher Living in Brasil:

Marry a Brazilian and have a child. A Brit bank robber did this decades ago and BR almost went to war with the UK to prevent his extradiction.

Brazil: where to live in brazil:

São Joaquim is a small city in Santa Catarina, Brazil, up on the mountains with rains forests, southwest of the capital Florianópolis, not far from wonderful beaches and a good road network. Population predominantly northern european descendants, German, Polish, Italian, etc. The city is regarded as the coldest city in Brazil, with registered temperatures of -10°C. When very cold air masses penetrate southern Brazil during the winter months, June through September, heavy frost and some flurries or light snowfall may occur. Google it.

Brazil: obtaining a passport:

Have you tried the Post Office? That used to be the cheapest (R$20 to R$30) and quickest way. Go to the nearest P.O. and buy a "Passport Kit". In it you will find instructions to fill out a form and attach original documents. Read the instructions, fill out the form, attach photos and docs as requested, place in a self-addressed prestamped envelope that is in the kit and deliver in the P.O. You should get your BR passport and original documents back by mail in your home within 2 to 3 weeks. I did that many years ago and worked perfectly. Don't know for sure if they still offer this service. Good Luck!

Brazil: Morgan Trust CHASE Bank:

I am retired by SSA and have used a CHASE debit card to receive my pension in the past 8 years. According to our original contract, they charge me $6.00 a month on maintenance fees and I have 02 FREE ATM withdrawals a month (they charge me 3% from the 3rd on) and 04 FREE consultations with agents over the phone in Des Moines-Illinois. In the past 3 mos, I noticed a difference between what the local ATM charged my account in US$ and the CHASE account statements. I checked it up and found a hidden 3%. I called CHASE by phone, talked to a supervisor and, yes, he told me, the bank made a mistake and the money would be back in my account in 48 hours, and so it was. Next month, same thing, same supervisor, money back in my account. He was supposed to check what went wrong with "the system" in the previous months and report to me by regular mail. This month, same "mistake" but a new supervisor, who did not identify himself, gave me some lousy explanation: because I live abroad (I have for the past 8 years), different exchange rates (my ATM receipt specifies the exchange rate used in the transaction as well as the total amount charged to my account in US$, including ATM fee) and charged US$1.00 for the consultation, the first this month that was supposed to be free. My questions are: 1) Can they add/raise fees without previous notice? 2) Can they carry hidden fees? 3) Is there a consumer protection agency, such as BBB or BR PROCON in the US, that may help solve this problem? Thanks in advance for any inputs, comments and thoughts on this issue.

Brazil: FIlling USA IRS from Brazil:

You've just touched on the biggest issue in this site, but unfortunately no one has care about it so far: "US expatriates have to pay US taxes and can be penalized for noncompliance, but have no representation whatsoever"... clearly unconstitutional and no one cares about it. In addition, we are denied services we contributed for our whole lives, and some of us keep keep on contributing with no return on sight (SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc). There's no SSA or IRS Officer in Brazil while the US Embassy and Consulate General sttaf is too busy denying visas to potential BR immigrants... unprepared and unwilling to help on any pertinent issue. There are over 8 million US citizens living abroad, not counting military, religious and multinational company employees. There's an ellection coming up and I see no candidate addressing this issue. Any comments?

Brazil: moving to florianopolis:

That's quite true and an excellent piece of advice. Floripa hasn't changed much in the past 9 years, except maybe in Public Health services. They have built new and modern Policlinicas and the one on the North of the island is EXCELLENT by top world standards in facilities, equipment and personnel, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Brazil: Cost of cars and electronics:

Taxes. Brazilians are heavily taxed on goods and services rather than on income. But prices of electronic goods such as PCs, LCD TV sets, etc have fallen fast lately as they are now being suplied directly from China rather than through the US, and China has recently replaced the US as its leading import suplier.

Brazil: Expat residents & public health:

Yes. All legal residents, including tourists with Visa are entitled to free public health services including free "generic" medicine prescribed by public health or private physicians, no matter his/her income bracket. People from Mercosul (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, etc) don't need visa to enter the country and just have to show their ID cards. Public health is universal in Brazil. As to its quality, it depends on location. Some are good, others are fair and some are just terrible as we can see on TV sometimes.

Brazil: US SSA-Social Security Administration Retirees in Brazil:

Hi friends, I am a binational Brazilian-American citizen, retired by the SSA-Social Security Administration and living in Florianopolis-SC. I would like to set up a group of SSA retirees living in this country or elsewhere so as to exchange related experiences and find solutions to our common problems. If interested in joining, please send through this site or to my email brastras@terra.com.br

Date Joined:

2/22/2006

Total Posts:

29

Posts/Day:

0.01