When marriage ends what happens to the foreigner's permanent visa in Brazil?

I have been following this interesting discussion at the Gringoes forum, an internet debate place for foreigners who live or want to know more about Brazil. You may check it at:

http://www.gringoes.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13882&PN=2

Here is my answer to the question posted  by one of the members

"Hello,

I have been following this discussion with interest, because the issue is controversial even among lawyers.

In my opinion, Dunga's comments are closer to reality.

Fact is, no  Visa is permanent. They are just called Permanent, but they could be called "Long term" as well. For instance: permanent visa due to investment may be revoked if the investment is repatriated.

Also, there are sovereignty aspects to the granting of visas.

In legal terms: any visa is subject to the special conditions that may be required by the National Immigration Council.

In this sense:

Estatuto do estrangeiro:

Art. 17. Para obter visto permanente o estrangeiro deverá satisfazer, além dos requisitos referidos no artigo 5º, as exigências de caráter especial previstas nas normas de seleção de imigrantes estabelecidas pelo Conselho Nacional de Imigração.

On the other hand, current visa owners could say that their Visa is already an "ato jurídico perfeito", or acquired right, that could not be revoked due to future regulations.

In practice, when it wants to, Government will just issue and enforce  new regulations in spite of the "ato jurídico perfeito". Conflicts are solved in court.

So, in conclusion:

Getting divorced does not imply immediate loss of the Permanent Visa.

But,

The government may, at any time, create regulations that restrict the rights of current visa owners. For example, demanding proof of marriage to be presented every year, subject to Visa cancellation. (note that this is hypothetical. Such rule does not exist, at least yet).

This would create a juridical problem that might result in the Visa cancellation, subject to an administrative (and maybe judicial) procedure where the foreigner's conduct and adherence to any regulations would be evaluated.

However, in spite of the visa cancellation being a theoretical possibility, truth is it is not common."