Originally posted by frank4000 Why no go straight to TAM or Gol's website. September outside peak season so price should be reasonable.

Long story short, I discovered that Delta had some super cheap flights available when I wanted to go ($722!!!), with a return ticket a week later that I won't use, so I ended up going with them on their website. I wanted Delta anyway because I saw in another thread that Delta's really reasonable with what they charge for extra baggage (bags 3-10 cost $75 each), and considering that I'll probably be bringing a bunch of extra baggage with me (full of my junk), I didn't wanna go with Copa, which I was told (at the check-in desk) charges $275(!) for an extra piece of luggage now.

My only concern now is if they tell us we have to pay more money for those extra bags, as I assume we'll have to collect and re-check them when we arrive in Rio - anyone know if that will be the case?

No - I won't have my permanent visa until later. We're getting married here in the US at the beginning of September, and our flight to Manaus is at the end of September. The best I can imagine is filing for the permanent residency (hopefully before we go on our honeymoon).

Honestly, I can't imagine bringing 9 pieces of luggage with me, but maybe 2 or 3 extra, and then I would probably have her take 2 or 3 extra as well (besides the 2 each we normally would have).

I was gonna have my Ferrari and horses shipped over, but then I realized I don't have any! 

Originally posted by tbird There are rules about when you belongings are supposed to arrive in Brazil when you move there permanently.

This is one thing that I overlooked - what exactly are the rules for this sort of thing?

Originally posted by tbird I believe that you are exempt from paying import taxes on stuff that arrives no earlier than 90 days and no later than 180 days from your when you entered Brazil (first entry with permanent visa). If your wife has been with you in your country for a good period of time, just ship everything in her name.

Interesting. By having my wife here for a good period of time - how much time do you mean? By the time we head to Brazil, she will have been with me for 1 month for that trip (she's been here 3 other times - each for no more than 1 month each).

Incidentally, I plan to sell most of my stuff (which isn't much) while here in the US - what I plan to bring with me is primarily clothes, my personal computer, Sony PS3, CD collection, DVD/Blu-ray collection, books and maybe a few other things that don't come to mind at the moment. Stuff like furniture, TV, etc. will be sold.

Originally posted by tbird I think the rule of thumb is that whatever a Brazilian brings home after a long-term stay abroad has to be in line with the time she has been away and her income while there. So it is an objective determination, ultimately. Since you are entering as a tourist, you need to be able to convince that whatever you are bringing is of personal use and that it will leave Brazil again. But you aren't bringing much; if you wife travels with you, split the stuff between the two of you and you might just squeeze through without too many questions asked (if you bring 1500 DVDs it might raise some eyebrows.. is this gringo coming to Brazil to sit around and watch movies all day)

Here's another question - if I apply for my permanent residency while I am still here in the US, will they give me some sort of paperwork or something that I can show to customs so that it will be less of an issue?