Documents to sort out before leaving Brazil

Documents issued outside Portugal must be authenticated to count with the Portuguese public administration, and the AIMA explains that, where the country of origin is a signatory to the Hague Convention, that authentication is the apostille. This guide is for people who are still in Brazil and want to know which papers to sort out before the journey.

Why the apostille is dealt with in Brazil

According to the text of the Convention (article 3), the only formality that may be required to certify the signature and the capacity of the signatory is the apostille, issued by the competent authority of the State from which the document comes. For Brazilian documents, that authority is Brazilian.

The CNJ coordinates the application of the Convention in Brazil, in force since August 2016. Its page has a locator for authorised notary offices (cartórios) by state and city, and says the convention covers public acts such as documents from State authorities or officials and official declarations, including recognition of signatures on private documents. There is also the electronic apostille: since Provimento 119/2021, the CNJ provides for apostilling documents issued in a compatible electronic format and electronically signed, the electronic apostille must be saved as a single file, following the document, signed by the apostilling authority and delivered on a medium or sent to the email address given by the applicant. An apostille can be checked in the CNJ validation service.

Translation. The AIMA requires a certified translation for documents written in a foreign language. Brazilian documents are in Portuguese, and the Federal Police states that its certificate is supplied in Portuguese only.

What each process asks for

Residence visa

The Consular Portal lists, for the residence visa, among other documents: a passport valid for 3 months beyond the intended stay, a criminal record certificate from the country of origin (or from the country where you lived for more than a year) with a Hague Apostille, travel insurance or an equivalent, means of subsistence and the documents specific to the purpose of the stay. For minors not travelling with both parents, a travel authorisation is needed from the parent who is not travelling with them, with a recognised and legalised signature, or a court decision.

The Embassy of Portugal in Brasília states that Brazilians do not need a visa for stays of up to 90 days, but must apply for the appropriate residence or temporary-stay visa to stay longer, in person at one of the 10 VFS Global centres in Brazil. The decision period for the residence visa is 60 days, except for exceptions provided by law. See the visas guide.

If you lived in another country in the last year, the consulate in Porto Alegre states that the criminal record from that country is also needed, apostilled or legalised.

School and equivalence

For equivalence of school qualifications, the DGE asks for official documents, legalised or carrying the Hague Apostille, that state the year or cycle completed, the final marks and the marking scale, with the minimum pass mark. See Studying in Portugal.

Higher education degrees

For recognition of foreign degrees (Decree-Law 66/2018), the DGES recognition page (DGES’s functions moved to the Instituto para o Ensino Superior, I.P., in 2026) lists a copy of the diploma, or of a document from the institution proving the degree, authenticated by the competent authorities, or the original. A document with the course units, syllabus content, length of study and final mark may also be requested. See degree recognition and ask the university for the transcript with the syllabus of each subject.

Family

For the family reunification visa, the Consular Portal asks for proof of the identity of the family members. The family reunification guide explains the process.

Criminal record certificate

The Federal Police, on gov.br, issues the certificate online, free of charge and immediately. For civil purposes it can be printed and is valid for 90 days. Some people cannot get it online, because of namesakes or mismatches with CPF data: the system generates a protocol number, which is taken to a Federal Police unit with the original documents, and the certificate is ready within 15 days.

The Embassy in Brasília states that the certificate required is the ePol–SINIC, apostilled through the CNJ, with a QR code carrying the issue reference number in the footer. Since the certificate is valid for 90 days, it makes sense to request it close to the date of the visa application and have it apostilled straight afterwards.

PB4 / CDAM

The Certificate of Right to Medical Assistance comes from the social security agreement between Brazil and Portugal and is for Brazilian citizens over 18 and their dependants, among other cases listed on the page. According to the gov.br page:

• The request is made online, with a gov.br account, and the service is free.
• For Portugal, the form has a “reason for travel” field, which sets the validity: 6 months, 1 year or 5 years.
• The page gives up to 90 calendar days for the follow-up stage of the request and, for the total time of the service, “not yet estimated”. Requests are reviewed in order of arrival. Anyone with an urgent case can prove it by email with a ticket, medical reports or an employment contract.
• Dependants are included in the application with a passport and certificates issued and recognised by the competent bodies in Brazil. If the form is returned for corrections, the applicant has at most 45 days to resubmit it, or the request is archived.
• The certificate does not need an apostille.

The Consular Portal allows travel insurance to be waived under agreements such as the PB4, and the consulate in Porto Alegre states that the PB4 can be used as insurance, valid until at least the end of the visa.

What the official sources do not say

The AIMA, MNE and CNJ pages do not set a general validity period for Brazilian marriage or birth certificates. If a process imposes a period, it will appear in the document list of the body that asks for the document (consulate, AIMA, school), so it is worth checking it before ordering new copies. Once you have left Brazil, every missing document means someone has to deal with it for you, and the guide on loose ends in Brazil shows what may be left unresolved.

Carry the apostilled originals in your hand luggage and keep digital copies. To see all the steps for your situation, use the path tool.