Eligibility quiz
Is or was either of your parents a Brazilian citizen?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Brazilian passport and ID
Brazilian citizens can get an identity document and a passport.
An adult passport normally lasts 10 years and can be replaced before it expires.
Brazilian consulates abroad can issue passports.
Live in Brazil for life
Brazilian citizens can live in Brazil indefinitely and enter and leave as citizens.
Live and work in 9 countries
Study in Brazil
Brazilian citizens can study in Brazil without immigration permission and have a right to education on equal terms.
Work in Brazil
Brazilian citizens can work in Brazil without immigration permission and have a right to work on equal terms.
Get consular help
Brazilian citizens abroad can receive consular help, within the limits of what consulates can legally do.
Vote in elections
Brazilian citizens can vote from age 16.
Citizens registered abroad vote only in presidential elections.
Use public healthcare
Brazilian citizens have a right to health and access to public healthcare on equal terms.
Access social support
Brazilian citizens have rights to housing, social security, transport, leisure and security on equal terms.
Social assistance and income payments depend on meeting each programme's rules.
How to apply
Applying in courtApplying in court
Find your federal court
Find the federal court that handles cases for the place where you live in Brazil.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which federal court handles opção de nacionalidade brasileira for someone living in your city, Brazil?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the documents required by the court and civil registry.
See required documentsGet your birth record
Obtain a Brazilian copy of your birth record from a civil registry. If your birth has not yet been entered in Brazil, ask the registry to enter it and sign the request.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Where can I get my birth recorded for opção de nacionalidade brasileira in your city, Brazil?”
Prepare your court petition
Prepare a petition personally asking the federal court to confirm your Brazilian nationality. A lawyer or public legal aid can help you prepare it.
Find legal helpSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I find legal help for an opção de nacionalidade brasileira petition in Brazil?”
File your court petition
File your petition and documents with your federal court, using its electronic system or filing counter. You can also file through a lawyer or public legal aid.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I file an opção de nacionalidade brasileira petition with the federal court for your city, Brazil?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the federal judge's decision and for it to become final. Answer any requests from the court or other authorities for more information or documents.
See what happens nextSearches DuckDuckGo for “How long does a court decision on opção de nacionalidade brasileira take in Brazil?”
Get your court order
Once the decision is final, obtain the court order for registering your nationality.
Find your court orderSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I obtain the final court order for opção de nacionalidade brasileira in Brazil?”
Register your nationality
Take the court order to the civil registry that handles your registration and ask it to register your nationality.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Where do I register a court order for opção de nacionalidade brasileira in your city, Brazil?”
Request your updated certificate
Ask the civil registry for your updated Brazilian civil record certificate. You can then use it to apply for Brazilian identity documents and a passport.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I request an updated civil record certificate after opção de nacionalidade brasileira in your city, Brazil?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Get your birth certificate from the office that recorded your birth. Also get a Brazilian civil registry copy of your foreign birth record, or arrange to register it in Brazil if needed.
Parent's citizenship records
Get an official record showing that your parent is Brazilian. Depending on your parent's circumstances, this could be their Brazilian birth certificate, marriage certificate, naturalisation certificate or another official nationality record.
Considerations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Military service for men
Brazilian men must enlist for military service in the first half of the year they turn 18, even if they live abroad or have another citizenship.
Military duties generally run from 18 to 45.
Women are exempt in peacetime, as are some clergy.
Political rights restrictions
Political rights can be suspended or lost after a final criminal conviction, certain findings of wrongdoing in public office, or a finding of legal incapacity.
They can also be affected by refusing a duty imposed on everyone and its legal alternative, or by a final court decision cancelling naturalization.
Voting and registration
Brazilian citizens over 18 and under 70 must register and vote.
Voting is optional for 16–17-year-olds, people over 70 and people who cannot read or write.
Failing to keep registration in order can make it harder to get a passport.
Citizenship can be lost
A final court decision can cancel naturalization for fraud in obtaining it or an attack on the constitutional order and democracy.
Citizens can also ask to give up citizenship unless this would leave them with no citizenship.
A citizen by origin who gives it up may be able to get it back.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
Foreigners in Brazil
English Facebook group for people living in Brazil interested in Brazilian visas
Join on FacebookExpats in Brazil Q&A
English Facebook group for people living in Brazil interested in Brazilian local life
Join on FacebookGringoes SP Club
English Facebook group for people living in Brazil interested in Brazilian local life
Join on FacebookConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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