13 de setembro de 2023

Forms of legalization of foreign documents

The legalization process of foreign documents is of great importance for processes carried out in Brazil. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, foreigners must present legalized documents for them to be valid in Brazilian territory.

In this text, we seek to clarify the most common doubts about the ways to legalize a foreign document.

Please contact us here if you would like help from our lawyers in your case.

Author: Lucas Velozo de Mello Marchiori

What is document legalization of foreign documents?

Before demonstrating the forms of legalization, it’s necessary to understand what this process means. To legalize a document is to make the document issued abroad able to produce effects in Brazil.

In general terms, the legalization of a document is a recognition of authenticity carried out by the competent authorities of the place of issue.

The legalization of a document of foreign origin must be done in its country of origin. Therefore, in Brazil, only national documents are legalized.

There are two main ways to legalize a foreign document. The first way is through legalization at the Brazilian consulate abroad. The second is through the so-called “Hague Apostille”.

How is the legalization done by the Brazilian consulate?

The legalization process is carried out in the Consular Offices of Brazil abroad. Thus, legalization is carried out, upon payment of consular fees. These fees are nothing more than fees that the Brazilian consulate charges to perform the service.

The process takes place at the Brazilian Embassy or Consulate whose jurisdiction corresponds to the country of origin of the documents. However, most of the time, you will need to make an appointment.

You can access the contact details of all consular representations in Brazil by clicking here.

However, not all Brazilian consulates offer the legalization service. In signatory countries of the Hague Convention, for example, the Brazilian consulate may give itself the right not to carry out the legalization.

This is because applying the Hague Apostille in these situations is simpler.

The text continues after the form.

What is the Hague Apostille?

The Hague Convention was a treaty signed in 1961 by different countries, to facilitate the recognition of foreign documents. However, the treaty has been in force in Brazil since 2016.

The Hague Apostille is defined as a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document. Generally, the Apostille is attached to the back of the document that has been certified.

The Hague Apostille is performed and accepted only in countries that have signed the Hague Convention.

What to do after a document is legalized?

Legalizing the document does not mean it will automatically be valid in Brazil. For documents that are not in Portuguese, it will be necessary to carry out a sworn translation into our language.

This translation must be done by a sworn translator here in Brazil. If you want to know more details about sworn translation and other types of translation, visit our article dedicated to the subject.

In which cases will the document not need legalization?

There are situations in which the document does not need to be legalized to produce effects in Brazil. These situations are foreseen in agreements that Brazil makes with other countries, to facilitate the processes of recognition of foreign documents.

For migration issues, there is the Brazil/Uruguay Agreement on Permanent Residence to achieve free movement of people. Thus, this agreement waives both the legalization of Uruguayan documents and the sworn translation for them to be valid in Brazil.

Another important treaty is Brazil and France’s cooperation agreement in civil matters. This agreement waives the legalization of documents originating in France for them to be valid in Brazil.

Legalization is also waived when granting a residence permit to national immigrants from a border country that does not belong to Mercosur. That is, countries that border Brazil, but that are not part of Mercosur. This is the case for example in Venezuela.

In these situations, the immigrant must be inside Brazil to waive the legalization and translation of his birth and marriage certificate.

Finally, the legalization of the immigrant’s birth and marriage certificate will also be waived if for humanitarian reception. This forecast is specific to Haitian nationals and stateless persons affected by a major calamity or environmental disaster situation in the Republic of Haiti.

Which countries are signatories to the Hague Convention?

As we have analyzed, the Apostille is defined as a certificate issued under the terms of the Hague Convention, which authenticates the origin of a public document. This authentication can only be done if the document’s country of origin is a signatory to the Convention.

Below is the complete list of all signatory countries to the Convention that carry out the Hague Apostille: