Brazilian Passports

A Brazilian passport is the official document of the Brazilian government issued to its citizens for travel abroad. The passport is issued through the Brazilian Federal Police. The passport complies with both standards of Mercusor and ICAO.

Currently, the new Brazilian passport is both a biometric and machine-readable passport. However, unlike other biometric passports, the Brazilian passport does not have an RFID chip. Instead, the holder’s fingerprint, photo, and signature are captured by the government and stored in a central database, readable via a two-dimensional barcode. Only the digital picture of the passport bearer is included in the physical passport.

In the past, the old passports were produced by either the Casa de Moeda do Brasil or the American Bank Note Company. Now, the Casa de Moeda is the sole maker of the new passports.

Types Available

There are several types of Brazilian passports.

The Regular Brazilian passport has a green cover and is issued to Brazilian nationals who are citizens, either by birth or naturalization. The regular passport is issued by the Department of Federal Police in Brazil as well as by Brazilian embassies in foreign countries. The passport has a validity of five years and is non-renewable.

The Service passport has a blue cover and is issued to Brazilian government or civilian employees who go out of Brazil on official business or training. The service passport is given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian diplomatic missions stationed abroad. The validity is for a period of one year, but may be limited depending on the duration of the mission or training.

The Diplomatic passport has a red cover and is issued to diplomats or government officials traveling abroad for any diplomatic missions for the government. The diplomatic passport is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and any Brazilian diplomatic missions abroad. The validity of the passport is four years, but may be limited, depending on the duration of the mission.

The Passport for Stateless Persons has a yellow cover. The passport is issued to foreign nationals who no longer hold any citizenship in their country of origin. The passport is issued by the Department of Federal Police. They determine the length of validity of the passport.

Requirements

For obtaining a passport, the following requirements are needed:

A valid proof of identification such as a Brazilian Identity Card or birth certificate;

A Brazilian marriage certificate if there has been a name change that is not reflected on the Identity Card;

For foreign nationals who have obtained Brazilian Citizenship through naturalization, a certificate of naturalization is needed;

A Military Registration Certificate for males between 18 and 45 years of age;

Three recent 5 x 7 cm pictures on a white background, with full front view of the head and shoulders;

A valid proof of residency;

Two copies of the filled-out passport application form, which can be downloaded online or obtained at the Brazilian Embassy;

The passport application and processing fee.

For minors (classified as those under 18 years old), there is an additional requirement. An authorization for passport issuance signed by both parents or by the legal guardian before the consular authority should be submitted together with the documentation needed for regular passport application.

Additional Information

Only the applicants can request and pick up the passports themselves. Passports that are not picked up within 90 days will be canceled. All passports (as well as other travel documents) are property of the Brazilian government, with the bearer just entitled to its possession and use. As such, passports can be retained by the government in cases of fraud or other misuse. If you learn from this article, you’ll surely be delighted to know that Brazil is rated no. 9 in the list of the Top Ten Tourist Hot spots.