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Legalisation of documents from Brazil for use in the Netherlands

To use a document from Brazil in the Netherlands, you must first have it legalised by the Brazilian authorities. This is done with an apostille. This is a simplified form of legalisation which allows you to use your documents in the Netherlands.

Attention: If you want to use a Dutch document in Brazil, see Legalisation of Dutch documents for use abroad.

Good to know

  • Documents in Portuguese must be translated for use in the Netherlands.
  • Your document must be original and complete. If it refers to other documents or annexes, these must be included.

Legalisation of documents in Portuguese is a two-step process.

Step 1: Having your document translated

If your document is in Portuguese, you must have it translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.

  1. Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
  2. Have the original and the translation legalised with an apostille.

Go to step 2.

  1. Have the original document legalised with an apostille in Brazil.
  2. Have the legalised document translated by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. You do not need to have the translation legalised.
    You can find a sworn translator on the Legal Aid Council website.

Go to step 2.

Step 2: Legalisation of your document

Have your document and, if applicable, the translation legalised with an apostille.

You can get an apostille from the Brazilian authorities. See the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website for contact details.

Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands. 

It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.

Don’t have the document you need?

Find out below where to obtain a document that you need but do not yet have.

You can get an official copy of a birth certificate (certidão de nascimento) from the notary public’s office (cartório) in the place or district where the birth was registered. You must provide the original birth notification.

If you don’t have this document, you will need to provide the following information:

  • the name and place or state of the notary public’s office that registered the birth
  • the volume, page number, registration number and date of registration.

You can get an official copy of a marriage certificate (certidão de casamento) from the notary public’s office (cartório) that registered the original certificate.

If you don’t have the original marriage certificate, you will need to provide the following information:

  • the name and place or state of the notary public’s office that recorded the marriage,
  • the volume, page number, registration number and date of registration.

You can get an official copy of a death certificate (certidão de obito) from the notary public’s office (cartório) that registered the death.

You can get a certificate of unmarried status (declaração de estado civil / escritura pública declaratória de estado civil) from a notary public’s office (cartório). You will need 2 witnesses who are not your relatives to sign a statement at the notary’s office confirming that you are unmarried. 

If you are a Brazilian national in the Netherlands, you can get the certificate from the Brazilian consulate-general in Amsterdam. The consul will confirm your signature. You will then need to have the certificate legalised by the Consular Service Centre in The Hague.

You can get an official copy of a divorce certificate from the notary public (cartório) that registered the divorce.

If you need another type of document, ask the local authorities where you can get this document.

Help with obtaining documents and having them legalised

The Consular Service Centre can assist Dutch nationals with obtaining documents and having them legalised in Brazil.

After legalisation

Verification of your document in the Netherlands

Legalisation does not prove the authenticity of a document or the truthfulness of its content. A municipality in the Netherlands, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) or another authority may decide to verify these things. Legalisation of your document simply means that your document bears the correct signature.

How recently must your document have been issued or legalised

Organisations have different requirements for how recently your document must have been issued and legalised. For more information, contact the organisation in the Netherlands requesting the document.

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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