Private international law is, most of the time, a matter of documents and correct procedure. Here you will understand when an apostille and a translation are enough, when recognition by the STJ is required, how records made abroad are transcribed in Brazil and why the registry office of your state still matters. Then choose your state.
Since August 14, 2016, Brazil has been part of the Hague Apostille Convention, regulated domestically by CNJ Resolution 228/2016. Documents issued in signatory countries are now accepted with the apostille, without consular legalization. A sworn translation by a public translator is still required for the document to have effect here.
Electronic court filing and videoconferencing made remote follow-up viable. Law 11,419/2006 made court proceedings electronic, CNJ Resolution 354/2020 regulated acts by videoconference and art. 105, §1, of the Code of Civil Procedure accepts a digitally signed power of attorney. Those abroad can grant a power of attorney at a Brazilian consular office when the act requires a public instrument.
Law practice in Brazil covers the entire national territory. Registration with the OAB (the Brazilian Bar) allows a lawyer to work in any state, and supplementary registration is only required when the lawyer practices habitually in another state section, under art. 10, §2, of the Brazilian Bar Statute. For those living outside the country, working through digital means is the rule, not the exception.
What still changes from one state to another are the fees of civil registry and notary offices, set by a state table, and the rules of the local Court of Justice Inspectorate (Corregedoria-Geral de Justiça) on transcription, annotation and recognition of foreign documents. That is exactly why each state has its own page here.
Want to know the firm and the team's work in this area? See the International Law page on the CK Advogadas website (in Portuguese).
The route is defined according to the documents, the client's goal and the particulars of the specific case.
Registry costs, inspectorate rules and the organization of judicial districts change from one state to another. Each state page gathers what applies to your region.
Clear information to understand possibilities, deadlines and next steps before deciding.
Without that transcription, the marriage does not appear on Brazilian certificates and the child has no national record, which blocks everything from passport issuance to inheritance and division of assets. It is a silent problem: it only shows up when someone needs to prove marital status or parentage here.
A marriage celebrated abroad and the birth of a Brazilian's child outside the country must be brought into the Brazilian civil registry. The usual route is registration at the Brazilian consular office and, afterwards, transcription at the competent civil registry office, as provided in the Public Registries Law.
The rule has limits. When the divorce was contested, or when the foreign decision also deals with custody, support or division of assets, recognition by the STJ is again required for the points that go beyond a pure uncontested divorce. Identifying which situation the case falls into is the first step.
Art. 961, §5, of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that a foreign judgment of uncontested divorce has effect in Brazil regardless of recognition by the Superior Court of Justice. In practice, this allows the divorce to be annotated directly in the Brazilian civil registry, with no proceeding in Brasília, which greatly reduces time and cost.
What usually blocks the request is not the law, it is the document. A judgment without an apostille, a translation made by someone who is not a public translator, no proof of finality and improper service on the other party are the most common causes of rejection. Organizing the documents beforehand avoids months of amendments.
Jurisdiction to recognize a foreign judgment belongs to the Superior Court of Justice, under art. 105, I, item i, of the Constitution. The procedure is detailed in the STJ's Internal Rules and does not re-examine the merits of the decision: it checks formal requirements such as the competence of the foreign authority, proper service, finality and no offense to public order.
Recognition of citizenship by descent depends on each country's law, and those laws change. In the Italian case, Decree-Law 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025, restricted the administrative jus sanguinis route to children and grandchildren, with additional requirements regarding the ancestor, preserving applications filed by March 27, 2025. In April 2026, the Italian Constitutional Court upheld the restrictions (judgment 63/2026). In July, ruling on another case, it stayed the proceeding and referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (decision 147/2026), and the issue remains pending.
Regardless of the country, the basis of the work is the same: gathering the complete chain of birth, marriage and death certificates of the ancestors, obtaining a certificate of non-naturalization when required and correcting spelling discrepancies through record correction. This documentary part is done remotely and remains useful even in the face of legislative changes.
Not everything can be solved on a screen. An apostille is an act of a competent office, a sworn translation depends on a licensed public translator and some consular offices require the person to attend in person. These points are mapped at the start so that no one discovers the obstacle halfway through.
International timelines are also beyond any firm's control: issuing certificates abroad, consular queues and administrative procedures in another country follow the pace of each office. What can be guaranteed is correct preparation and follow-up of each step.
An organized process, with clear communication from the first contact.
Send a summary of the case and tell us your city and state.
The team indicates which records are needed for the initial analysis.
Once the situation is understood, the applicable options are presented.
With its office in Cabo Frio - RJ, CK Advogadas combines legal work, accessible communication and individual follow-up. The online format makes it possible to serve clients in other states without losing the closeness needed to understand each situation.
The team assesses preventive, out-of-court and judicial options, always considering the documents, the risks and the goals presented by the client.
About the firm (in Portuguese)General answers to help with an initial understanding. Definitive guidance depends on the analysis of the specific case.
See the other areas when your situation involves more than one legal front.
With the certificate or judgment in hand, it is already possible to say whether the case goes through the registry office or depends on the STJ.
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