Minors traveling to Brazil: consent letters and documents

Brazilian and dual-national children under 18 need written, notarized consent from any parent who is not traveling with them to leave Brazil (Lei 8.069/1990, art. 84). For children who are not Brazilian, Brazilian law sets no specific consent-letter rule. Families should still carry one, plus the child’s birth certificate, because border officers can and do ask.

This page covers US and UK families, including children who hold Brazilian nationality through a parent.

Who counts as Brazilian

The strict rules apply to Brazilian minors. That includes dual US-Brazilian and British-Brazilian children. Brazil treats a dual national as Brazilian while in Brazil, and both the US and UK governments advise families to follow the Brazilian rules.

Under the Brazilian Constitution (art. 12, I), a child born in Brazil is Brazilian, even with foreign parents, unless those parents were in Brazil in the service of their own country. A child born abroad to a Brazilian mother or father is Brazilian if registered at a Brazilian consulate. A child who was not registered can still become Brazilian by living in Brazil and opting for it after turning 18.

If your child may hold Brazilian nationality, plan as if the Brazilian rules apply. Many families find out at the airport that a child born in Brazil, or to a Brazilian parent, is Brazilian in Brazil’s eyes.

Foreign children entering Brazil

No Brazilian rule requires a consent letter for a non-Brazilian child entering with one parent. Even so, the Polícia Federal has delayed travel when both parents had not consented. The safe plan is to carry a signed letter from any absent parent and the child’s birth certificate.

Families of non-Brazilian under-18s traveling without one or both parents should follow the same steps as dual-national minors. The child or the companion should carry the original birth certificate or a notarized copy.

Three Brazilian rules matter at the border and the consulate:

• Children alone. A child or adolescent traveling without a legal guardian, and without express authorization to travel alone, may be admitted only as an exception. The child is then referred at once to the Conselho Tutelar, Brazil’s local child protection council (Migration Law, art. 40, V).
• Visas. Decree 9.199, article 27, lists grounds for refusing a visa. One is a minor under 18 who is unaccompanied or has no written travel authorization from legal guardians. This matters for US children, who need an e-visa.
• Students. A minor applying for a study visa needs a travel authorization signed by the parents or guardians. The minor also names a guardian in Brazil (Portaria Interministerial 7/2018, art. 4).

A simple letter for a foreign child should name the child, the traveling adult, the dates and destination, and the absent parent’s contact details. Have the absent parent sign it in front of a notary, attach a copy of their passport, and add a Portuguese translation if you can.

Brazilian and dual-national children leaving Brazil

Article 84 of the ECA, Brazil’s Statute of the Child and Adolescent, sets the rule for trips abroad. No court authorization is needed in two cases:

1. The child travels with both parents, or with the legal guardian.
2. The child travels with one parent who carries written authorization from the other parent, with a notarized signature.

For any other trip, such as a child traveling alone or with grandparents, the child needs written authorization from each absent parent. CNJ Resolution 131 of 2011 covers this case: a child living in Brazil may travel abroad alone, or with adults the parents name, without a court order, if both parents sign an authorization with notarized signatures (art. 1, III).

Article 85 adds a stricter rule. A child born in Brazil who leaves the country with a foreigner who lives abroad needs prior, express court authorization.

CNJ Resolution 131 of 2011

The National Council of Justice (CNJ) sets how courts and the Polícia Federal apply these rules. Resolution 131 says:

• Two originals. Parents give the authorization in two original copies. The Polícia Federal keeps one (art. 8).
• Notarized signature. The notary can recognize the signature by authenticity or by similarity. An authorization signed in front of a Brazilian consular officer needs no notary (art. 8).
• Validity. The authorization should state how long it is valid. If it does not, it is valid for two years (art. 10).
• Children who live abroad. A Brazilian child who lives abroad, with or without another nationality, can fly back to the country of residence with one parent with no written authorization. Residence is proven with an Atestado de Residência issued by a Brazilian consulate less than two years earlier. Without it, the general rules apply (art. 2).
• Passport annotation. The resolution allows the authorization to be given when the passport is issued and printed in it (art. 13).

If you rely on the rule for children who live abroad, carry the Atestado de Residência and the consent letters anyway. Airline staff and officers do not always know the exception.

Check before you go: the CNJ can update its resolutions. Ask the Brazilian consulate that serves you, or the Polícia Federal, for the current rules a few weeks before the trip.

How to prepare the consent letter

For Brazilian minors, follow these rules:

UK families can use the formal travel authorization process run by the Brazilian Consulate in London. US families can ask their nearest Brazilian consulate for its form. The national standard form is available at Brazilian notaries and on the CNJ website.

Foreign embassies cannot ask Brazil to waive these rules for their citizens. Plan the paperwork weeks ahead, because consular appointments can be hard to get.

Putting the authorization in the Brazilian passport

Parents of a Brazilian child can print a travel authorization in the Brazilian passport. The Polícia Federal offers three Formulário Simples types:

You choose the type before the passport appointment. After the appointment, you cannot change it without applying for a new passport.

The annotation replaces the written letters until the passport expires. For families who travel often, it saves a new set of letters before every trip. A dual US-Brazilian or British-Brazilian child must carry the Brazilian passport with the foreign one.

When a parent is absent from the passport application, that parent’s signature on the form must be notarized. A Brazilian notary works, or a foreign notary with an apostille or consular legalization. Showing the absent parent’s ID does not replace this. The Polícia Federal accepts authorizations signed or notarized less than one year earlier.

Brazilian law requires the authorization of both parents or guardians for a minor’s passport. Abroad, consulates handle this through a free authorization service. Foreign parents without a valid RNE, Brazil’s older foreigner registration, first get the signature recognized by a local notary. They then have it legalized at a Brazilian consulate.

Exceptions to the absent parent’s consent

The Polícia Federal waives the absent parent’s authorization for a passport in four cases:

• A court authorization
• A custody order that removes parental power or grants passport powers
• A birth certificate that lists only one parent, with no later addition
• The other parent’s death certificate

If the other parent refuses to sign, you need a court authorization. Talk to a Brazilian family lawyer early, because court timelines vary.

Travel inside Brazil

Children under 16 may not travel outside the district (comarca) where they live without a parent or guardian, unless a court authorizes it (ECA, art. 83). This wording dates from Lei 13.812 of 2019. No court authorization is needed when:

• The trip is to a neighboring district in the same state, or in the same metropolitan region
• The child travels with an adult grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle or other relative up to the third degree, with proof of kinship
• The child travels with an adult whom a parent or guardian expressly authorized

A judge can grant an authorization valid for two years at the parents’ request (art. 83, paragraph 2).

CNJ Resolution 295 of 2019 adds that a child under 16 may travel alone inside Brazil with express authorization from either parent or a legal guardian. The authorization is a public deed or a private document with a notarized signature. If it does not state how long it is valid, it lasts two years (arts. 2 and 3).

Check before you go: airlines and interstate bus companies apply these rules at check-in and may ask for the child’s ID or birth certificate and any authorization. Ask the airline or bus company which documents it accepts before you buy the ticket.

Quick checklist

1. Check whether your child is a Brazilian national.
2. If yes, get notarized Portuguese authorizations from any absent parent, or the passport annotation.
3. If no, carry a signed consent letter from any absent parent anyway.
4. Pack the original birth certificate or a notarized copy. Apostille and translate it if it is foreign.
5. For a US child, get the e-visa before travel.
6. For a child traveling alone, ask the airline about its unaccompanied minor service.
7. Keep paper copies of everything in your carry-on, separate from the originals.

Before you travel

Ask the Brazilian consulate that serves you for its authorization form and current rules. The Polícia Federal makes the decision at the border. For entry rules by passport, read Brazil e-Visa for US citizens, Brazil visa rules for UK citizens and entry rules for South Americans.