Brazilian nationality law

Brazilian nationality law is based on both the principles of "jus soli" and of "jus sanguinis". As a general rule, any person born in Brazil acquires Brazilian nationality at birth, irrespective of the status of parents. It may also be acquired by children born abroad of a Brazilian parent or by naturalization.
The rules on Brazilian nationality are determined generally by article 12 of the constitution and detailed by migration law and regulations. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal membership in a nation, differ from the relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship.
At birth.
Any person born in Brazil acquires Brazilian nationality at birth, with the sole exception of children of parents in the service of a foreign government, such as a foreign diplomats.
A person born outside Brazil of a Brazilian parent also acquires Brazilian nationality at birth if:
Between 1994 and 2007, registration with a Brazilian consular office did not confer Brazilian nationality. In September 2007, a constitutional amendment reinstituted consular registration as a means of acquiring Brazilian nationality.
By naturalization.
Requirements.
Foreigners may apply for Brazilian nationality if they meet the following criteria:
The residency requirement may be reduced in certain circumstances:
The ability to communicate in Portuguese may be attested by one of various certificates, such as with the CELPE-Bras exam, completion of a Portuguese language course for immigrants in a Brazilian university, or completion of elementary, secondary or higher education in Brazil or in another Portuguese-speaking country. Those who have lived in Brazil for more than 15 years or who are nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries are not required to attest their Portuguese language ability.
Minors who moved to Brazil under 10 years of age may be granted a provisional naturalization, and within two years after reaching the age of majority they may request a permanent naturalization. At that time they must satisfy the requirement of no criminal conviction or of rehabilitation, but they are not required to attest their Portuguese language ability.
Process.
The application for naturalization is filed online. There is no fee for the application itself, although there may be fees to obtain some of the required documents. The initial processing is done by the Federal Police, which collects the applicant's fingerprints and may request a recorded interview or additional documents. The process is then sent to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which may also request additional documents, and finally publishes its decision in the Official Journal, available online. If approved, a copy of this decision is sufficient proof of naturalization to obtain a Brazilian identity document or passport. There is no ceremony, and since 21 November 2017 certificates of naturalization are not issued.
Since 10 May 2016, Brazil does not require naturalized citizens to renounce their previous nationality.
Dual nationality and loss of Brazilian nationality.
According to the Brazilian constitution, Brazilian citizens who acquire another nationality may lose Brazilian nationality. However, since 1994 a constitutional amendment allows two exceptions where Brazilians may maintain Brazilian nationality while acquiring another one. The first exception is in the case of recognition of "originary nationality" by foreign law, meaning where the other nationality is acquired by origin (by birth or descent, as opposed to naturalization). The second exception is in case the other country requires naturalization for the person to remain residing or to exercise civil rights there.
Although the government has the power to revoke Brazilian nationality of those who voluntarily naturalized in another country and did not satisfy one of the exceptions, it tends to apply these exceptions very broadly, and in practice it only revokes Brazilian nationality if the person formally requests so, or very rarely in exceptional circumstances. For example, in 2013 the Brazilian government revoked the nationality of a Brazilian citizen who had naturalized in the United States, to extradite her back to that country (the Brazilian constitution does not allow extradition of its own citizens by birth). The decision was confirmed by the Supreme Federal Court in 2017, and she was extradited in 2018.
Those who lost Brazilian nationality due to naturalization in another country may apply for its reacquisition on the condition that they will renounce the other nationality. After Brazilian nationality is reacquired, the applicants have 18 months to show proof of renunciation of the other nationality. The process is done in this order to prevent statelessness.
Naturalized Brazilians are allowed to also keep their previous nationality. They may lose Brazilian nationality if convicted of activity considered "harmful to the national interest".
Brazilian citizens who also have another nationality are allowed to enter and leave Brazil with the passport of the other country. In this case, the Brazilian government recommends that they also present a document attesting Brazilian nationality, such as a Brazilian identity card or an expired Brazilian passport, to avoid the usual limitations on the period of stay of foreign visitors. Brazil only issues visas to dual citizens in exceptional circumstances, such as for those who work in foreign government jobs that prohibit the use of a Brazilian passport.
Rights and obligations.
Military service.
Male Brazilian citizens have a 12-month military service obligation, unless the citizen has a disqualifying physical or psychological condition, or the citizen does not wish to serve and the military finds enough volunteers to support its needs. Therefore, although registering for the military is mandatory, about 95% of those who register receive an exemption. Male citizens between 18 and 45 years of age are required to present a military registration certificate when applying for a Brazilian passport.
Voting.
Voting in Brazil is mandatory for citizens between 18 and 70 years of age. Those who do not vote in an election and do not later present an acceptable justification (such as being away from their voting location at the time) must pay a fine of 3.51 BRL. Citizens between 18 and 70 years of age are required to present proof of voting compliance (by having voted, justified absence or paid the fine) when applying for a Brazilian passport.
Naturalized citizens.
The constitution makes a few distinctions between Brazilian citizens by birth and by naturalization. Only citizens by birth may become President or Vice President of Brazil, President of the Chamber of Deputies, President of the Senate, members of the Supreme Federal Court, diplomats, officers of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defence, or certain members of the Council of the Republic. Naturalized citizens, but not citizens by birth, may be extradited (only for a common crime committed before naturalization or for drug trafficking), and may lose Brazilian nationality if convicted of activity considered "harmful to the national interest". The constitution also restricts the ownership and management of media companies to citizens by birth or who have been naturalized for more than 10 years. Other than the cases mentioned in the constitution, no law may make distinctions between citizens by birth and by naturalization.
Many naturalized citizens have been elected to municipal offices, including the mayor of a state capital.
Portuguese citizens.
Due to a treaty, citizens of Portugal permanently residing in Brazil may request equal civil rights, and after three years of residence also political rights, such as voting and being elected, as if they were naturalized citizens of Brazil. In this case, exercising political rights in Brazil under the treaty results in the suspension of their equivalent rights in Portugal, even though they remain Portuguese citizens.
Unlike naturalization, the equality of rights under this treaty does not include the right to a Brazilian passport.
Visa-free travel.
Visa requirements for Brazilian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Brazil. As of 7 January 2019, Brazilian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 171 countries and territories, ranking the Brazilian passport 17th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley visa restrictions index.
History.
In 1822, Brazil declared independence from Portugal and established the Empire of Brazil under Pedro I, who had been living in exile in the country since 1808. The nation's first constitution was adopted in 1824 and provided that Brazilian citizens were free-born or emancipated men who were born in Brazil, unless their father was a foreigner in the service of another nation. Legitimate children born abroad to a Brazilian father, or illegitimate children born to a Brazilian mother, could establish nationality by becoming domiciled in Brazil; however residence was waved if their father was in government service. Portuguese nationals and naturalized foreigners who resided in Brazil at the time of independence were naturalized by residence in the empire. Citizenship could be lost if one was naturalized in another country or accepted employment or honors from foreign governments without the approval of the crown.
In 1860, to eliminate Brazilian nationality law conflicts with European legislation, Brazil passed Decree 1,096, which clarified the status of children born in Brazil to foreign parents who were not in government service, and married women. The decree specified that minor children shared family nationality, but upon reaching their majority would be entitled to Brazilian nationality and rights of citizens. Article 2 provided that upon marriage a woman took the nationality of her husband, but could repatriate if her husband died and she re-established residence in Brazil. Immigration legislation passed in 1890 barred people of African or Asian descent from the country. The law was modified in 1892 to allow Chinese and Japanese laborers. The 1824 constitution remained in force until the First Brazilian Republic adopted the Constitution of 1891. The republican constitution was modeled on the United States Constitution. Despite feminists' efforts the Constituent Congress denied them the rights of citizens. It provided, as amended in 1926, that children born in Brazil were birthright nationals of the country unless their foreign parents were residing in Brazil because of government service to another nation. The legitimate child born abroad to a Brazilian father was considered to have his father's nationality as long as he established a home in Brazil. The domicile requirement could be waived for a child whose father was employed abroad in service to the government. Only the illegitimate child born abroad to a Brazilian mother could derive nationality from her, on the condition of establishing residency in Brazil.
Decree No. 6,948, of 14 May 1908, stipulated that a foreigner, regardless of gender, who married a Brazilian, or who had Brazilian children, and resided in Brazil derived Brazilian nationality unless they declared in the proper legal manner that they chose to retain their original nationality. In 1932, Decree 21,076, which established the first Electoral Code of Brazil, outlined in article 2 that the rights of citizenship were not dependent on sex, and in article 3(b) that Brazilian women could not lose their nationality as a result of marriage. In 1933, and Lucillo Antonio da Cunha Bueno, the Brazilian delegates to the Pan-American Union's Montevideo conference, signed the Inter-American Convention on the Nationality of Women, which became effective in 1934, without legal reservations. That year, a new constitution was adopted, keeping most of the provisions of naturalization specified by its 1891 predecessor. It specified that nationality could be lost by obtaining dual citizenship. From 1907 to 1934, racial exclusions were not specified in immigration law, but in the latter year, a quota system was devised to limit immigration from certain countries. Since 1995, consent is required for loss of Brazilian citizenship for dual nationals.