Legalizations
PREVIOUS SCREENING OF DOCUMENTS THROUGH THE E-CONSULAR PLATAFORM IS MANDATORY: CLICK HERE .
Wait for your request to be validated before physically submitting the documents to the Consulate.
1) HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION THROUGH E-CONSULAR
2) HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR HARD-COPY DOCUMENTS, AFTER CLEARANCE FROM E-CONSULAR
3) HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DOCUMENTS BACK AFTER PROCESSED
5) DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT
6) SIGNATURE AUTHENTICATION FOR NON-BRAZILIAN NATIONALS WITHOUT CRNM/RNE CARD
1) HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION THROUGH E-CONSULAR
a) Read these instructions carefully before requesting this service. Have all required documents ready.
b) It will be necessary to scan the original copies of the requested documents and their respective copies. Damaged or very old documents whose authenticity cannot be confirmed may be refused at the discretion of the Consulate.
c) After completing and electronically submitting the form below, the application will be checked by the Consulate. After that, adjustments may be requested. WAIT FOR E-MAIL AUTHORIZATION BEFORE PHYSICALLY SUBMITTING THE DOCUMENTS.
2) HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR HARD-COPY DOCUMENTS, AFTER CLEARANCE FROM E-CONSULAR
After receiving an email with the Consulate's validation message of your request, you can present the documents in two ways, at your convenience:
- by post: you must send everything by XpressPost envelope (Canada Post) or other service, with tracking number (FEDEX, PUROLATOR, DHL, etc),
or
- You can drop off a regular envelope with your documents (sealed, with your full name, address, telephone and email) in the Consulate's Dropbox, which is to the right of the entrance door.
3) HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR DOCUMENTS BACK AFTER PROCESSED
- By post: in order to receive your documents, after they have been processed, by post, a return XpressPost envelope, or corresponding one, with a tracking number must be included in your application.
or
- In person: the in-person withdrawal of documents may be scheduled at the E-Consular, after your request has been validated. For this, you must return to the E-Consular Platform and choose the service: "In-Person Document Withdrawal", Please fill in the required information and upload the automatic validation email received from the Consulate.
If you are requesting more than one service through the e-Consular platform, after each request has been validated by the Consulate, it can all be sent in a single envelope. In this case, you must tell us which are the other services requested in the "Remarks" field.
Only go to the Consulate by appointment. Without appointment it will not be possible to see you.
Consular legalization is a procedure aimed at confirming the authenticity of foreign documents before Brazilian authorities. It consists in a formal recognition of the foreign authority’s signature or of the document itself, depending on the case.
In order to be legally valid in Brazil, documents issued in foreign countries which are not parties to the Hague Apostille Convention (such as Canada) must have been previously legalized by a Brazilian consular office. The Consulate General of Brazil in Montreal is competent for legalizing documents issued within its consular jurisdiction, which comprises Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces.
Only original documents may be legalized. Photocopies will not be legalized, except for foreign personal identification documents (passport, driver's license etc).
The Consulate CANNOT legalize:
i) translations;
ii) copies (even if notarized) of documents other than identification ones (i.e. passports);
iii) Canadian electronic documents;
iv) documents issued outside its jurisdiction; and
v) Brazilian documents (except for the Federal Police's Criminal Background Check).
5) DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT
The following original documents issued by public entities / federal or local government, duly printed on special paper and signed by the competent authority, with a dry seal or official stamp of the responsible agency can be legalized by the consulate, without it being necessary to go through Global Affairs or public notary:
- birth, marriage or death certificates,
- the original of the certificate and the copy of a Canadian divorce decree provided that they are signed by a clerk or other competent judicial authority.
- documents issued, in general, by the ministries of the federal or provincial governments in the Consulate's jurisdiction.
- Canadian police certificate (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).
Depending on the document, even if it is public, the Consulate may require that it be previously legalized by Global Affairs Canada.
6) SIGNATURE AUTHENTICATION FOR NON-BRAZILIAN NATIONALS WITHOUT CRNM/RNE CARD
Documents issued by Canadian individuals or companies can only be legalized by the Consulate through the legalization of the issuer's signature, after it gets authenticated by a Notary whose signature is registered with the consulate or has been authenticated by the “Chambre de Notaires du Québec” (or corresponding institution in the Atlantic Provinces).
For registration of a notary public with the consulate, a signed and sealed declaration will suffice (see a template here).
For a foreign diploma or academic record to be legally valid in Brazil, it must have been previously legalized by the competent Brazilian consular office. The Consulate General of Brazil in Montreal is competent for legalizing academic documents issued within its consular jurisdiction, which comprises Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces.
Prior to legalization by the consulate, Canadian academic documents must be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada. Instructions on how to submit document authentication requests to GAC are available here.
Important: academic documents written in languages other than French or English must be accompanied by a translation into one of these two languages; the translation may be done by the issuing academic institution or by a local sworn translator (see list here) If you wish the translation to be legalized as well, it is necessary to have it authenticated or notarized (see items A and B above) prior to legalization by the consulate. In this case, consular fees for an additional legalization are due, since the original document and its translation count as two separate documents.
Equivalency of foreign diplomas in Brazil:
• The equivalency evaluation (“revalidação”), in Brazil, of studies done abroad begins with the authentication of diplomas and other relevant documents by the competent Brazilian embassy or consulate. For example: a diploma issued by a Quebec university must be legalized by the Consulate General of Brazil in Montreal.
• In order to be formally validated in Brazil, an academic program completed abroad must be assessed by a recognized higher education institution ("Instituição de Ensino Superior - IES"). To find a higher education institution that offers programs comparable to the one completed abroad, applicants may visit the website of the Higher Education Secretariat of the Brazilian Ministry of Education or the Carolina Bori platform (both available in Portuguese only).
• Equivalency assessments are initiated at the Registrar ("Diretoria Acadêmica") of an institution in the appropriate period of its academic calendar.
• In addition to an equivalency assessment application, a copy of the foreign diploma must be submitted to the Brazilian institution; other documents may also be required, such as documents referring to the foreign academic institution, to the duration and contents of the program etc., all of which must have been legalized beforehand by the competent consulate. Generally, Portuguese versions of all documents are required, and it is often mandatory that they are done by a sworn translator in Brazil.
• Applicants will generally be charged administrative fees varying from one assessing institution to another.
• For the evaluation of equivalency of a foreign diploma, a special commission will be set up, made up of professors from the assessing institution itself or from other institutions, whose qualifications are compatible with the field and degree of studies to be recognized.
• In case of doubt about the equivalency of the foreign and Brazilian programs, the commission may require the applicant to undertake additional exams in Portuguese.
• Applicants may also carry out additional studies, if the equivalency assessment indicates that the required conditions have not been met.
• For the equivalency of degrees in Medicine, applicants must undergo a specific process which includes an unified national exam. For more information, please visit the website of INEP, the competent agency (in Portuguese only).
Please note: the information provided in this section is unofficial and aims at facilitating the preliminary steps that applicants will need to take in Canada. It does not replace instructions provided by the competent agencies and institutions in Brazil, such as the Ministry of Education and higher education institutions.
- on the day that you book, if you opt for the option: "In-Person Document Withdrawal",
- up to 8 business days from receipt at the Consulate, by mail.
- CAD 30.00 for each document to be legalized (except for school documents).
- CAD 7.50 per each school document each document to be legalized.
- Interac - in this case, payment must be made to the Consulate's by e-mail: pagamento.montreal@itamaraty.gov.br. Pay attention to the correct amount, indicate the question and the secret answer. For further information click here.
- money order or certified cheque from Canada Post or your local bank, payable to "Consulate General of Brazil".
→ Do you still have questions? Send your inquiry to notarial.montreal@itamaraty.gov.br