Legalization

General information

In order for a public document originating from countries that are not part of the Apostille Convention - such as Syria - to produce legal effects and be endowed with public faith in Brazil, it will need to be previously legalized by a Brazilian Consular Authority that has jurisdiction over the place where the document was issued. 

A document of a private nature that has been previously recognized by a notary or competent foreign authority will be considered public.

Consular legalization is a formality that confirms the extrinsic authenticity of the document, that is, it only ratifies the identity and function of the signatory foreign authority. The intrinsic validity of the document, referring to its content, must be evaluated by a competent Brazilian authority.

How to request

If you need to have a Syrian document legalized by the Embassy, it must be previously legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

It must also be translated into one of the following languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish or French.

When you have your document(s) ready, please obey the following steps:

1. Bring* the original documents to the Embassy and an identification document anytime from Sunday to Thursday, 10AM-1PM. If the application is complete, the consular agent will provide you with the deposit slip for payment. If not, they will ask you to provide further documents within 48 hours.

2. Once the payment is made, you must bring the proof of payment back to the Embassy.

3. Your application will be analised and prepared by the Consular authorities within 15 working days.

4. You will then be informed as of when to present yourself at the Embassy to collect the document(s).

*Legalization requests can be presented by a third person.

Effects in Brazil

In order to have effects in relation to third parties and to produce effects in Brazilian institutions, documents written in a foreign language, already duly legalized, must be translated by a sworn translator in Brazil and then registered at the Registry of Deeds and Documents (Cartório de Registro de Títulos e Documentos).