Secretaria de Relações Internacionais | Office of International Relations

Started in 14 August, a new group of rules that simplify the regulation of internationally shared public documents among 110 countries from all around the world. There’s no more the need for procedures in each country’s consulate. As informed by the Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santa Catarina (ERESC), the issuance of documents foreseen in the Hague Apostille will be provided by notary offices in different parts of Brazil and published in the National Justice Council website.

This new way to exchange documents was discussed in the Hague Conference on Private International Law and took shape as the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. The nations which did not participate in the agreement still need to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their representatives to provide for the mutual recognition.

This dynamic will allow for agility and the strengthening of legal ties between the countries, once that issues pertaining to the embassies and consulates will not change.

In practical terms, the changes will affect the confirmation of administrative documents brought by any government representative, the recognition of signatures, the release of the visa expiration dates and the records of activities in the private sector.