Notícias
Entry into force of the Apostille Convention
On August 14, 2016, the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents ("Apostille Convention") enters into force in Brazil, which will turn simpler and faster the handling of public documents between Brazil and the more than one hundred countries that are parties to that Agreement. The effectiveness of the Apostille Convention will bring significant benefits for citizens and enterprises that need to internationally process documents such as diplomas, birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents and business registrations.
Currently, for a document to be accepted by foreign authorities, it needs to be certified by several authorities, generating what is known as "chain of authentications". The entry into force of the Apostille Convention will allow one "single authentication", being only necessary for the concerned person to go to a notary office designated by the government in one of the capital cities or the Federal District and ask for the issuing of a "Hague Apostille" for a document. The apostille confers international validity to the document, which can be presented in the 111 countries that have already joined the Convention. However, the "single authentication" does not exempt the applicant of investigating with the country or the institute to which the document is destined any additional requirements, such as translations. From August 14, Brazil will also accept apostilles issued by the other Countries parties to the Convention.
Such procedure will ensure significant reduction of processing time and costs to citizens and enterprises, which will decisively contribute to the developing economic activities. According to a study conducted by the World Bank, the full adherence to the procedures of the Apostille Convention increases global competitiveness and the ability of the country to attract foreign investments.
The Apostille Convention will also allow better use of public resources, since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will no longer need to dedicate itself to the consularization of documents – Itamaraty, be it internally or through its Consular network, performs around 1,5 million documents legalizations per year.
The entry into force of the Apostille Convention was made possible by the joint work of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), body designated by the Brazilian government as competent authority and focal point for the dialogue on the Apostille Convention with national and foreign entities, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More information on the application of the Apostille convention can be found on the website of the National Council of Justice ( www.cnj.jus.br )