Marriage Registration

This page contains information about marriage registration at the Embassy.

• General information:

Attention:

The marriage celebrated in Finland is valid in Brazil, but in order to produce legal effects it must be registered at the Embassy in Helsinki and, later, transferred to the 1st Office in Brazil.

• Form of service:

In person only ( by appointment ).

The service can be advanced by e-mail*.

* Service advance by e-mail:

For this service, it is strongly recommended to forward the necessary documentation to the Consular Section, by email (consular.helsinque@itamaraty.gov.br), in advance of the service.

Sending the documents in advance by email prevents your service from being denied on the scheduled day due to documentation problems. In addition, the preprocessing of your service by the Consular Section greatly speeds up your service.

Once the email is received, we will check that the documentation is complete/correct and indicate whether the appointment can now be made.

On the scheduled day, the Brazilian applicant and his/her spouse present the originals, check the draft, sign the Registration Term and receive the certificate (do not forget to inform your e-mail and contact telephone number when forwarding the required documentation).

IMPORTANT: Files must be sent in image format ( PNG / JPG ) OR Adobe ( PDF ), as attachments to the email.

They may be divided into more than one message.

For security reasons, files in other formats, compressed files (RAR, ZIP, etc.) or those shared or saved in cloud services (One Drive, Google Cloud, etc.) are not accepted.

• Instructions and mandatory documents:

To register, at the Consular Section of this Embassy, ​​marriages performed abroad and obtain the respective Brazilian registration certificate, the Brazilian citizen must present all the following original documentation :

Attention: All documents presented to the Embassy must be originals.

Copies or electronic versions of documents will not be accepted.

I - FORM:

Marriage Registration Form  duly completed and signed (PDF format).

Remember to inform on the Form, when applicable, the  name adopted after the marriage .

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II -  ORIGINAL FINNISH MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

Document issued on the day of the ceremony, containing the following mandatory information:

- Date and place of celebration;

- Names of spouses;

- Names adopted after marriage (if applicable)

- Nationalities of spouses; and

- Full name, signature and stamp of the celebrant.

If not in English, the document must be translated by an official translator into English or Portuguese.

Marriages celebrated at Maistraatti or religious marriages with civil value are accepted.

An apostille is not necessary for this document.

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Attention: Check below the examples of accepted certificates:

- Certificate issued by Maistraatti

- Certificate issued by Church

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Important:

Any documents issued in a country other than Finland must be previously:

- apostilled by the competent foreign body in the country of origin of the documents (for countries that are part of the Hague Apostille Convention)

OR

- legalized by an Embassy or Consulate of Brazil in the country of origin of the document (for countries that are NOT party to the Hague Apostille Convention).

Documents must also be subsequently translated by an official/sworn translator into Portuguese or English, when not issued in one of those languages.

Attention: The Embassy only accepts original documents. Electronic versions of foreign documents issued outside Finland are not accepted.

More information: Apostille

More information: Sworn Translation

Official certificates issued by foreign Embassies or Consulates located in Finland do not require legalization or Hague apostille. However, these documents require additional verification of authenticity by the Consular Section, which may impact the service's processing time.

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III - PRENUP AGREEMENT (if any):

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IMPORTANT:

A PRENUP MADE IN FINLAND MUST NECESSARILY OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING RULES TO BE VALID IN BRAZIL.

IF THE PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT DOES NOT FOLLOW THE RULES BELOW, THE MARRIAGE REGISTRATION CANNOT BE CARRIED OUT BY THE EMBASSY UNTIL THE DOCUMENT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH BRAZILIAN REGULATIONS.

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a) How to formalize the prenup agreement so that it is valid before Brazilian authorities:

The agreement must be made with the assistance of a lawyer in Finland.

It should be made clear to the lawyer that the agreement must be valid in both countries (Finland and Brasil).

The agreement must necessarily be made in more than one original (duplicates) as Maistraatti will hold one original document and the Embassy also only carries out consular services with an original document. The document presented to the Embassy will be returned to the couple, as it must be presented later in Brazil, to the Titles and Documents Registry Office (Cartório de Registro de Títulos e Documentos).

This information must be included in the text of the agreement "this agreement is made in XX original duplicates of the same content, duly signed by the spouses".

Attention: Note that copies of the prenup, of any kind, are not accepted.

It is strongly recommended to formalize a "two-column" type pact (with identical text, in two columns, for example, one column in Finnish and one in English, or even Finnish and Portuguese).

The two-column text may facilitate the sworn translation of the document and its registration at the notary's office, later, in Brazil.

If the original is only in Finnish, it will be necessary to additionally carry out a sworn translation into English, in Finland, and request the Hague Apostille for the translation as well.

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ATTENTION:

The original document to be presented to the Brazilian authorities (both the Embassy of Brazil in Helsinki and the Notary Office in Brazil) must receive an apostille.

If the original destined to Brazilian authorities is not in a two-column format and is written only in Finnish, it must be  officially translated into English (sworn translation). In this case, the translation also needs an apostille.

The agreement must be registered with Maistraatti-DVV.

The couple must request that a certificate confirming the registration.

The registration certificate does not need a translation nor apostille.

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CHECK HERE AN EXAMPLE OF A PRENUP AGREEMENT ACCEPTED BY THE EMBASSY

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b) Documents related to the prenup agreement to be presented to the Embassy:

1) An original (duplicate) of the prenuptial agreement (signed by the spouses), with apostille.

Attention: Check the instructions above on formalizing a valid agreement before Brazilian authorities.

2) If the text is only in Finnish: sworn translation from Finnish to English, with apostille.

3) Certificate of registration of the agreement with the DVV-Maistraatti (this document does not require an apostille and can be presented directly in Finnish).

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Attention: To produce full legal effects in Brazil, the original pre-nup agreement with notarized signatures and apostilled by Maistraatti must subsequently receive, in Brazil, a sworn translation into Portuguese (made in Brazil) and be then registered in a Brazilian registry office of titles and documents (Cartório de Registro de Títulos e Documentos).

Information about registration of the agreement at a notary's office in Brazil, necessary documents, procedures, need for translations and apostilles, etc. must be requested by the interested party directly to the registry office in their city, in Brazil.

Information about sworn translations is available on our website at Sworn Translations.

More information about how to formalize a prenuptial agreement in Finland can be found on the Maistraatti - DVV website at https://dvv.fi/en/prenuptial-agreement

More information and important notes about the prenuptial agreement are available on our website Marriage - Frequently Asked Questions.

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Attention: Important information about property regimen in Finland

If there is no prenuptial agreement, the legal property regimen for marriages performed in Finland is that defined in the  Finnish Marriage Act .

We clarify that the property regime defined by the Finnish Marriage Act is not equivalent to any of the property regimens defined by Brazilian legislation . 

If the couple has opted for a different property regime than that defined by the Finnish Marriage Act, it must present a prenuptial agreement signed before the wedding, stipulating the rules that will govern the assets and property of the bride and groom.

As explained on the above section, the pact must: a) be original, b) have the signatures of the bride and groom notarized, c) receive an apostille, d) be registered in Maistraatti and e) sworn translated into English and Portuguese (when not in one of these languages).

Keep in mind that, in Finland, the property regimen can be defined or changed at any time after marriage.

For this reason, consular marriage certificates issued by the Embassy in Helsinki contain only the following remark:

FOREIGN PROPERTY REGIMEN: established in accordance with the provisions of Art. 7, §4, of Decree-Law No. 4.657/1942, pursuant to §4 of Art. 13 of CNJ Resolution No. 155/2012

The norm provides that the property regimen, legal or conventional, obeys the law of the country in which the spouses have their domicile, and, if this is different, that of the first marital domicile.

In cases where local legislation does not oblige the spouses to choose the property regimen at the time of the marriage, ie, its inclusion in the foreign certificate is optional, local law leaves the competence of defining the property regime to the domicile of the transfer of the consular certificate (CNJ Resolution 155/2012). 

IV - PERSONAL DOCUMENTS OF THE SPOUSES:

• BRAZILIAN PARTY:

• FOREIGN PARTY:

• Service fee:

Consular fee in the amount of EUR 24.

Attention: The bank details for the transfer are informed after receipt and verification of the documentation.

• Processing time:

On the scheduled day, after the signature of the bride and groom, the marriage registration is carried out and the certificate is issued.

• Other important information:

a)  In order to take effect in Brazil , the Consular Certificate of Marriage Registration must be transcribed at the Registry of the First Office of the Civil Registry of the domicile of the registrant or, in the absence of residence or domicile in Brazil, at the Registry of the First Office of the Civil Registry of the Federal District;

b) In the event of a prenuptial agreement drawn up before a Finnish notary ( maistraatti ), and in order to produce legal effects in Brazil , it must be registered in a Brazilian registry of titles and documents. However, before carrying out the transfer , the document (agreement) must be previously apostilled by the issuing body in the country of origin and later translated by a sworn public translator, into Portuguese in Brazil ;

c)  Name change: In Brazil, it is possible to change the surname due to marriage or divorce. The first name (prenome) can only be changed in a cartório, in Brazil. Once the marriage has been registered at the Consular Section of this Embassy, ​​it is not possible to make any changes to the surname on the consular Brazilian certificate. Any changes of the surname made after the marriage registration (and all changes of the first name) must be requested directly in Brazil ;

For name change rules, visit Marriage FAQ.

d)  Additional copies of the marriage certificate:

· It is possible to request an additional copy of the marriage certificate only if the marriage has been registered at this Embassy and the respective certificate has not yet been transcribed at the 1st Civil Registry Office in Brazil;

· If it has already been transcribed in Brazil, the interested party must go directly to the corresponding registry office in Brazil.

Instructions for duplicates on our page " Segundas Vias "

e) If the marriage was celebrated in another country and jurisdiction (not Finland), the marriage certificate must be previously apostilled by the foreign competent authority (for countries that are members of the Hague Apostillle Convention) OR legalized by a Brazilian Consular Office (Embassy or Consulate of Brazil, in countries that are NOT part of the Hague Apostille Convention) and subsequently translated by an official/sworn translator into Portuguese or English.

More information: Apostille

More information: Sworn Translation

f) If the foreign party was born in another country and jurisdiction (not Finland), the birth certificate must be previously apostilled by the foreign competent authority (for countries that are members of the Hague Apostillle Convention) OR legalized by a Brazilian Consular Office (Embassy or Consulate of Brazil, in countries that are NOT part of the Hague Apostille Convention) and subsequently translated by an official/sworn translator into Portuguese or English.

More information: Apostille

More information: Sworn Translation

g) Declarations of birth and/or marital status issued by foreign Embassies or Consulates located in Finland do not require legalization or a Hague apostille. However, these documents require additional verification of authenticity by the Consular Sector, which may impact the service's processing time.  

h) Transcription of the consular civil registration certificates: CNJ Resolution 155, of July 16, 2012