Marrying a Brazilian partner in Switzerland
For a Brazilian partner, the documents come from the Cartório de Registro Civil and must be apostilled in Brazil, then translated from Portuguese.
- Birth certificate
- Certidão de nascimento em inteiro teor (full version, not the short extract), recent
- Civil status
- Proof of civil status; if divorced, the divorce annotation (averbação) must appear on the certificate
- Apostille
- Yes: Brazil has applied the Hague Convention since 2016; apostilles are issued by the cartórios
- Translation
- Required, from Portuguese into the office’s language
- Consulate in Zurich
- Issues a consular declaration of civil status (to be accepted by the office)
Common pitfalls
The short birth extract is often refused: ask for the inteiro teor. A divorce that is not annotated (averbado) on the certificate will block the procedure. We order the certificates in Brazil, obtain the apostille and translate everything.
Sources: Swiss Embassy in Brazil, HCCH.