Family, marriage and partnerships

Swiss-Brazilian couples wishing to live in Brazil must apply for a permanent visa for the Swiss spouse. Applicants must apply in person. Children born in Brazil automatically obtain Brazilian citizenship, and spouses of Brazilian citizens may take advantage of the facilitated naturalisation process.

Marriages contracted abroad or registered partnerships under civil law are recognised in Switzerland and must be registered with the Swiss civil status authorities. Swiss nationals who get married abroad are required to register their marriage with the competent Swiss representation abroad. The representation translates and authenticates the marriage certificate and forwards it to the civil status authority in Switzerland free of charge. In exceptional cases, you can also notify your cantonal civil status authority, which will forward the marriage certificate and related documents to the representation abroad for translation and authentication. In this case you will be required to pay a fee.

Before you get married or register a partnership, contact your Swiss representation to find out what you will need to do to make sure your marriage is recognised and registered in the civil status register without delay.

Brazil has recognised same-sex marriage since 2013. Applications for residence permits for partners in same-sex civil unions (união estável) must be submitted to the Conselho Nacional de Imigração (National Council of Immigration). Gay marriage is deemed equivalent to heterosexual marriage. requiring the same deadlines to be met at the notary's office, documents and fees. The engaged couple may select a matrimonial property regime, take each other's surnames and adopt children; there are no legal obstacles to homosexual couples adopting.