A Brazilian mother leaves hospital with a Declaração de Nascido Vivo. It names the parents and confirms that the child was born alive, and HM Passport Office will not accept it as a birth certificate. The birth certificate comes later, from the registry office (cartório) where the birth is registered.
That is the first lesson of Portuguese and Brazilian document translation for the UK: the right paper matters as much as the right words. The second is that records in both countries keep changing. Marriages, divorces and name changes are added as annotations, averbamentos in Portugal and averbações in Brazil, and an old copy, or a translation that skips the margin, tells an out-of-date story.
Do Portuguese and Brazilian documents need a certified translation in the UK?
Yes, unless every word is in English. Paragraph 39B(f) of the Immigration Rules requires "the version in the original language and a full translation that can be independently verified". The translation must be dated and include confirmation of accuracy, the full name and signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company, and contact details; applications for leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain also need "certification by a qualified translator and details of the translator or translation company's credentials".
Other UK offices add their own rules:
| UK office | What it asks for |
|---|---|
| HM Passport Office | "certified translations as well as the originals"; on paper forms, a translator "who is a member of a recognised professional organisation"; no Multilingual Standard Forms |
| EU Settlement Scheme (Portuguese citizens and family) | May require "a certified English translation of (or a Multilingual Standard Form to accompany)" a document not in English |
| UK ENIC | Portuguese is not in its Translation Waiver Service, so it "accepts certified translations from professional translators" |
| Nursing and Midwifery Council | A translation by "a legally licensed and authorised translator", with a stamp |
| Register offices, England and Wales | "a translation of any documents that are not in English" |
Where an office names a type of translator, as the NMC and HM Passport Office's paper guidance do, use one who meets that wording. See who can certify a translation in the UK.
Which Portuguese and Brazilian certificates should you order?
The full version, issued recently:
| Country | Document | Native name | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Birth certificate, full copy | certidão de cópia integral | The whole entry and every annotation; accepted by HM Passport Office |
| Portugal | Birth certificate, narrative | certidão de narrativa | The entry as changed by its annotations; also accepted by HM Passport Office |
| Portugal | Marriage record | assento de casamento | Annotations record dissolution, separation and changes to the property regime |
| Brazil | Birth certificate | certidão de nascimento | Issued by the cartório; a national model with a matrícula number since 1 January 2010 |
| Brazil | Full copy | certidão de inteiro teor | Transcribes the whole entry; the alternatives are a summary or a report |
| Brazil | Marriage certificate | certidão de casamento | A divorce is added as an annotation |
| Brazil | Live birth declaration | Declaração de Nascido Vivo | Hospital record; not accepted by HM Passport Office |
| Brazil | Stable union declaration | declaração de união estável | Shows a couple live together; it does not replace a marriage certificate |
Portugal. Under articles 212 and 213 of the Civil Registry Code (Código do Registo Civil), a certificate is either a full copy of the entry and its annotations or a narrative of the entry as changed by them. Any registry office (conservatória) can issue one, and electronic certificates have the same legal force as paper (article 215). Online certificates open with an access code. The State Department notes Portuguese certificates are valid for six months from issue, and HM Passport Office that the short boletim de casamento is no longer issued.
Brazil. Certificates issued since 1 January 2010 carry a 32-digit matrícula, whose first six digits identify the issuing cartório. The national models introduced in November 2017 added the CPF tax number and a single parentage field (filiação) for the parents' names, and a socio-affective parent can now be added alongside the biological parents, HM Passport Office notes. Newer certificates carry a QR code.
What do averbamentos and averbações mean for the translation?
They are what caseworkers read most closely. In Portugal, article 69 of the Civil Registry Code notes on a birth entry the marriage, its dissolution or annulment, separation, parentage, adoption and parental responsibility orders, so a current birth certificate can show a person's whole marital history.
In Brazil, article 21 of the Public Registers Law (Law 6.015/1973) obliges the registrar to mention any later change on every certificate, with the statement "a presente certidão envolve elementos de averbação à margem do termo" (this certificate includes marginal annotations). Translate that sentence and every annotation, in order, with dates and the authority named.
Name changes are recorded the same way. Since Law 14.382 of 2022, an adult can change their first name once at the registry, without a court, and the annotation must show the previous name and the identity, CPF, passport and voter numbers on every certificate issued afterwards (article 56). Surnames can also be changed at the registry to add a spouse's name during the marriage or remove a former spouse's after divorce (article 57).
For divorces, a Brazilian marriage certificate "can be updated with an annotation certifying the divorce", but the State Department warns that a missing annotation "does not necessarily mean that no divorce or deaths have occurred". In England and Wales, GOV.UK requires proof of a divorce granted outside the UK when you give notice of marriage, checked for £55 by the register office or £83 by the General Register Office. See divorce document translation.
How should Portuguese and Brazilian names be spelled in the translation?
As in each person's passport, with accents kept. Both countries normally put the mother's surname before the father's, HM Passport Office notes: the reverse of the usual Spanish order, so the last surname is usually the father's.
- Portugal. A full name has at most six words: two given names and four surnames (Civil Registry Code, article 103). Passports show two forenames and up to four surnames, and connecting words such as de, da and do do not count. A spouse who takes the partner's surname adds it; no surname is lost.
- Brazil. Surnames may be given "em qualquer ordem", in any order (Law 6.015, article 55). A son with his father's full name may add Filho or Júnior, and a grandson Neto: copy them as written, never as "Son" or "Jr".
- Accents. Machine-readable zones use unaccented letters only (ICAO Doc 9303 gives Ç as C), so CONCEIÇÃO loses its accents on the coded line. The translation follows the printed name.
Which police certificate do you need from Portugal or Brazil?
The national one, translated, if your job is on the Skilled Worker list. Entry clearance applicants in listed health, education and social care jobs, and their partners, need a certificate from each country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 18 (Appendix Skilled Worker). UKVI expects the one from your latest country of residence to be no more than 6 months old. See police certificate translation.
Portugal: Certificado de Registo Criminal. Issued by the Criminal Identification Services (Serviços de Identificação Criminal) of the Ministry of Justice. Only final court judgments are registered, online requests are open to Citizen Card holders, and the State Department notes that certificates are valid for three months. GOV.UK's undated country entry says applicants abroad apply in person at the Portuguese embassy in London; the State Department also lists requests from abroad by email or registered post.
Brazil: Federal Police Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais. Free and issued online for civil purposes, it is valid for 90 days and supplied "apenas em português". Online, it is issued only as a clear certificate ("nada consta"); where there are namesakes or CPF mismatches, the system gives a protocol number for you or a representative to take to a Federal Police unit, and the certificate takes up to 15 days. The Federal Police also warns that its database does not hold every state record, and that full information currently needs certificates from each state body. UKVI accepts a regional certificate "where it is accompanied by an explanation outlining attempts to acquire a national certificate".
Do you need translations for UK ENIC, universities or driving?
UK ENIC. Portuguese is outside the Translation Waiver Service, so a Statement of Comparability needs certified translations of the diploma and the transcript (histórico escolar in Brazil). Translate grades as printed, with the scale. See the UK ENIC statement of comparability guide.
Nurses. NMC applicants need its translator wording met; see NMC registration documents.
Driving. Brazil is not on the DVLA's list of designated countries, so a Brazilian Carteira Nacional de Habilitação cannot be exchanged for a GB licence; a Portuguese licence is an EU licence and can be. See Brazilian driving licences in the UK.
Why Portuguese and Brazilian translations get questioned
- A Declaração de Nascido Vivo offered as a birth certificate.
- An old certificate that predates a marriage, divorce or name change.
- Annotations left untranslated, or summarised as "notes".
- Surnames reordered or dropped, or Filho translated as "Son".
- A união estável declaration translated as a marriage certificate.
- A Brazilian state certificate without explanation, or a Federal Police certificate more than 90 days old when a fresh one was needed.
Checklist: Portuguese and Brazilian documents for a UK application
Questions people ask
Which Portuguese birth certificate does HM Passport Office accept?
Its Portugal profile accepts two of the three types: the full copy (cópia integral), with all the text of the registration and the marginal notes, and the narrative certificate recording life events such as marriage or divorce. Order one of those and have every annotation translated.
Is a Brazilian Declaração de Nascido Vivo a birth certificate?
No. It is a hospital document confirming a live birth and the parents' names, and HM Passport Office does not accept it. The birth must be registered at a cartório, which issues the certidão de nascimento you translate.
Does the Brazilian Federal Police certificate need translating?
Yes. The Federal Police supplies it only in Portuguese, so a Home Office application needs a full translation meeting paragraph 39B(f). Translate the verification details too, and remember the certificate itself is valid for 90 days.
Do I need to translate the annotations on a Portuguese or Brazilian certificate?
Yes, every one. Annotations record marriages, divorces, parentage and name changes, and a Brazilian certificate states when it includes them. A translation of the main entry alone can show a married or divorced person as single.
Can I use an EU multilingual standard form for a Portuguese certificate?
Not for a British passport, because HM Passport Office cannot accept them. The Home Office may accept one for relationship documents in an EU Settlement Scheme application, and the NMC accepts one signed and stamped by the issuing authority. Elsewhere, use a certified translation.
Do Portuguese or Brazilian documents need an apostille for the Home Office?
Paragraph 39B(f) asks for the original and a full translation, not an apostille, and HM Passport Office asks for certified translations with the originals. Check the receiving office's own instructions before paying for one.
How much does a Portuguese translation cost, and how long does it take?
Official Translations, a member of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC), charges £29.95 per page, a page being up to 300 words, with a signed certificate of accuracy that meets paragraph 39B(f) in full, including the credentials element for applications made in the UK. Most one-page certificates arrive as a signed PDF by email within 24 hours, longer documents take 1 to 3 business days, and a printed hard copy by post costs £14.95 more.
