Travel authorization for Brazilian minors
A Brazilian minor traveling to or leaving Brazil without both parents may need a travel authorization, and the first place to look is the child's own passport.
According to the Washington consulate, the annotation in the passport decides whether anything more is needed.
In the Los Angeles, Miami and Washington fee tables, the service is free.
The three cases
With both parents traveling, up-to-date passports for everyone are enough. With one parent, the annotation counts: if the passport allows travel with either parent, or unaccompanied, nothing else is needed; with no annotation, the parent who stays behind signs the authorization.
With third parties, Washington recommends an authorization for that specific companion, even with the unaccompanied-travel annotation, because the Federal Police and airlines have been refusing boarding.
Two ways to do it
Through the consulate: a request on e-Consular and a visit by the authorizing parent only. Or on your own: fill in two copies of the form, have the signature notarized by a local notary public and apostilled, without going through the consulate.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cost at the consulate | free |
| Validity | up to 2 years |
| Copies | one is kept by the Federal Police |
- The child’s passport
- Two copies of the form
- Notarization and apostille, if done outside the consulate
Validity and details that stop boarding
The authorization is valid for up to 2 years; with no date written on it, it counts as 2 years. The Federal Police keeps one copy, so another trip needs another copy. If a parent has died, the child carries the original or certified death certificate: a plain copy is retained at boarding.
And the travel authorization is not the authorization to issue the minor's passport: Washington stresses they are separate documents.
What the Federal Police checks on leaving Brazil
The Consulate in Houston explains that there is no restriction on a minor entering Brazil: the requirement applies on leaving, when the child is not with both parents or legal guardians.
At boarding, the Federal Police asks for one of three documents: the standalone authorization, the certificate of residence or the authorization noted in a new passport, which is valid for as long as the passport.
The certificate of residence costs US$ 15 in Houston and is for a minor who lives abroad and travels with one parent, or for exceptional cases where the parent who should authorize cannot do so, such as imprisonment or unknown whereabouts, with court proof.
And the rule applies to a Brazilian minor even when they travel on a passport from another country, and to children of Brazilians who were not registered at the consulate.
Two common questions that Washington answers: parents can do the authorization on different days, each their own; and unaccompanied travel within Brazil also needs the parents' authorization.
Parents in different countries
Washington answers two frequent cases. If the child flies alone to Brazil, where one parent is, and back alone, and the passport does not allow unaccompanied travel, both parents sign an authorization: the one in the United States by one of the two methods above, and the one in Brazil over there.
If the child travels with a third party and the passport carries any other kind of authorization, both parents arrange a standalone authorization for that companion.
The Federal Police keeps one copy: bring one for each trip.Details verified on 4 October 2026.
This directory is run privately. consuladosbrasil.us does not belong to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or to any consular office.
We publish what the official sources say and point out where they disagree. Before you go, check the detail with the consulate.