Brazil Unveils New Passport and Identity Card

On 27 June, the Brazilian federal government unveiled a new passport design and issued the first new national identity card (CIN). Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro attended the event, at Palacio de Planalto – his official workplace.

The new passport is themed and pays homage to all regions of Brazil through icons representing the biomes and culture of each location. According to the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Anderson Torres, the new passport brings ‘more security items as some have been added and others have been updated’.

The changes, according to Mr Torres, relate to the passport cover, which will now feature the Brazilian flag. The number of watermarks on the numbered pages of the new passport has increased from one to 13 illustrations representing the country’s flora and fauna.

‘Another feature of the new version is the invisible fluorescent backgrounds. In the past, only the page number changed when exposed to UV light. The new version features seven different fluorescent backgrounds.

The identification page has also been updated to include a black and white photo of a citizen in addition to the photo generated by the bearer’s biometric data. This information is protected by a protective laminate,’ Torres said.

The government has said that the service charge for issuing the new passport will remain unchanged and that production will begin in September 2022. The validity period of the document remains at 10 years.

New national identity card (CIN) The new identity card comes with a QR Code. According to the government, it will be possible to identify the authenticity of the document and, with that, to know if it was stolen or lost. The printed version will be issued, starting 4 August, in a single format – regardless of which state issues it.

The replacement, says the Planalto, will be done gradually and free of charge. The current identity documents remain valid until 2032.

It will also be possible to access the new identity digitally, through the Gov. Br application, but only after issuing the physical document. In essence, it is a physical document with a digital version.

Brazil has agreements for the use of their identity documents for travel to other Mercosur (South American Customs Union) countries. For countries outside the Mercosur region, the passport remains mandatory.