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I'm a citizen of Brazil and Australia. My Brazilian passport is expired and I'm unable to renew it quickly due to not being up-to-date with my voting obligations.

The procedure to normalise my voting status and renew the Brazilian passport will take a while, but I need to travel urgently to Brazil. Therefore, obtaining a visa on my Australian passport would be a quicker option.

Is there any issue of me requesting a visa and entering Brazil on a foreign passport despite being a citizen?

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    I suppose you can leave Australia with the Australian passport, then enter brazil with the expired Brazilian passport. AFAIK, no country will deny entry of a citizen with an expired passport, although the process might not be as smooth as you wish..
    – Nean Der Thal
    Apr 10, 2015 at 10:45
  • Manuel, don't you have any other document with you? Your carteira de identidade (ID document), for instance?
    – gmauch
    Apr 10, 2015 at 11:11
  • Another question, what's your itinerary when coming back to Brazil? If you come through Argentina, you can use your Australian Passport to enter there and your Carteira de Identidade (should you have it) is a valid travel document for countries in the Mercosul area.
    – gmauch
    Apr 10, 2015 at 11:13
  • @gmauch I plan to travel from Australia directly to Brazil. I'm unsure whether I will be allowed boarding, by the airline staff, without a valid passport or visa for the destination.
    – Manuel
    Apr 10, 2015 at 11:18
  • @gmauch I do have my carteira de identidade with me.
    – Manuel
    Apr 10, 2015 at 11:21

3 Answers 3

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Manuel, apparently there's a document called ARB, Autorização de Retorno ao Brasil ("Authorization to Return to Brazil"). I first found it on Wikipedia, then I found it on the brazilian consulate in London website. Sadly, I could not find any link on that subject in a website from brazilian consulate or embassy in Australia.

In short, ARB it is a document valid for a single trip back to Brazil. Once in the country, it will be seized by the authorities and you'll need to renew your Brazilian passport before leaving the country (or use your Australian one).

I'm sure you can call your nearest consulate in Australia and obtain this document that will allow you to come back to Brazil.

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    This sounds like an emergency passport, which is useful if you've lost your Brazilian passport and has no other options. However, the OP has other options, and being stuck in Brazil until they can get a 'real' passport is likely to be problematic -- they can't just leave on their Oz passport, because it won't have an entry stamp!
    – lambshaanxy
    Apr 10, 2015 at 12:13
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    @jpatokal the ARB seems to be the fastest way to get back to Brazil, as the OP needs to travel urgently. It will take, at most, 3 days to obtain such document, probably faster than obtain a Brazilian visa in his Oz passport. Once in Brazil he can settle his voting obligations (just paying a small fee) and obtain a new passport. His new brazilian passport can be obtained as fast as in 24hours (in case he needs it urgently).
    – gmauch
    Apr 10, 2015 at 12:31
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    Holy crap, the .br embassy to .au wants fifteen (15) working days to process an ordinary tourist visa! So yup, you're almost certainly correct. camberra.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/tourist_visa.xml
    – lambshaanxy
    Apr 10, 2015 at 12:35
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Update: Looks like an ARB can be processed in 3 days, while a tourist visa can take up to 15, so this is not the way to go after all. Leaving this here for posterity though, since it's still the general answer to most "can I enter with the wrong passport" questions.

I can't find any definitive source on whether you're technically required to enter Brazil on a Brazilian passport if you have one, the Brazilian embassy to Australia merely says you are "expected" to use it. Nonetheless, the practical thing would be to apply for the visa for your Australian passport, and use that to travel to and from Brazil. Three things can happen:

  1. The visa application is refused because they realize you're Brazilian. Fine, you're still in Australia, follow gmauch's advice and apply for the ARB temporary passport instead.
  2. Your visa is granted, you fly to Brazil, and at the border they realize you're a Brazilian citizen. But you're already there and a citizen, so they can't deny you entry — welcome to Brazil!
  3. Your visa is granted, you fly to Brazil, you enter as as Australian. Problem solved, and this is by far the most likely scenario.

Disclaimer: In scenario 2, if using a foreign passport to enter Brazil turns out to be illegal, there's a chance that getting busted will involve getting held at the border for a while, fines or other unpleasantness. You could do worse than ask the embassy, foreign ministry or other reliable source for advice, although it may be difficult to get a straight answer out of them.

If you're unwilling to risk this, there's option 2B: get the visa, fly to Brazil as an Australian (so the airline lets you on board), but at the border, show them your expired Brazilian passport. This is perfectly legal, and they'll let you in eventually, although you may be in for a long wait while they figure out what happened and how you got here. And you'll now need to get a Brazilian passport before you can leave... unless you exploit the Mercosur loophole to leave Brazil with Brazilian ID, enter a neighboring country as Australian, and fly out from there.

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  • Wikipedia says you need to enter on a Brazilian passport if you hold that citizenship. But it's not cited and I can't find a definitive source either.
    – SpaceDog
    Apr 10, 2015 at 12:50
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As stated in Timatic, the database used by airlines:

Passport Exemptions: Nationals of Brazil with a national ID Card

So you only need your Brazilian ID card to board the flight and enter Brazil, even directly from outside the MERCOSUL area.

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