Reacquiring Brazilian Citizenship: Getting Your Nationality Back
If you were once Brazilian and believe you lost your nationality, the first step is to establish whether a loss was formally declared. A 2023 constitutional amendment removed the loss of Brazilian nationality merely for acquiring another citizenship. An older loss decision still needs individual review: its date, legal basis and your nationality history determine which options may be available.
Review your Brazilian citizenship options
Discuss your nationality history, any formal loss decision and the possible next steps with an associate attorney.
US$50 · 40-minute video consultation · English-speaking associate attorney
The consultation fee is credited toward services if you proceed. Application work is quoted separately.
Reviewed by Luciano Oliveira — Brazil–US attorney
This page is general information about Brazilian nationality law, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t create an attorney–client relationship. Your situation turns on its own facts; only a consultation with a licensed attorney can tell you which route applies to you.
What changed in 2023 — and why it matters to you
For decades, a Brazilian who voluntarily acquired another nationality could lose their Brazilian nationality, and many did — often without fully realizing it — when they naturalized in the United States or elsewhere. Constitutional Amendment 131/2023 rewrote that rule. Under the current text of the Constitution (art. 12, §4), Brazilian nationality is now lost in only two situations: when a court cancels a naturalization for fraud or an attack on the constitutional order, or when the person makes an express request to give it up (and even then, not if it would leave them stateless).
The headline consequence: acquiring another citizenship no longer costs you your Brazilian one. Going forward, dual (or multiple) nationality is simply allowed. If a loss was formally declared before the amendment, its legal effects and the available route must be assessed individually; the amendment should not be read as automatically cancelling every earlier loss decision.
Route 1 — Revoking the old loss (revogação)
Where the applicable legal grounds allow it, a request to revoke an earlier loss decision may be an option. This requires reviewing the loss ordinance, the law and facts relevant to that decision, and the current procedure. The 2023 amendment alone is not a reason to promise that every historical loss can be revoked or that nationality will be treated as uninterrupted. A lawyer should assess whether this route is available and what effect a successful request would have on your original nationality status.
Book a US$50 consultation with an associate attorney
Route 2 — Formal reacquisition (reaquisição)
Where revocation doesn’t fit, Brazilian law provides a formal reacquisition procedure. The Constitution (art. 12, §5, added in 2023) confirms that having renounced Brazilian nationality does not bar you from reacquiring your original nationality, and the mechanics run through the Ministry of Justice under the Migration Law (Lei 13.445/2017, art. 76) and its regulations. The exact steps and any time conditions have been in flux since the 2023 amendment, so this is a route to map carefully with counsel for your specific facts.
“Do I even need to do anything?”
For many people, the honest answer is reassuring. If your worry is that a past or planned naturalization abroad will cost you your Brazilian citizenship, under today’s rules it generally does not — dual nationality is allowed. If you are currently a dual national and no loss was ever formally declared against you, there may be nothing to fix. Where action is needed is the specific case of a loss that was formally declared under the old regime; that’s what the two routes above address.
A note on renouncing (if that’s really what you want)
Some people arrive here looking for the opposite — how to give up Brazilian nationality. That is still possible, but only by your own express request, and it will not be granted if it would leave you stateless. It’s also worth pausing on: because dual nationality is now freely allowed, the old reasons people felt forced to renounce have largely fallen away.
How We Help
We assess whether your situation calls for revoking an old loss or a formal reacquisition, prepare and file the request with the Ministry of Justice, and handle the documentation and follow-through. We work to present a clear, well-supported case; we don’t promise a particular decision, which rests with the authorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
I became a US citizen years ago and think I lost my Brazilian citizenship. Can I get it back?
Possibly. First check whether your Brazilian nationality was formally declared lost. EC 131/2023 removed acquisition of another nationality as a ground for loss, but an older loss decision should not be assumed to have disappeared automatically. A lawyer can review the decision, its date and legal basis, and assess whether revocation or reacquisition is available.
What’s the difference between “revoking the loss” and “reacquisition”?
Revocation challenges or seeks to undo an earlier loss decision where the applicable legal grounds permit it. Reacquisition is a procedure for recovering nationality under the applicable rules. Eligibility and the effects on your nationality status depend on your history and the route used.
Will reacquiring my Brazilian citizenship affect my other citizenship?
Brazil allows dual nationality, so from Brazil’s side there’s no conflict. Whether your other country is affected is governed by that country’s law.
Does my Brazilian citizenship pass to my children?
If your born-Brazilian status is restored, the jus sanguinis rules for children born abroad may apply — see our Citizenship by Descent pages. It’s a common and important follow-on question.
I only want the right to live in Brazil, not citizenship back — is there a simpler route?
Yes. There’s a separate residency pathway for former Brazilian citizens; see that page if residency, rather than reacquiring nationality, is your goal.
Related pages
The main Brazilian Citizenship guide (including dual citizenship); Citizenship by Descent (for passing nationality to children); and, if you want residency rather than citizenship, the residency route for former Brazilians.
A final note: this page is general information about Brazilian nationality law, not legal advice, and reading it creates no attorney–client relationship. Whether this route fits you — and how to pursue it — turns on your specific facts, which only a consultation with a licensed attorney can assess.