Guinea-Bissau

The most frequent requests involve residence and citizenship in Portugal, family reunification, and obtaining and validating civil registry documents. When there are assets in the country, their transfer follows Guinea-Bissau procedures.

On this page, we bring together what changes for these families under Portuguese law and Brazilian law: residence and citizenship in Portugal, estates, documents and recognition of judgments. The rules specific to Guinea-Bissau must be handled by a lawyer licensed in that country, retained by the client.

Entering Europe

Nationals of Guinea-Bissau need a visa even for short stays in the Schengen area: the country is on the European Union list of States whose nationals require a visa. This visa allows a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but it cannot be used to apply for residence. For Portugal, according to the official MNE list (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the application is filed at the Embassy of Portugal in Bissau, also through the company VFS.

To live in another European country, that country's rules apply: each State has its own national visas, and the EU Blue Card, for highly qualified work, is available in almost every EU country.

Living in Portugal

The starting point is a residence visa obtained while still in the country of origin:

1. Choose the route. The specific route is the CPLP Mobility Agreement (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), in force for Guinea-Bissau since January 1, 2022. Since Law 61/2025, the CPLP residence permit can only be requested by those who already hold a residence visa: it is no longer possible to enter as a visitor and regularize one's status afterward. The other routes are the general ones: work or business (D1 to D3), study (D4 and D5), family reunification (D6), passive income (D7), remote work (D8) or Golden Visa, compared on the page on visas for Portugal.
2. Gather the documents. Passport, birth certificate, criminal record certificate and proof of means of subsistence, accommodation and insurance (see the documents required by the MNE). Guinea-Bissau is not a party to the Apostille Convention, according to the Hague Conference status table. Bissau-Guinean documents go through legalization at the Portuguese consular post; the bilateral legal cooperation agreement may waive it in certain cases, which we confirm with each receiving entity. See the page on apostille and translation of documents.
3. Apply for the visa at the Portuguese post. According to the MNE, national residence visas are applied for at the Embassy of Portugal in Bissau.
4. Travel with the residence visa. It is valid for two entries and a four-month stay, the period within which the residence permit must be requested (Article 58 of Law 23/2007, the Foreigners Act).
5. Obtain the residence permit from AIMA. The temporary permit is generally valid for two years and renewable for periods of three years. Renewal must be requested no later than 30 days before the expiry date (Article 78). See the page on residence permits.
6. Take care of the NIF, SNS user number and Social Security. The residence visa already provides for the provisional assignment of these numbers, which are regularized later.
7. Permanent residence and citizenship. After five years of temporary residence, permanent residence may be requested (Article 80). For nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese, naturalization requires seven years of legal residence (Organic Law 1/2026, Lei Orgânica), in addition to the other requirements. See the page on citizenship by length of residence.

Sene & Araújo acts directly in Portugal: we help choose the route, prepare the visa application and follow the process before AIMA, the renewals and citizenship. Anything that depends on Bissau-Guinean authorities is handled by the client or by a lawyer licensed there.

The Agreement on Mobility between the CPLP Member States, signed in Luanda on July 17, 2021, has been in force for Guinea-Bissau since January 1, 2022. The instrument of ratification was deposited on December 23, 2021 (Notice 9/2022 (Aviso), according to the official treaty database of the Public Prosecutor's Office). Portugal applies three modalities of the Agreement: the temporary stay visa, the residence visa and the CPLP residence permit. Short stays continue to follow the Schengen area rules (Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) note).

For visa applications by nationals of States where the Agreement is in force, Law 23/2007 waives AIMA's prior opinion and provides for direct consultation of the Schengen Information System databases (Article 52-A).

Since October 23, 2025, a residence visa is required

Law 61/2025 amended Article 87-A of Law 23/2007. Today, only nationals of States covered by the Agreement who hold a residence visa may apply to AIMA in Portugal for a CPLP residence permit. It is no longer possible to enter Portugal as a visitor and apply for the permit afterward. The rule applies to procedures started on or after October 23, 2025 (Article 8 of Law 61/2025).

In practice, the process starts at the Portuguese consular post, with the residence visa application. This visa allows two entries and a four-month stay, during which the residence permit is requested (Article 58 of Law 23/2007). The AIMA FAQ confirms that a consular visa obtained for that purpose is required.

Other residence routes

• Family reunification (D6 visa): since Law 61/2025, the resident generally needs a residence permit that has been valid for at least two years. The period is 15 months for a spouse or equivalent partner who lived with the permit holder for at least 18 months before coming to Portugal. There is no waiting period, among other cases, for dependent minor or incapacitated children and for family members of holders of a residence permit for investment, a residence permit for highly qualified activity, or an EU Blue Card (Article 98).
• Job seeking for qualified work: the visa under Article 57-A is intended for those with specialized technical skills, as defined by ministerial order (portaria). It is granted for 120 days, extendable for another 60.
• Investment: the residence permit for investment (Article 90-A) follows its own rules. See the page on visas and the Golden Visa.

The choice among these routes depends on each family's situation. The CPLP route is not always the most suitable one, for example, when the goal is to invest or to reunite the family with a resident who already holds a residence card.

This section brings together the routes through which nationals of Guinea-Bissau and descendants of Portuguese citizens can hold or apply for Portuguese citizenship. It follows Law 37/81 (Nationality Act (Lei da Nacionalidade)) as amended by Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), in force since May 19, 2026, and the Portuguese Nationality Regulation (Decree-Law 237-A/2006 (Decreto-Lei)). Applications already pending on May 19, 2026 continue to follow the previous law (Art. 7(2) of Organic Law 1/2026). As of the date of this review, the Regulation had not yet been adapted to the new law, despite the 90-day period provided for in Art. 4 of the Organic Law; for this reason, some procedures (such as the tests and the forms) may change.

1. Born in Guinea-Bissau before independence: was citizenship retained or lost?

Anyone born in Guinea-Bissau before independence was, as a rule, born Portuguese. Independence took place on September 10, 1974: the Declaration published in the Diário do Governo of September 11, 1974 records that Portugal solemnly recognized the independence of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on September 10, 1974; before that, the PAIGC had unilaterally proclaimed independence on September 24, 1973. From that date, each person's situation came to be governed by Decree-Law 308-A/75 (Decreto-Lei) of June 24. That statute was repealed by Law 113/88 (Lei) of December 29, which kept it in force only for applications under its Art. 5 still pending on that date. The repeal, however, did not undo what the decree had already produced: retention or loss occurred on the date of independence, and that statute is still used today to determine whether someone remains Portuguese (Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL), case 2813/2005-6).

Who retained citizenship. Among Portuguese citizens domiciled in the territory that became independent, the following retained citizenship (Article 1(1)):

• those born in mainland Portugal and the adjacent islands (the Azores and Madeira);
• naturalized citizens;
• those born abroad to a father or mother born in Portugal or naturalized;
• those born in the former State of India who declared that they wished to retain citizenship;
• the wife of any of them (or his widow or divorced wife) and the minor children of these persons;
• on a transitional basis, until the independence of the respective territory, those born in another territory still under Portuguese administration.

Also retaining citizenship were the other descendants up to the 3rd degree (children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren) of those born in Portugal, of naturalized citizens, of those born abroad to a father or mother born in Portugal, and of those born in the former State of India, unless, within the two years following independence, they declared that they did not wish to be Portuguese (Article 1(2)). Citizenship was also retained by those born in the territory who, on April 25, 1974, had been domiciled in mainland Portugal or the islands for more than five years, together with their wives and minor children, unless they opted, within two years, for the new citizenship (Article 2).

Who lost it. Portuguese citizenship was lost by those born or domiciled in the territory who did not fall under any of those situations (Art. 4). In practice, this tends to cover people born in Guinea-Bissau whose parents and grandparents were also born there and who did not live in Portugal. The courts have held that the loss resulted from the law, regardless of the person's will, and that this does not violate the Constitution or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (STJ, case 03B2841, December 18, 2003).

Proving it was never lost. Anyone who falls under Art. 1 or Art. 2 does not need to "reacquire" anything: they remain Portuguese and need to prove it. The usual route is to request, at the Central Registry Office (Conservatória dos Registos Centrais), the transcription of the birth record drawn up in Guinea-Bissau into the Portuguese civil registry (Decree-Law 249/77, Arts. 1 and 2), together with proof of the facts on which retention depended (Art. 7 of Decree-Law 308-A/75). It is also possible to request a certificate of citizenship from the same registry office (Art. 24 of the Nationality Act). If the original record cannot be obtained, the law allows the means of remedying a missing registration provided for in the Civil Registry Code (Código do Registo Civil) (Decree-Law 249/77, Art. 1(2)). If the application is refused, the decision can be challenged in the administrative courts (Arts. 25 and 26 of the Nationality Act).

Proof usually requires:

• full-copy birth certificates for the entire chain up to the ancestor born in Portugal (a maximum of three generations, under Article 1(2)), with the marriage certificates needed to demonstrate parentage;
• proof that parentage was established before independence and while the person was a minor. The Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justiça) and the Lisbon Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa) refused retention when paternity was recognized only after independence and after the age of majority (STJ, case 04B2478; TRL, case 2813/2005-6), although there is an earlier Court of Appeal ruling to the contrary (TRL, case 8639/2003-6). The issue is therefore a sensitive one;
• in the case of Article 2, proof of domicile in Portugal since before April 25, 1969 (more than five years as of April 25, 1974), with documents from that period. An annotation of domicile that was declared false was canceled and led to loss of citizenship, with consequences for the children (STJ, case 03B2841);
• beware of documents that appear conclusive but are not: consular registration and Portuguese passports issued after independence were not sufficient, on their own, to prove retention (TCA Sul, case 2854/11.6BELSB, February 9, 2023).

A particular feature of Guinea-Bissau: the recognition of independence (September 10, 1974) predates the publication of Decree-Law 308-A/75 (June 24, 1975). The statute applies to territories that "became independent" and counts its time limits from the date of independence, but its concrete application to people connected to Guinea-Bissau must be confirmed case by case, based on the records and on the practice of the Central Registry Office.

And those who lost it: is it possible to "reacquire" citizenship? There is currently no specific reacquisition route for those who lost citizenship under Decree-Law 308-A/75 (Decreto-Lei). Article 5 of the decree (retention or grant by decision of the Council of Ministers) was repealed in 1988. Acquisition by declaration under Article 31 of the Nationality Act was designed for those who lost citizenship by voluntarily acquiring another while Law 2098 was in force and, in principle, does not cover loss caused by independence. Until May 18, 2026, the Nationality Act also provided a facilitated naturalization for those who did not retain citizenship under Article 2 of DL 308-A/75 and had lived in Portugal since before April 25, 1974 (former Article 6(9)), and another for those who had previously been Portuguese (former Article 6(6)). Organic Law 1/2026 did not keep that wording: only applications filed by May 18, 2026 may rely on those provisions. For new applications, the main remaining options are:

• naturalization based on legal residence in Portugal (route 5, below);
• naturalization with a waiver of the residence period for those who lost citizenship, maintain ties of effective connection to the national community, and never acquired another citizenship (Article 6(6)). Since independence, as a rule, conferred the new citizenship, this route tends to be exceptional and depends on evidence;
• the family routes (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, marriage), if another family member is Portuguese.

Those who have held a Portuguese citizenship registration for many years may also argue consolidation of citizenship: holding citizenship in good faith for at least 10 years, counted from the birth registration, the citizenship registration, or the first identity document as a Portuguese citizen, is a ground for consolidation, except in cases of fraud (Article 12-B of the Nationality Act, as amended by Organic Law 1/2026). There is not yet settled case law on applying this rule, as newly worded, to DL 308-A/75 cases; in 2023, under the previous wording, the TCA Sul refused it to a person whose birth had never been registered in Portugal.

Effects for children and grandchildren. If a parent retained citizenship, that parent is Portuguese, and the child may apply for attribution of citizenship as the child of a Portuguese citizen (route 2), provided parentage was established while the child was a minor (Article 14 of the Nationality Act). A child who was a minor on the date of independence may have retained citizenship together with the parent (Article 1(1)(f) and (2) of DL 308-A/75). In that case, it is enough to prove this. If the grandfather or grandmother retained citizenship (for example, because he or she was born in Portugal), the grandchild may use the grandchildren route (route 3). If the ancestor lost citizenship under Article 4, that ancestor cannot serve as the basis for the child or grandchild routes, because the law requires a Portuguese ancestor (and, in the case of grandchildren, one who "has not lost that citizenship"). For this reason, the first step is usually to reconstruct the situation of the closest ancestor who may have retained citizenship.

2. Children of a Portuguese father or mother

A child of a Portuguese father or mother born abroad is Portuguese by origin if the birth is registered in the Portuguese civil registry or if the child declares the wish to be Portuguese (Article 1(1)(c) of the Nationality Act (Lei da Nacionalidade); Articles 8 and 9 of the Regulations). It does not matter whether the Portuguese parent is the father or the mother, or whether that parent has already died. Attribution takes effect from birth (Article 11) and later allows citizenship to be passed on to the person's own children.

• Evidence: the application must be supported by proof of the Portuguese citizenship of one of the parents (Art. 8(2) of the Regulation). If the parent was born in Guinea-Bissau before independence, this is where route 1 comes in: it must first be shown that the parent retained citizenship.
• Parentage: as a rule, only parentage established while the person was a minor has effect for citizenship purposes. If it is established after the age of majority, it counts only if it results from court proceedings or is recognized in a court action, and the application must be filed within three years after the judgment becomes final (Article 14). A foreign parentage judgment may need to be recognized (reviewed) in Portugal.
• Where: the birth is registered at Portuguese consular services or at the Central Registry Office (Conservatória dos Registos Centrais) (Article 9(1) of the Regulations).
• Parent who became Portuguese later: if the father or mother acquired citizenship only after the child's birth, a different route usually applies: a minor child may acquire it by declaration (Article 2); a child who is already an adult will need to consider the other routes.

More details and the list of documents on the page about citizenship for children of Portuguese citizens.

3. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Portuguese citizens

Grandchildren. A person is Portuguese by origin if he or she has at least one grandfather or grandmother with original Portuguese citizenship who has not lost it, and declares the wish to be Portuguese (Article 1(1)(d) of the Nationality Act; Article 10-A of the Regulations). The law still refers to ties of effective connection to the national community and, since Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), attribution also depends on the requirements of Article 6(1)(c) to (h) (Article 1(3)):

• sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history, and national symbols, proven by a test or certificate;
• knowledge of the fundamental rights and duties inherent in citizenship and of the political organization of the State;
• a solemn declaration of adherence to the principles of the democratic rule of law;
• no convictions of the kinds set out in the law, not posing a danger to national security or defense, and not being subject to restrictive measures of the UN or the European Union.

For nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese, only knowledge of the language is presumed (Art. 6(10)). Applications by grandchildren filed up to May 18, 2026 follow the previous law. If the grandfather or grandmother was born in Guinea-Bissau before independence, it must first be checked whether they retained citizenship under Decree-Law 308-A/75 (route 1). If they lost it under Art. 4, they cannot serve as the basis for this route.

Great-grandchildren. There are two possibilities:

• In two stages: if the child or grandchild of the Portuguese great-grandparent is alive, that person first applies for citizenship (as a child or grandchild), and then the great-grandchild applies as the child or grandchild of a Portuguese citizen;
• Naturalization of great-grandchildren (new route): the Government may grant citizenship to descendants in the 3rd degree in the direct line of Portuguese citizens by origin who have held legal residence in Portugal for at least five years, with a waiver of the general residence period, provided the other naturalization requirements are met (Article 6(8)). This is a discretionary grant ("may grant"), not an automatic right.

IRN fees: EUR 175 for attribution to adult grandchildren (free for minors) and EUR 250 for naturalization of great-grandchildren. More details on the page about citizenship for grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

4. Marriage or de facto union with a Portuguese citizen for more than 3 years

A foreign national who has been married to a Portuguese national for more than three years may acquire citizenship by a declaration made while the marriage subsists (Article 3(1) of the Nationality Act; Article 14 of the Regulations). A person who has lived in a de facto union (união de facto) with a Portuguese citizen for more than three years may also do so, but only after a court decision recognizing the union by the competent court (Article 3(3)). A declaration of stable union or de facto union made before a notary or issued abroad is not sufficient.

• Marriage celebrated in Guinea-Bissau: the Portuguese spouse's marriage must be registered in the Portuguese civil registry. If it was celebrated outside Portugal, it must first be transcribed.
• Impediments: acquisition depends on the absence of the convictions, security risks, and restrictive measures set out in Article 6(1)(f) to (h) (Article 3(4)).
• Opposition by the Public Prosecutor's Office: it may be filed within two years from the registration of the acquisition (Article 10), on the grounds of lack of ties of effective connection to the national community, assessed according to the criteria of Article 6(1)(c) to (i) (language, culture, means of subsistence, among others), or on the grounds of non-technical public office or non-compulsory military service for a foreign State (Article 9(1)). There is no opposition, except on the grounds of subparagraphs (f) to (h), when the marriage or de facto union has lasted more than six years or when there are children in common with Portuguese citizenship (Article 9(2)).
• Usual documents: the applicant's birth certificate, proof of the nationality of origin, criminal record certificates from the countries of birth, of nationality, and of residence after age 16, and, for a de facto union, the certificate of the judgment and a recent declaration by the Portuguese partner confirming that the union continues.

According to the official page justica.gov.pt, the application costs EUR 250. More details on the page about citizenship through marriage or de facto union.

5. Naturalization based on legal residence in Portugal

For nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese, such as Guinea-Bissau, the period is seven years of legal residence in Portugal (Art. 6(1)(b) of the Nationality Act). For nationals of other countries (except European Union citizens), it is ten years.

• Counting the time: all periods of legal residence are added together, whether continuous or interrupted, provided they fall within a maximum window of nine years (Article 15(3)). Residence under any residence card, visa, or permit under immigration or asylum law counts, without prejudice to the special regimes of treaties, namely the CPLP (Article 15(1) and (2)). The former rule that also counted the time elapsed since the residence permit application (former Article 15(4)) was repealed. The requirements are assessed at the time of the application.
• Language: nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese are presumed to know the Portuguese language, unless a lack of proficiency is evident to the authorities (Article 6(10)). The presumption covers only the language: culture, history, and national symbols, as well as rights and duties and the political organization of the State, must still be demonstrated (subparagraphs (c) and (d)). The format of the tests still depends on the implementing regulations of the new law.
• Other requirements: being of legal age, solemnly declaring adherence to the principles of the democratic rule of law, being able to support oneself, not having been sentenced to an effective prison term of more than 3 years for the crimes specified in the law, not posing a threat to national security or defense, and not being subject to restrictive measures of the UN or the European Union (Article 6(1)).
• Criminal record: certificates from Portugal and from the countries of birth, of nationality, and of residence after the age of criminal responsibility (Article 6(11)).
• Pending applications: those filed by May 18, 2026 follow the previous law, which required five years of residence.

According to justica.gov.pt, the naturalization application costs EUR 250. More details on the page about citizenship based on length of residence.

6. Adoption by a Portuguese citizen

A person adopted by a Portuguese national acquires Portuguese citizenship by declaration (Article 5 of the Nationality Act). Under Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), acquisition is no longer automatic; the Regulations still repeat the former wording (Article 16), which reinforces the need to confirm the procedure with the registry office. Persons adopted by a Portuguese citizen before Law 37/81 came into force may also acquire citizenship by declaration (Article 29).

An adoption granted in Guinea-Bissau must, as a rule, take effect in Portugal before the application, usually through review and confirmation of the foreign judgment or through the mechanism provided for in an applicable convention. The Legal Cooperation Agreement between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau (1988) maintains, as a rule, the review of court decisions; at the outset, we confirm whether any exemption applies to the case. If any step needs to be taken in the local adoption proceedings, that falls to a lawyer licensed in Guinea-Bissau, retained by the client. More details on the page about citizenship through adoption.

7. Documents from Guinea-Bissau and where to file the application

• Certificates: birth and marriage certificates are requested from the civil registry offices in Guinea-Bissau where the record was drawn up, preferably as a full-text copy (Art. 37(3) of the Regulation). For records predating independence, it is worth checking first whether they have already been transcribed at the Central Registry Office: in that case, the certificate can be obtained in Portugal, and the applicant may be exempted from submitting it by providing the registration details (Art. 37(4) and (6)). Obtaining old certificates, corrections or local actions falls to a lawyer licensed in Guinea-Bissau, retained by the client.
• Legalization: Guinea-Bissau is not a party to the Apostille Convention (Hague Conference status table). The Regulation requires foreign certificates to be legalized under the Code of Civil Procedure, without prejudice to conventions (Art. 37(9)): the general route is the authentication of the official's signature by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular officer (Art. 440 of the CPC). The Legal Cooperation Agreement between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau (1988) exempts documents issued by the authorities of the two States from legalization, unless there are doubts about their authenticity (Art. 128(2)). Whether the registry office or the consulate accepts this exemption is confirmed case by case.
• Translation: documents from Guinea-Bissau are, as a rule, in Portuguese and do not need to be translated. Documents in other languages must be accompanied by a certified translation, except those in English, French or Spanish, if the registrar does not require one (Art. 37(2)).
• Where to file: in Guinea-Bissau, at the Portuguese consular posts (the Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Bissau). In Portugal, at the Central Registry Office (Lisbon), at the Citizenship Desks and at the civil registry offices, or by mail. With a lawyer or solicitor, the application can be submitted online (justica.gov.pt). For declarations made before consular officials, the applicant's physical presence is, as a rule, mandatory (Art. 17 of the Nationality Act). The transcription of records from the former colonies falls within the exclusive competence of the Central Registry Office (Decree-Law 249/77, Art. 2).

See also the citizenship step-by-step guide.

Sene & Araújo works from Brazil and Portugal: we review the family's documents, identify the appropriate route, and prepare and follow the application in Portugal. Each case depends on the evidence available, and questions related to Decree-Law 308-A/75 (Decreto-Lei) are decided case by case by the Central Registry Office and, if necessary, by the courts.

When a family has assets in Guinea-Bissau, Portugal and Brazil, each country usually requires its own acts to transfer the assets located in its territory. Assets located in Guinea-Bissau are dealt with in a local procedure, which must be conducted by a lawyer licensed in that country, retained by the client. On our side, we handle the estate inventory proceedings (inventário) in Brazil and the declaration of heirs (habilitação de herdeiros) and partition of the estate in Portugal, prepared to start from the same documents and the same reading of the applicable law and the heirs; at the client's request, we coordinate with the lawyer the client has retained in that country.

From Portugal's perspective

Guinea-Bissau is a third State for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 650/2012, which Portugal applies to successions opened since August 17, 2015. In summary:

• the applicable law is, as a rule, the law of the deceased's habitual residence at the time of death (Article 21), even if it is the law of a third State (Article 20);
• in a will, a person may choose the law of a State of which he or she is a national; a person with more than one nationality may choose any of them (Article 22);
• when the applicable law is that of a third State, that State's conflict-of-laws rules may refer to another law (renvoi) (Article 34), unless the law was chosen in a will;
• the court may, at the request of one of the parties, decline to rule on assets located in a third State where the decision would not be recognized (Article 12);
• special rules of the country where certain assets are located, such as real estate or companies, apply regardless of the law governing the succession (Article 30).

From Brazil's perspective

Succession is governed by the law of the country in which the deceased was domiciled (Art. 10 of the LINDB). Inventory proceedings and partition of assets located in Brazil fall to the Brazilian courts, to the exclusion of any other (Art. 23(II) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)). Under Complementary Law 227/2026 (Lei Complementar), the ITCMD on assets abroad of a person domiciled in Brazil is due to the State of domicile (Arts. 158(II) and 159), in accordance with state law. In Portugal, Stamp Duty (Imposto do Selo) on gratuitous transfers applies to assets located in Portuguese territory (Art. 4 of the Stamp Duty Code). The taxation of assets located in Guinea-Bissau is a matter of Guinea-Bissau law and must be reviewed by a lawyer licensed in that country.

The Legal Cooperation Agreement between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau also provides for the exchange of information between the Ministries of Justice on certain wills and on renunciations of inheritance made in one country and concerning nationals of the other (Art. 126). Even so, searches for wills must be made directly in each country's registries.

During one's lifetime, coordinated wills in Brazil, in Portugal and, if necessary, in Guinea-Bissau prevent one from unintentionally revoking the other. See the page on international succession.

Guinea-Bissau is not a party to the Apostille Convention, according to the official Hague Conference status table (updated June 30, 2026). Documents issued in Guinea-Bissau are not apostilled.

• For use in Portugal: procedural law treats as legalized those authentic foreign documents whose signature is authenticated by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular officer in the country of origin (Art. 440 of the Portuguese CPC), without prejudice to international instruments. The Legal Cooperation Agreement between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau exempts documents issued by the authorities of the two States from legalization, unless there are doubts about their authenticity (Art. 128(2)). The scope of this exemption outside requests for cooperation between authorities, and the practice of each body (IRN, AIMA, consulates), are confirmed case by case. Even without legalization, a foreign document has evidentiary value, but legalization may be required if there are well-founded doubts about its authenticity (Art. 365 of the Civil Code).
• For use in Brazil: without an apostille, the document follows the consular legalization route. We confirm the procedure with the competent Brazilian consulate before sending the documents.

We organize a single document workflow for use in Brazil and Portugal: birth, marriage, and death certificates, real estate and company records, powers of attorney and, when necessary, translations, in the format each authority requires.

In Portugal

A foreign court decision on private rights has effect in Portugal only after it has been reviewed and confirmed, subject to the provisions of treaties and regulations (Article 978 of the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure). Review is requested from the Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação) for the area where the person against whom the decision is to be enforced is domiciled (Article 979). See the page on recognition of foreign judgments.

With Guinea-Bissau, the Legal Cooperation Agreement between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau applies; it was signed in Bissau on July 5, 1988, approved by Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic 11/89 (Resolução da Assembleia da República) and has been in force since January 10, 1994 (Notice 63/94 (Aviso)). The agreement maintains review: decisions on private rights have effect in the other State "provided they have been reviewed and confirmed" (Art. 13(1)). The requirements for confirmation are set out in Art. 14. Review is waived only when the decision is relied on merely as evidence in pending proceedings and for decisions that correct civil registry errors without deciding questions of status (Art. 13(2)). Decisions of the Portuguese courts handed down up to the independence of Guinea-Bissau do not require review, even if they only became final and unappealable afterwards (Art. 13(3)).

In Brazil

A foreign decision has effect in Brazil only after it has been recognized by the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça), unless otherwise provided by law or treaty (Article 961 of the Code of Civil Procedure). Final court decisions may be recognized, as may non-judicial decisions that, under Brazilian law, would be judicial in nature (Article 961, § 1). The requirements include the competence of the authority, proper service of process, effectiveness in the country of origin, and an official translation, unless waived by treaty (Article 963). A decision on matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Brazilian courts, such as the partition of assets located in Brazil, cannot be recognized (Articles 23 and 964). A foreign judgment of simple uncontested divorce (which only dissolves the marriage) has effect in Brazil without STJ recognition (Article 961, § 5); if it also decides custody, support, or partition, it must be recognized by the STJ (CNJ Provision 149/2023, Article 464, § 3).

Conversely, a Portuguese or Brazilian decision that needs to take effect in Guinea-Bissau depends on the recognition procedures under local law and, for Portuguese decisions, on the bilateral agreement. That application must be conducted by a lawyer licensed in Guinea-Bissau, retained by the client, with whom the firm can coordinate at the client's request.

Sene & Araújo practices Brazilian law and Portuguese law, with offices in São Paulo and Albufeira. The firm does not practice law in Guinea-Bissau and has no lawyers in that country. Matters of Guinea-Bissau law must be handled by a lawyer licensed there, retained by the client; the firm handles the effects in Brazil and Portugal and, at the client's request, coordinates with that lawyer.

1. Assessment: nationalities, residence of each family member, and a map of the assets in each country.
2. Residence in Portugal: choice of route (CPLP, family reunification, investment, or another), preparation of the visa application, and follow-up with AIMA.
3. Portuguese citizenship: calculation of the legal residence period, gathering of evidence, and application to the IRN.
4. Succession: inventory proceedings in Brazil, in court or before a notary, and declaration of heirs and partition in Portugal, prepared to work alongside the procedure in Guinea-Bissau, which is handled by the lawyer retained by the client.
5. Judgments: review and confirmation in Portugal and recognition by the STJ.
6. Documents: a single flow of certificates, powers of attorney, translations and legalizations for use in Brazil and Portugal.

See also the Other countries page.