Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in October 2023 that the correction of name and gender can now be done through the consulates and embassies of the respective countries. As provided in the new Brazilian Consular Regulation, it is now possible to initiate the annotation of name and gender on Brazilian documents for transgender individuals abroad through the Brazilian consular network.
To do so, it is necessary to gather some documents to begin the request and, after this step, to schedule an appointment and/or address questions via email.
Our demands were heard
Our efforts also involved internal bodies, such as the State Secretariat for Equality and Migration, and collaborations with the Casa do Brasil in Lisbon and Opus Diversidades, together with public bodies related to health, human rights, and justice in Portugal, so that we could at least have the right to use our social names on our residence permits.
A letter was also written on behalf of the Casa do Brasil de Lisboa — an association where one of the founders of TransParadise, Freda Paranhos, works and contributes to building agendas related to gender and migration. Addressed to President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, the letter outlined concerns about the challenges faced in Brazilian consulates in Portugal, obstacles to obtaining recognition of higher-education degrees, and issues encountered by the Brazilian community, such as racism, xenophobia, and difficulties in sustaining themselves in Portugal. Among the letter’s demands was: “It is also essential to develop joint actions to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”