What to Do When a Brazilian Citizen Dies in Portugal: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Obtain the Medical Certificate of Death via SICO (in a Hospital or Outside a Hospital)

   In Portugal, medical verification of death is recorded electronically in the Death Certificate Information System (Sistema de Informação dos Certificados de Óbito - SICO), managed by the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS) and the Directorate-General of Health (Direção-Geral da Saúde - DGS), which transmits the record directly to the civil registry [3][4]. The initial procedure depends on the place and circumstances of death:

   • Death in a hospital or healthcare facility: The attending hospital physician verifies the death, issues the Medical Certificate of Death (Certificado Médico de Óbito) directly in the SICO platform, and transfers the body to the hospital mortuary [3][4]. Provide the deceased person's Brazilian passport (along with their Portuguese Residence Permit, Título de Residência, or Cartão de Cidadão, if held) so that personal and parentage details are recorded without discrepancies [1][4].
   • Death outside a hospital (private residence, hotel, holiday accommodation, or public place): Call the European emergency number 112 immediately (or the local police authority, PSP or GNR) [1][4]. If the death resulted from a known natural cause and an attending physician or local health officer (delegado de saúde) can certify the cause of death, that physician issues the Medical Certificate of Death in SICO [3][4].
   • Sudden, violent, or unexplained death (Public Prosecutor and INMLCF intervention): If the death occurred without prior medical attendance, suddenly, or under suspicious circumstances, the police report the matter to the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público), which orders the removal of the body to the medico-legal office of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses - INMLCF) for an autopsy or forensic examination [3][4]. Only after release by the Ministério Público and registration in SICO by the forensic pathologist can the funeral agency take charge of the body [3][4].
2. 2

   Check Assistance Insurance, Appoint a Funeral Agency, and Grant Power of Attorney if the Family Is in Brazil

   Before signing a private funeral contract, check whether your family member held travel insurance, international health insurance, credit card assistance coverage, or life insurance covering funeral repatriation [1]. When an active policy exists, the insurer's assistance centre appoints the international funeral provider directly and covers eligible expenses [1]. Note that the Brazilian State and the Brazilian Consulates General do not have public funds to pay for funerals, cremations, or the repatriation of human remains or ashes [1].

   If no insurance coverage applies, the family must appoint a licensed funeral agency in Portugal (registered with the Directorate-General for Economic Activities, Direção-Geral das Atividades Económicas - DGAE) to handle civil registration, preparation, and international transport or local burial [1][2]:

   • Selecting a funeral agency in Portugal: You can consult the consular guidance published by the Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Lisboa (Consulate General of Brazil in Lisbon, emergency consular duty phone: +351 962 520 581) [1] or contact the Associação Nacional de Empresas Lutuosas (ANEL, National Association of Funeral Enterprises, phone: +351 218 687 978) to identify licensed funeral agencies [2]. Clarvia provides public and trade association references solely for orientation and does not recommend, endorse, or rank specific funeral providers.
   • Authorising procedures when the family is in Brazil: If no family member can travel to Portugal, the closest next of kin in Brazil can execute a power of attorney (procuração, either a public deed at a Brazilian notary office, cartório de notas, or a private instrument with notarised signature, apostilled under the Hague Apostille Convention) authorising the contracted Portuguese funeral agency or a local representative in Portugal to claim the body, declare the death, apply for consular registration, and authorise cremation or international repatriation [1].
3. 3

   Declare the Death at the Civil Registry Office Within 48 Hours

   A death occurring in Portugal must be declared within the statutory 48-hour deadline following the death or following forensic release by the INMLCF [4]:

   • Filing the declaration at the Conservatória do Registo Civil: In practice, the appointed funeral agency files the declaration at any Civil Registry Office (Conservatória do Registo Civil, overseen by the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado - IRN, Registry Helpline: +351 211 950 500) using the electronic Medical Certificate of Death recorded in SICO and the deceased person's identification documents [3][4].
   • Obtaining the Portuguese death record and medical cause-of-death certificate: The Conservatória do Registo Civil registers the death entry (Assento de Óbito) free of charge and issues the Portuguese death certificate (Certidão de Óbito), which is required for the burial, cremation, or international transit permit (alvará de trasladação) [4]. For Brazilian consular registration and repatriation to Brazil, also ask the funeral agency to obtain the supplementary medical declaration expressly stating the medical cause of death (causa mortis, extracted from SICO/DGS), because the standard Portuguese civil death certificate does not list the cause of death and Brazilian authorities require it [1][5].
4. 4

   Complete Brazilian Consular Death Registration and Arrange Repatriation to Brazil or Local Cremation

   For the death to have legal effect in Brazil and to allow the entry of human remains or ashes into Brazilian territory, the death must be registered with the Brazilian consular mission holding jurisdiction over the place of death in Portugal (the Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Lisboa for Lisbon, Central Portugal, and the Islands; the Consulate General of Brazil in Porto for Northern and parts of Central Portugal; or the Consulate General of Brazil in Faro for the Algarve and Alentejo) [1]:

   • Issuance of the Brazilian Consular Death Certificate (Certidão Consular de Óbito): The application is submitted via the electronic e-Consular platform by the declaring family member or the duly authorised funeral agency representative, presenting the Portuguese Assento de Óbito, the medical document stating the causa mortis, the deceased's Brazilian passport or identity card, and their Brazilian birth or marriage certificate [1].
   • International repatriation of the body to Brazil: Repatriation of a body requires embalming (tanatopraxia / formalin preservation), placement in an impermeable coffin with a hermetically sealed inner zinc liner, an international mortuary transit permit (alvará de trasladação internacional / livre-trânsito mortuário) issued in Portugal, a sanitary certificate confirming the absence of contagious disease, and the Certidão Consular de Óbito [1][5]. At the arrival airport in Brazil, health clearance follows the regulations of the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA, Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, phone in Brazil: 0800 642 9782), and a receiving Brazilian funeral home must clear the coffin at the air cargo terminal [5].
   • Cremation in Portugal and transporting ashes: If the family chooses cremation in Portugal (subject to authorisation by the entitled next of kin and medical/judicial clearance), the ashes are placed in a sealed urn accompanied by the cremation certificate and the Certidão Consular de Óbito, and may be transported by air to Brazil in accordance with airline rules and the requirements of the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária [1][5].
5. 5

   Transcribe the Death Record in Brazil and Notify Segurança Social and INSS

   Once consular registration and the funeral or repatriation are complete, civil registry and social security records should be updated in both countries:

   • Transcription of the Consular Death Certificate in Brazil: The Certidão Consular de Óbito issued by the Consulate General in Portugal must be transcribed (trasladada) at the 1st Civil Registry Office (Cartório do 1.º Ofício de Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais) of the deceased's last domicile in Brazil (or at the Cartório do 1.º Ofício of the Federal District if the deceased had no prior domicile in Brazil) so that it produces full civil, banking, and probate (inventário) effects in Brazil [1].
   • Portuguese death benefits (Segurança Social): If the deceased contributed to or received a pension in Portugal, report the death to the Segurança Social (Portuguese Social Security, phone: +351 210 545 400 or 300 502 502) to check entitlement to the death grant (subsídio por morte), funeral expense reimbursement, and survivor's pension (pensão de sobrevivência) for an eligible spouse, civil partner (unido de facto), or descendants [6].
   • Brazilian survivor's pension (INSS) and the Brazil-Portugal Social Security Agreement: If the deceased was insured or retired under the Brazilian social security system, report the death to the Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (INSS, National Institute of Social Security, phone in Brazil: 135; Meu INSS portal) to apply for the survivor's pension (pensão por morte) for eligible dependants based on family relationship (spouse, domestic partner, or minor/disabled children) [7]. Under the Bilateral Social Security Agreement between Brazil and Portugal (Acordo Previdenciário Brasil-Portugal), contribution periods completed in both countries can be totalised to establish entitlement to survivor benefits [6][7].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death Registration and Consular Assistance in Portugal (Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Lisboa) — Ministério das Relações Exteriores - Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Lisboa (Gov.br)
2. [2]
   National Association of Funeral Enterprises in Portugal (Associação Nacional de Empresas Lutuosas - ANEL) — ANEL
3. [3]
   SICO - Death Certificate Information System (Sistema de Informação dos Certificados de Óbito) — Serviços Partilhados do Ministério da Saúde (SPMS)
4. [4]
   Declaring a death - Portuguese Civil Registry (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado - IRN) — Justiça.gov.pt - Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN)
5. [5]
   Transport of Human Remains at Ports, Airports and Borders (ANVISA) — Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA - Gov.br)
6. [6]
   Survivor's Pension and Death Benefits (Segurança Social) — Instituto da Segurança Social (Seg-Social.pt)
7. [7]
   Apply for Survivor's Pension under an International Agreement - INSS (Gov.br) — Governo Federal do Brasil (Gov.br)