Brazil, São Paulo, Port of Santos, Passenger and Immigrant Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes passenger and crew lists who arrived at the Port of Santos in São Paulo. The original records were kept by the Serviços de Polícia Marítima, Aérea e de Fronteiras (Maritime Air and Border Police Services), and are currently housed at the Arquivo Nacional (National Archive) in Rio de Janeiro.

The lists are type-written.

Reading These Records
For help reading these Portuguese records, see the following:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

What Can These Records Tell Me?
These lists may include the following information:


 * Full name
 * Family members
 * Date of arrival
 * Date and port of departure
 * Nationality
 * Name of ship

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year
 * Family relationships

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 


 * 1) Select Arrival Year
 * 2) Select Arrival Month and Day to view the images

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
These records may be used to document your immigrant ancestors trip to Brazil, but do not overlook the possibility of finding ancestors that were merely vacationing, visiting relatives, or traveling on business.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Check the image the index was taken from to see if there is additional information
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing This Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * If just the country is given, use the last name to search for your ancestor and his/her family in his/her home country; this is called a surname search and helps to pinpoint what cities/provinces/states were the hometowns of families
 * Use the last name to search for any possible relatives that may have traveled after or before your ancestor

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * These type-written records may have been transcribed from hand-written lists. So errors may be found in the spellings of names
 * Remember that your ancestor's name may be spelled according to the new country's native language or the language of your ancestor's home country
 * Clerks may have written/spelled the name of your ancestor as they heard it, not as it is spelled in your ancestor's native language. Learn about pronunciation of your ancestor's native language
 * The port your ancestor departed from may not be his/her hometown
 * If you think your ancestor may have immigrated to Brazil and you cannot find him/her in this collection, then check the records of other ports in Brazil. Information on these other ports can be found here, Brazil Emigration and Immigration
 * Add any new information to your records
 * Check the image the index was taken from to see if there is additional information
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing This Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Brazil.
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.