Brazil, São Paulo, Immigration Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

Brazil Sao Paulo

What is in the Collection?
This collection dates from 1902 to 1980 and contains immigration cards issued by Brazilian consulates around the world. These cards were then presented at the port of entry by foreigners visiting or immigrating to Brazil through the port of Santos in São Paulo. These records are housed at the Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo.

The records are written in Portuguese; see the section "For Help Reading these Records" for access to translation helps.

Sample Images
Immigration cards may contain the following information:


 * Name of immigrant
 * Date and place of immigration
 * Nationality
 * Names of family members (including parents and children)
 * Birth information

How Do I Search the Collection?
When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as age and family relationships.

Read this article to help you search names 5 Ways to Win the Name Game

To search this collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: To search the collection image by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Letter" ⇒Select the appropriate "Surname" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

For Help Reading these Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading the records see the following guides:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages



What do I do Next?
Once you are able to locate your ancestor, the card information will help you determine where he or she came from, the date and place of birth, and the parents’ names. This information will let you prepare a family group record for the family. You can then start searching in the records from the place of birth and residence for other members of the family.

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.

Also, use the last name to search for any possible relatives that may have traveled with, after, or before your ancestor.

Tips to Keep in Mind
These records may be used to document your immigrant ancestor's trip to Brazil, but do not overlook the possibility of finding ancestors that were merely vacationing, visiting relatives, or traveling on business.

Be sure and click on "View Image" to bring up the actual image; there is often additional information that might be valuable in your researching.

These type-written records may have been transcribed from hand-written lists. So errors may be found in the spellings of names.

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

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.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?
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.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: