Brazilians love to travel. The number of international flights from Brazil increased by more than one million between 2012 and 2013. It is set to increase by 17% by the year 2017. Clearly, Brazil is not only a top tourist destination, it produces its fair share of tourists too. In Brazil’s capital Brasilia, the government has taken notice. The Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs have presented a new, safer, and thoroughly modern passport to keep up with this increasing demand. The iconic design of the new passport is more than simply for show. The five stars on the cover are a reference to the five members of Mercosur (Mercosul in Portuguese). Mercosur is Latin America’s foremost trading bloc, and includes Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and Venezuela. The arrangement of the stars is a nod to the constellation the Southern Cross.
The new passport of Brazil is certainly cutting edge.
Advanced security features have been added, such as encryption for the digital signature, and stronger identity checks. By joining the Public Key Directory of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Brazilian passports can now be checked on immigration checkpoints in other countries. The new passport is now valid for ten years, instead of the usual five.
The issuance of the new passport will be initially delayed, as each of the 200 consulates wait for the relevant material. Brazilian consulates in South and Central America will be the first to issue the passports. African countries will soon follow, before the document is issued in Asia, Europe, and Oceania. It is expected to be October before the new passport is issued in North America.
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