The new system for issuing negative naturalization certificates (CNN), in effect since September 15, has brought changes that directly affect Brazilians seeking recognition of Italian citizenship.
According to experts, the new platform from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) has eliminated the possibility of including variations of the foreign ancestor's name — which has generated a significant increase in costs.
The complaint is that, with the removal of the "other spellings" field in the Naturalization Data system, applicants are forced to issue multiple certificates when there are discrepancies in names. In many cases, the same immigrant had their name registered in 5 to 10 different ways throughout their civil life in Brazil.
This change considerably increases the costs of translation and apostille certification. Previously, a family would spend around R$ 300 to issue and validate a single birth certificate. With the new rule, the costs can exceed R$ 2, depending on the number of name variations and the complexity of the family file.
On October 13th, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) partially corrected the system, again allowing the inclusion of the father's name in applications. However, the limitation on spellings remains, even with the field appearing in the protocols. According to user reports, the system does not allow editing.
The Ministry's responsesTo date, they indicate that they "understand that this approach may represent an additional step for the user in specific cases," treating the problem as a mere matter of convenience. For those affected, however, it represents an unexpected and high financial burden, without prior notice and without technical justification.
John Paul Zago, a consultant on Italian citizenship, explains that the previous system, e-Certidão, included a field for entering name variations. "It's not a technological innovation. It's simply re-establishing something that worked more than a decade ago," he states.
Zago argues that the Department of Migration (DEMIG) and the Naturalization Division (DINAT) should correct the system. "Brazilian society is being harmed by a high cost generated by an abrupt and unnecessary change, which can be remedied with a simple adjustment," he says.
Without this correction, thousands of Brazilians continue to face financial and bureaucratic obstacles in legitimate citizenship recognition processes.
O Italianism sought a response from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, But as of the time of writing, no response has been received.
