The most recent update to the Negative Naturalization Certificate (CNN) system introduced the possibility of including variations in name spelling. However, the Ministry of Justice maintained the model of issuing separate documents, which continues to generate additional costs for applicants.
Before the change, implemented in October 2025, CNN did not even allow the registration of variations. After a request from the Italian-Brazilian community, the system was adjusted. Now, citizens can add different spellings, but the document continues to be generated separately for each variation.
The current format offers an option to “download all” versions of the certificate. However, the system requires the user to download them one by one, manually. This does not reduce the number of documents, nor the costs of translation and apostille. The practical effect of the change is nil.
“It was a change that altered absolutely nothing in its effect on society,” states João Paulo Perim Zago, a specialist in Italian citizenship, who had already alerted the Ministry of Justice about the problem. He emphasizes that the only way to make the certificate functional would be to condense all the variations into a single document.
“It is also worth highlighting the issue of allowing a maximum of five extra spellings, unlike the old format which authorized more variations. This insistence by DINAT on making things difficult all the time makes no sense. It would be enough to reintroduce the old format, with as many variations as the interested party wanted to include, and to combine them all into a single certificate in the CNN,” says Zago.
CNN is required in Italian citizenship recognition processes by descent. Therefore, any technical or bureaucratic error directly impacts thousands of families throughout Brazil.
In October, former congressman Luis Roberto Lorenzato He worked with Congressman Baleia Rossi (MDB-SP) to reinstate the "father's name" field on the birth certificate. The measure was implemented, but other issues remained unresolved, such as the recognition of multiple spellings on a single official document.
“The previous format was more complete, secure, and less bureaucratic, in addition to not representing an additional cost for citizens,” Lorenzato told Italianismo. He also advocates for the temporary reactivation of the old issuance platform.
It's also worth highlighting that, whether in the previous system, e-Certificate, or in the format prior to the electronic one with service by mail, only a single certificate was ever issued. The new format is unprecedented in generating new costs for citizens.
CNN Timeline: System Changes and Practical Effects
📅 15/09/2025
Introduction to the NATURALIZATION DATA system.
The new platform goes live amid several reported technical problems, such as the exclusion of fields and increased bureaucracy in the CNN issuance process.
📅 13/10/2025
Reinserting the "father's name" field.
Following a request submitted by Baleia Rossi and coordinated by Luis Roberto Lorenzato, the Ministry of Justice has reinstated the father's name on the birth certificate.
📅 Week of November 17, 2025
Reintroduction of the option to insert "Other spellings".
The platform now allows up to five name variations. However, there is no practical change: each spelling still generates a separate certificate, maintaining the additional costs for applicants.
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