Brazilian passport Jeferson Gonçalves/Rede Amazônica Brazilian consulates abroad are changing the way they issue passports: instead of printing the document at the post, they now send the request to Brazil, where it is made by the Casa da Moeda and then shipped back. The change, which already affects positions in countries such as the United States, Germany and Mexico, is the result of a pilot project that began to be implemented last year, according to Itamaraty. ? Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp In recent weeks, several Brazilian consulates abroad have communicated this change in the preparation of the document, which on national soil is usually delivered by the Federal Police after six working days. Now, the document is being prepared in Brazil and sent to consular posts, which can lead to longer documentation delivery times. The change in passport issuance abroad was being attributed, according to a report in the Estadão newspaper, to the department's lack of budgetary resources. Contacted by DW, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) denies the risk of service interruption and attributes the changes in flow to two factors: an "exponential jump" in demand and the implementation of the pilot project to centralize the printing of documents. Regarding budget restrictions, the MRE classifies the situation as “overcome”. Change in the issuance model Historically, the consular networks themselves printed passports at the point of service. Now, in the pilot project units, the request is forwarded by Itamaraty to the Brazilian Mint (CMB), responsible for preparing the documents and sending them to the respective countries. This is the case of the Brazilian Consulate in Miami, which released in a statement that, since the end of July, documents began to be issued directly by the CMB. MORE Accra and Doha and the consulates general in Frankfurt, Lisbon, Porto and Mexico City. At other stations around the world, printing continues to be done locally. The MRE classifies that the change demonstrated "satisfactory concrete results (including in terms of reducing passport delivery time)" and that "the good results observed in the initial phase led to the expansion of the pilot project". Increase in demand When asked by DW about the impact of deadlines and the specific situation in posts such as the Consulate General in Frankfurt, the MRE explained that there was an increase in demand for consular services, including the issuance of passports, which motivated the department, last year, to create the pilot project to centralize printing at the CMB. According to data from the ministry, the issuance of passports abroad jumped from 195.6 thousand in 2024 to 274.4 thousand in 2025, which represents an increase of 40%. In the first half of 2026 alone, 188.9 thousand documents were issued, an increase of 26% compared to the same period of the previous year. The peak occurred in July this year, when more than 33 thousand requests were registered, the "largest number of requests for a single month", according to Itamaraty. The MRE states that the measure "predates and is not related to the context of budget restrictions this year", and that it seeks to increase the security of documents, standardize passports issued abroad with those delivered in Brazil and even reduce the delivery time. The ministry did not explain, however, the impact on the deadline for delivering documentation in the countries that are part of the project. Also according to the ministry, at this stage of the project, Itamaraty will be able to carry out a "detailed assessment, considering the gains in productivity, economy and efficiency that will be achieved with the execution of the project". The measure, according to the ministry, "is in line with the best international practices in travel document management".