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I need to sign a Power of Attorney in Brazil related to the sale of property owned by my wife. The problem is that we are living in Japan. The people in charge of the paperwork provided a "power of attorney" (in Portuguese) so a family member can sign for me. I am not a Japanese citizen, and also not a Brazilian citizen.

On advise from the local consulate I signed the Portuguese document in front of a Japanese public notary (kōshō yakuba), who confirmed that I signed, and attached an apostille.

After a few months it now seems that the document is not acceptable and that the best thing is to travel to Brazil to sign. Nobody can really explain why the document is not acceptable ... the answers range from "Japanese apostille is not accepted" to requirements for the document to be created in Japan(ese) and to be translated later.

So I guess the question is: how to create a Power of Attorney for another county, as a non-citizen of both the country of where the document is needed and of the country where it is signed. Both my consulate and the Brazilian consulate say a Japanese public notary can handle this.

I rather not get involved in the legal discussions, but I also would like to avoid travel (cost/time). It is hard to find any guidelines or information as to what is actually valid or required. Any suggestions or advise would be welcome.

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    What's preventing you from creating it it Japan(ese) and to be translated later?
    – user35069
    Nov 1, 2022 at 7:25
  • @Rick Actually nothing :) This would make the document a (Japanese) Notarized Power of Attorney (Kōsei shōsho no inin-jō). I guess this would be the only alternative. It just seemed odd that something that was suggested by the consulate sometimes gets accepted and sometimes does not get accepted.
    – barry
    Nov 1, 2022 at 8:01
  • To some extent, this is a case of bureaucrats imposing barriers that shouldn't exist when they are unfamiliar with a situation. In practice, one asks people in Brazil who are causing the problem what they want and do it, if it is possible. You may need a Brazilian lawyer to work that out.
    – ohwilleke
    Nov 1, 2022 at 18:49
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    @ohwilleke It seems there is some "confusion". Some institutions accept the current document without problem, while some others insist on a Notarized Power of Attorney (created in Japan in Japanese, and apostilled by a Japanese public notary).
    – barry
    Nov 2, 2022 at 23:21

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You could compare what you did with what this Brazilian attorney recommends, which seems to describe your situation. He lists very many requirements, and an error in one could be the problem. For example, I'm guessing that you didn't do this at the Brazilian consulate. You don't say why you need one and whether you executed a public power of attorney or a private proxy (each has its place).

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  • The link you provided gives an answer. As explained in the link you provided, a Power of Attorney drawn up in Japan (in Japanese) and apostilled to confirm the signature was required. This can take anywhere from up to a few weeks to a few months so it would have helped if the parties involved would have checked and provided the requirements in advance.
    – barry
    Nov 2, 2022 at 23:25
  • Doing something at a country’s consulate may be equivalent to doing it in the country. And they might have someone who can act as a “Brazilian public notary”.
    – gnasher729
    Nov 3, 2022 at 17:48

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