The Brazilian Federal Police (PF) issued an extraordinary budget alert on the morning of 24 October 2025, informing the Ministry of Planning and Congress that the agency will be forced to suspend the production and delivery of all new passports from 3 November unless an additional R$ 97.5 million (about US$18.3 million) is released immediately.
According to the confidential memorandum leaked to the press and later confirmed by PF spokespeople, 95 percent of the 2025 passport budget (R$ 314.2 million) has already been spent—largely on payments to the Casa da Moeda, which prints the secure booklets, and on maintenance of the electronic biographic/biometric systems. The PF warns that, without cash, it will have to deactivate enrolment stations, suspend express-delivery services and, ultimately, stop issuing new travel documents. Renewal and emergency passports would be affected as well, creating significant disruption just ahead of the end-of-year travel peak.
The Ministry of Justice says it is negotiating with the economic team to reallocate contingency funds and avoid a shutdown. Lawmakers from both governing and opposition blocs have urged an urgent credit bill, but the measure must clear the Joint Budget Committee next week to meet the PF deadline.
For companies that rely on short-notice international deployments—oil & gas crews heading offshore, IT consultants rotating to Latin America hubs, and countless export executives—the prospect of a service interruption comes on top of already-lengthy appointment queues that stretch 25–30 days in São Paulo and Rio. Mobility managers should advise Brazilian assignees to check passport validity now and, where possible, file applications before 31 October. Contingency routing via third-country consulates is not permitted under Brazilian rules, so a domestic halt would effectively ground travellers until funding is restored.
If Congress fails to unlock resources, observers expect the PF to replicate the “rationing” measures adopted in late 2022: limiting appointments to humanitarian and medically urgent cases and honouring only VIP-pass service contracts that have already been prepaid. Businesses should prepare travel-date contingencies, consider remote-work alternatives, and monitor official channels for daily updates.
According to the confidential memorandum leaked to the press and later confirmed by PF spokespeople, 95 percent of the 2025 passport budget (R$ 314.2 million) has already been spent—largely on payments to the Casa da Moeda, which prints the secure booklets, and on maintenance of the electronic biographic/biometric systems. The PF warns that, without cash, it will have to deactivate enrolment stations, suspend express-delivery services and, ultimately, stop issuing new travel documents. Renewal and emergency passports would be affected as well, creating significant disruption just ahead of the end-of-year travel peak.
The Ministry of Justice says it is negotiating with the economic team to reallocate contingency funds and avoid a shutdown. Lawmakers from both governing and opposition blocs have urged an urgent credit bill, but the measure must clear the Joint Budget Committee next week to meet the PF deadline.
For companies that rely on short-notice international deployments—oil & gas crews heading offshore, IT consultants rotating to Latin America hubs, and countless export executives—the prospect of a service interruption comes on top of already-lengthy appointment queues that stretch 25–30 days in São Paulo and Rio. Mobility managers should advise Brazilian assignees to check passport validity now and, where possible, file applications before 31 October. Contingency routing via third-country consulates is not permitted under Brazilian rules, so a domestic halt would effectively ground travellers until funding is restored.
If Congress fails to unlock resources, observers expect the PF to replicate the “rationing” measures adopted in late 2022: limiting appointments to humanitarian and medically urgent cases and honouring only VIP-pass service contracts that have already been prepaid. Businesses should prepare travel-date contingencies, consider remote-work alternatives, and monitor official channels for daily updates.
