tips and tutorials

National Archive website finds information about your last name

The National Archives maintains some databases with information of entrance of immigrants in Brazil. The sites can help anyone looking for documents of their ancestors for recognition of foreign citizenship, genealogy studies or simply those who have curiosity and want to discover the origin and history of his surname. Old files, which are typed, have been indexed using optical character recognition (OCR) technology.

In the following tutorial, check how to use SIAN (National File Information System), the Database of Foreigners in Brazil from the Port of Rio de Janeiro, the Public Archive of São Paulo and the Portuguese Movement in Brazil site for search for documents and immigrant records.

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SIAN

Step 1. Access the SIAN website (sian.an.gov.br) and click on "Create registration";

Subscribe to SIAN

Step 2. After registering and logging in to your account, go to "Funds / Collections" and click on "Free Search";

Performing database search

Step 3. Finally, search for the last name you are looking for. The documents found will be displayed in topics. Click on a result to open the document.

Search Results for SIAN

Port of Rio de Janeiro

Step 1. Go to the Foreigners in Brazil - Porto de Rio de Janeiro (bases.an.gov.br/rvbndes/Menu_Externo) website and click on "Consulta". Enter the surname you are looking for;

Performing search in the RJ port database

Step 2. The search results will be displayed on separate pages. Use the navigation buttons at the top of the screen to switch between found records.

Search results

Public Archive of São Paulo

Step 1. Access the Public Archive website of São Paulo (fileestate.sp.gov.br/site) and click on "Digital Repository";

Access the SP Public Archive repository

Step 2. Next, click on "Textual Collection" and open "Map Lists";

Open the search for immigrant board list

Step 3. Choose the ship (steam), nationality or immigration year of the person you are looking for and click "Search";

Search by ship, nationality or year of arrival

Step 4. You will need to make a quick registration, which is free. To do this, click on "Register" and enter your personal information, email and password;

Step 5. After registering and logging in, the results will be displayed as a list. Click "Preview" to access the original document.

Click on the indicated button to open the file

Movement of Portuguese in Brazil

Step 1. Access the Portuguese Movement website in Brazil (www.an.gov.br/baseluso/menu/menu.php) and click on "Consulta". Enter the surname you are looking for and click on the magnifying glass icon;

Searching surname in the Portuguese database

Step 2. The records found will be listed on the screen. Information about people found is displayed in the columns on the right. Unfortunately, it is not possible to access the original document that contains the data.