# Law No. 3696 of December 18, 1959

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648818](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648818)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3696-of-december-18-1959

## Summary
Law No. 3696 of December 18, 1959 is a Brazilian federal statute enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek that governs the naturalization of foreign women married to Brazilian men who hold permanent positions abroad. Promulgated on December 18, 1959, and published in Rio de Janeiro, it applies to Brazilian jurisdiction and is classified as a formal written document creating statutory law. The law is accessible online via the official Planalto government portal and is cataloged under the LexML Brazil identifier system.

## Key Facts
- **Full Title:** Lei nº 3696, de 18 de dezembro de 1959
- **Alternative Name:** Lei nº 3696/1959
- **Promulgation Date:** December 18, 1959
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Approving Official:** Juscelino Kubitschek (President)
- **Classification:** Statute (formal written document creating law)
- **Country of Origin:** Brazil
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil (applies to Brazilian jurisdiction)
- **Primary Subject:** Naturalization of foreigners (specifically foreign women married to Brazilian citizens)
- **Legal Digest/Summary:** "DISPÕE SOBRE NATURALIZAÇÃO DE ESTRANGEIRA CASADA COM BRASILEIRO QUE EXERÇA FUNÇÃO PERMANENTE NO EXTERIOR" (Provides for the naturalization of a foreign woman married to a Brazilian who exercises a permanent function abroad)
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-12-18;3696
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l3696.htm
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Wikimedia Project Membership:** WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs
**What is the purpose of Law No. 3696/1959?**
This Brazilian federal statute establishes the legal framework for the naturalization of foreign women married to Brazilian citizens who are performing permanent official functions outside of Brazil. It specifically addresses citizenship acquisition in cases where the Brazilian spouse is stationed abroad on long-term assignment.

**Who approved and promulgated this law?**
The law was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil and promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek on December 18, 1959.

**Where can the official text of this law be accessed?**
The official text is available through the Brazilian government's Planalto portal at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l3696.htm. It is also cataloged in the LexML Brazil legal documentation system with the identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-12-18;3696.

**What type of legal instrument is this?**
Law No. 3696 is classified as a statute, which is a formal written document that creates law. As a statute, it represents a manifestation of statutory law and serves as an official legal rule enacted by the Brazilian federal government.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3696 of December 18, 1959 matters as a specific piece of Brazilian nationality legislation that addressed a unique administrative circumstance: the naturalization of foreign spouses of Brazilian government officials or representatives working permanently overseas. Enacted during the developmentalist presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek—a period marked by ambitious modernization projects and the relocation of Brazil's capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília—this law reflects the practical legal challenges of an expanding Brazilian diplomatic and civil service presence abroad. It serves as a historical marker of Brazilian nationality policy and demonstrates how statutory law functions as the tangible manifestation of legal norms within the Brazilian legal system. As a formally promulgated statute, it exemplifies the classification of legal documents that create binding law, distinguishing it from other types of legal instruments.

## Notable For
- **Specific Focus on Expatriate Naturalization:** Uniquely addresses the naturalization process for foreign spouses of Brazilians serving in permanent capacities abroad, a niche legal scenario
- **Promulgation During Kubitschek Era:** Enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek, one of Brazil's most significant 20th-century leaders known for his "50 years in 5" modernization program
- **Rio de Janeiro Publication:** Published when Rio de Janeiro was still the federal capital of Brazil (prior to the April 1960 inauguration of Brasília)
- **LexML Brazil Integration:** Assigned the standardized legal identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-12-18;3696 within Brazil's official legal documentation system
- **WikiProject Brazilian Laws Classification:** Recognized within Wikimedia's structured knowledge framework as part of the dedicated Brazilian Laws project
- **Statutory Classification:** Formally classified as a statute, the foundational type of formal written document that creates law in the Brazilian legal system

## Body

### Legal Classification and Definition
Law No. 3696 of December 18, 1959 is formally classified as a **statute** (Portuguese: estatuto), which constitutes a formal written document that creates law. Within the hierarchy of legal instruments, a statute serves as a manifestation of statutory law and represents a subclass of written work, document, and rule. The statute is composed of legal norms and functions as the concrete expression of Brazilian federal legislation.

As a statute, it is distinguished from other legal concepts and is created through the legislative process. The creation of this statute was caused by the legal act of promulgation, which transformed it from a draft into binding law applicable within Brazilian jurisdiction.

### Historical Context and Promulgation
The law was promulgated on **December 18, 1959**, during the presidency of **Juscelino Kubitschek**, who served as President of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. This period in Brazilian history was characterized by rapid industrialization and infrastructure development, most notably the construction of the new capital city, Brasília. The law was published in **Rio de Janeiro**, which remained the federal capital until April 21, 1960, when the government officially relocated to Brasília.

The promulgation was executed by the **Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil**, marking it as a federal-level legal instrument rather than a state or municipal decree. The determination method for this law was promulgation, signifying its formal enactment into the Brazilian legal code.

### Subject Matter and Legal Scope
The primary subject of Law No. 3696/1959 is the **naturalization of foreigners** (Portuguese: estrangeiro), with specific application to foreign women married to Brazilian citizens. The official legal digest describes the law as: "DISPÕE SOBRE NATURALIZAÇÃO DE ESTRANGEIRA CASADA COM BRASILEIRO QUE EXERÇA FUNÇÃO PERMANENTE NO EXTERIOR" (Provides for the naturalization of a foreign woman married to a Brazilian who exercises a permanent function abroad).

This places the law within the domain of Brazilian nationality and citizenship law, specifically addressing the circumstances under which foreign spouses of Brazilians working in permanent overseas positions may acquire Brazilian citizenship. The law applies to **Brazilian jurisdiction** across all federal territory.

### Official Identification and Cataloging
Law No. 3696/1959 is cataloged within Brazil's official legal documentation systems using standardized identifiers:

- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-12-18;3696
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3696/1959
- **Full Official Title:** Lei nº 3696, de 18 de dezembro de 1959

The LexML (Lex Metadata) system is Brazil's official standard for identifying and exchanging legal documents electronically, ensuring unique and persistent identification of Brazilian legislation.

### Publication and Accessibility
The law was published in **Rio de Janeiro** and is written in **Brazilian Portuguese**, the official language of Brazil. The full text of the law is accessible to the public through the **Planalto government portal**, which serves as the official repository for Brazilian federal legislation. The official URL for accessing the law is: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l3696.htm

This online accessibility reflects the principle that statutes, as official legal documents, are generally in the public domain and should be freely accessible to citizens. The digital publication ensures permanent availability and facilitates legal research and compliance.

### Relationship to Brazilian Legal Framework
As a statute, Law No. 3696/1959 exists within the broader context of Brazilian statutory law. Statutes are characterized as formal written documents that create law and serve as the official record of legal rules enacted by government authority. The creation of this statute followed the standard legislative process, preceded by draft laws and enacted through formal promulgation.

The law operates within the **Federative Republic of Brazil**, which maintains a civil law legal system heavily influenced by Portuguese legal traditions. Brazil operates as a federal republic with Portuguese as its official language and has maintained continuous sovereignty since independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822. The country's legal framework is governed by the Constitution of Brazil, which has been in effect since October 5, 1988, with the National Congress of Brazil serving as the legislative body and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) as the highest judicial authority.

### Wikimedia Knowledge Base Integration
Law No. 3696/1959 is recognized within the **WikiProject Brazilian Laws**, a Wikimedia initiative dedicated to structuring and documenting Brazilian legislation within the Wikidata knowledge base. The law is described in Wikidata simply as a "Brazilian law" and has been assigned properties including its official title, aliases, country of origin, main subject, publication date, and official URLs. This integration ensures the law's presence in structured, machine-readable knowledge systems that support semantic web technologies and legal information retrieval.

The statute's classification as an instance of "statute" within these systems aligns with broader ontological frameworks, including its equivalence to the `https://schema.org/Legislation` class used in structured data on the web. This standardization facilitates interoperability across legal databases and knowledge graphs.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-12-18;3696)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3696&ano=1959&data=18/12/1959&ato=ed9Aza65UMRRVT955)
3. LexML Brasil