Foreign students in Brazil now eligible for work permits

A resolution published by Brazilian authorities on 22 December in the Diário Oficial da União (Official Gazette of the Union) has been enforced, allowing overseas undergraduate and postgraduate students to work legally in the country. The move is also applicable to students who have completed their studies but want to stay back in the South American country. The announcement states that conversion of a student visa to work visa will, however, not happen automatically. Students interested in working in Brazil will have to send a request to the CGIG (General Immigration Coordination) under the Ministry of Labor, which will evaluate them and grant authorisations depending upon their discretion. Rio Times Online quotes Paulo Sergio de Almeida, President of the National Immigration Council, as saying that this step said this act should cut down the number of students in the informal sector as many of them find it difficult to stay back in Brazil without working. He added that these were qualified individuals as they were pursuing education, but it would make them work informally or discontinue their studies because they are unable to pay for it. Ed Horgan, director of English4 language school, a British expatriate himself, said that he was thrilled about this measure. According to this announcement, students are eligible to apply for the work visa after they have completed six months of their course. Here, the foreigner would be allowed to stay in Brazil for one year. It was also stated in the announcement of the authorities that people interested in staying back in the former Portuguese colony should return to their home country and apply for a work visa from there. If you are planning to migrate to Brazil, contact Y-Axis, India’s leading immigration consultancy firm, to get proper guidance to file for a visa from one of its several offices located across India’s major cities.