HomeIncomingForeign researchers, teachers and visitors

Regularization in Brazil

ATTENTION: DERI does not have an assistance service for obtaining visas for Brazilians or foreigners. Therefore, it is the sole and exclusive responsibility of the foreign teacher, researcher or student to find out about this, as well as to follow all the necessary procedures to obtain a visa in a timely manner as to carry out their activities in Brazil. The information contained on this page may assist in this process, but we are not responsible for changes in said procedures. For official information, access the links provided at the end of the page.

Important definitions:

Visa = permission to ENTER a country; It can be as a tourist, student, for work, diplomatic, among others.

Residence authorization = authorization to RESIDE, even temporarily, in a country and develop activities that go beyond tourism, such as study, work, among others.

Important: if the foreigner has the possibility of entering Brazil without the need for a visa and chooses to do so, he must pay extra attention to the documents necessary to regularize his immigration status in the country, since documents may be requested that would not otherwise be necessary to obtain a visa, including legalization and/or translation of documents, among other requirements.

To find out whether the entry visa is mandatory or not, the foreigner must consult the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To apply for a visa, you must consult the list of Brazilian Consular Offices abroad.

Regularization of Foreigners in Brazil – ENTRY WITH VISA

For foreigners entering Brazil WITH A VISA (normally postdoctoral/postdoc, collaborating researcher, guest/visiting researcher and collaborating professor foreigners receive the type of visa called Temporary Visa I: research, teaching or academic extension – VITEM I), must follow the procedures called Visa Registration. At the Federal Police website, this process appears under the title Registering as a Foreigner in Brazil, “Register as a Foreigner in Brazil” .

For more information about the procedures that must be carried out with the Federal Police of Brazil, access the following materials prepared by DERI:

Procedures for Foreigners with the Federal Police / Procedures for Foreigners With the Federal Police.

Regularization of Foreigners in Brazil – ENTRY WITHOUT VISA

Foreigners entering Brazil WITHOUT A VISA, entering as a tourist, but who will remain in the country for more than three months must apply for a residence permit, as per Normative Resolution No. 01/2017 .

As it is a labor immigration policy, even without an employment relationship, the residence permit must be requested from the Ministry of Labor through the system Migranteweb. To help with this process, the Immigration Portal from the Brazilian government provides tutorials on the process to be carried out in the system, in addition to technical information and other general guidelines.

Some documents required during the application process via MigranteWeb must be provided by UNICAMP, so it is important that the educational UNIT receiving the foreigner provides them with these documents. Access here the list of documents to be delivered during the process, via MigranteWeb.

EXTENSION OF RESIDENCE AUTHORIZATION – via the MigranteWeb system

The process of Extension of Residence Permit It must be done in the same way as for foreigners who entered Brazil WITHOUT A VISA. The renewal of the residence permit period is governed by NORMATIVE RESOLUTION No. 30, OF JUNE 12, 2018.

Monitoring the Request process

The process can be monitored via the link https://migrante.mj.gov.br/consulta-publica.

When, on the page mentioned above, the information appears as DEFERRED, it means that the documentation and request or extension of the residence permit was analyzed by the competent authorities and ACCEPTED / AUTHORIZED.

Then, such authorization/approval will be published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU).

After publication in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU), the foreigner must register with the Federal Police station closest to their residence. Information about this process can be found on the Federal Police Portal, in the service Register as a Foreigner in Brazil, but foreigners must be aware that the documentation required for their case is different from that requested for other visa and residence registration cases. The correct documentation can be found in this link. The residence permit period is normally valid for two years and can be renewed for the same period while the foreigner carries out research or academic extension activities in the country.

If the foreigner is linked to the Postdoctoral Fellows, Collaborating Professors, Collaborating Researchers and Guest Visiting Researchers programs, the unit responsible for the foreigner's arrival must pay attention and follow the guidelines of the General Directorate of Human Resources – DGRH. The links below present some of these guidelines.

Management of Postdoctoral Students, Collaborating Professors and Researchers

Researchers Management System (SGP)

Normative Instruction DGRH No. 01/2021

Final note

A Normative Resolution No. 20/2017 includes carrying out research or academic extension activities no employment relationship, and it is in this modality that the foreign Postdoctoral (Post-doc), Collaborating Researcher, Guest Visiting Researcher and Collaborating Professor programs currently at Unicamp fall into place.

In the case of foreign teachers to be contracted by Unicamp, via Funcamp or for work purposes with employment relationship in Brazil in other ways, you must follow the guidelines of Normative Resolution No. 24/2018 .

Useful Links