Student vs. Tourist Visa??

Hi Colby,

How are things back in Beautiful British Columbia? Sure miss it.

First of all you are only permitted to stay a maximum of 180 days per "rolling"  year in Brazil on a VITUR Tourist Visa. The VITUR also does not permit either work or study in the country. While it might be possible to find a teaching job under the table that poses legal problems for your employer for having an undocumented employee and puts you at risk of being asked to leave the country if you get caught working.

If you do obtain a VITEM-IV Student Visa as far as I know that would permit you to work up to a maximum of 20 hours per week (you'd need to confirm that with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in Vancouver). You would need to remain active in courses that qualify for the visa and keep re-applying for extensions.

Just remember that teaching here (especially if you're undocumented) exposes you to being abused by employers who will pay near slave wages.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

BC is great. Besides the rain and snow over winter.  Yes I understand the 180 rolling year which is why I was considering student visa as I could stay past the 6 month mark if I sign up for another semester of school. 

Either way I am hoping to find a real job.  Which I understand I would have to return to Canada to  apply for my work visa. But just in case I don't find a job within 6 months I think the student visa would allow more flexibility.  And if what you say is true being able to work 20 hrs per week would also be a big advantage.  Even if it's slave wage teaching English.  Plus learning the portuguese would ultimately help me with a real job.  Basically I don't see any reason why I would get a tourist visa.   

Do you know the eligibility for small language schools vs universities for qualifying for a student visa??

Hi Colin,

If you're here on a VITUR that does not prevent you from looking for a job. You need not return to Canada to apply for a VITEM-V Work Visa, you can actually do that right here in Brazil through the Ministry of Labor (Ministério de Trabalho e Emprego). You need a confirmation letter from your prospective employer that you will have a work contract with them. Most large companies actually either help with the visa process or look after it for the employee.

As far as the Portuguese language courses that would qualify you for a VITEM-IV Student Visa, I believe that it is only those offered by universities that qualify. You'd need to check the website for the universities in the area you intend to reside.

Do you have any idea where you'd be thinking of living, working and studying here in Brazil?

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

I am affiliated with an American boat manufacturer in santa catarina which I am really hoping will get me a job. If that fails my brazilian girl friend and I will move to florianopolis which is only a couple hours from the city my company is located in, also in San ta catering.  I read in a few places that I cannot apply for a different visa from inside the country and would have to exit back to my home country.  Could you elaborate on your knowledge of this and any experience you have had of people applying from within. ??

Hi Colby,

As far as I'm aware if you're already in Brazil on some other form of visa you can apply for "transformação de visto" with the Federal Police or Ministry of Labor (in case of work visas) just as you apply for visa extensions. I will check with an immigrations lawyer friend and give you a definite answer ASAP.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Hi Colin,

My lawyer buddie just got back to me with his response. As long as you are within your permitted visa stay (VITUR or VITEM) if you get a job offer you apply for "permission to work" and a VITEM-V Work Visa through the Ministério de Trabalho e Emprego (MTE). You can remain in Brazil as long as you remain within the stay entitlement, so you'd need to keep renewing your Student Visa by remaining in a course and requesting the "prorrogação de estada" as needed. You would, however, need to return to Canada in order to collect the visa once it is issued.

He tells me that a Student Visa doesn't permit paid work while in Brazil. At least not working formally. 

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Ok great thanks for the information.  That's a little annoying that you have to return to Canada just to pick up the passport.  You would think they could send it to you and you could simply exit to a neighboring country.  Or you would think they could issue it at the local Canadian consulate.  Doesn't seem practical.

At least you would avoid having to wait back in Canada for those months while it was bring processed.  And could fly home pick it up and fly back.  I wonder how the logistics of that would work considering you typically have to send in your passport with your application. Is that not the case if you request to work while in brazil?

Hi Colin,

Permission to work would be treated separately from the actual VITEM-V Work Visa. The Ministry of Labor would issue an interim permission and the visa itself would come later. I don't know if you would need to submit your passport to the MTE at the time of application or if you submit the passport to the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in Vancouver either by courier or Express Mail (SEDEX here) afterward. In either case you should first make a certified copy (cópia autenticada) of the passport ID page and any pages with visa stamps/entry or exit stamps at the Cartório, you should do this anyway if you haven't already. You should never carry the original with you at any time. That will meet the legal requirements here in Brazil for you to carry your travel documents at all times, while the passport is out of your hands.

It would be interesting to find out and I think you should ask the consulate if you can authorize a family member or lawyer through a Power of Attorney to pick up the visa for you in Canada or if you must pick it up personally. It actually may be the case that you have to appear at the Consulado personally bringing your passport and they affix the visa to it then, so that may be why there's the necessity of collecting the visa in person back in Canada.

If they would let an authorized third party collect it, that sure would save you a lot of headaches. Don't be surprised though if they shoot down that idea, because it's too logical and would make things EASY. Brazil hates easy!!!

One thing you'd really have to pay attention to is the timing of sending the passport. You need to make sure that you've got enough time remaining on your visa stay that would permit you to send it off and get it back before you'd need the passport for a visa extension (prorrogação de estada), because you've got to have the original passport in hand in order to apply for the extension.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Ok great that's alot of useful information.  I know that when applying for my visa now I can authorize someone to pick up my passport and visa. So I would make sense I could do it later as well. But yes that would be too easy.

To clarify on the steps: I go to Brazil now on either a tourist or student visa. If I get a job offer while in brazil I ask the brazillian ministry of labor for a temporary permission to work...at that point I woukd have to apply for my actual work visa where I need to send my passport most likely to Vancouver Canada where I hopefully can authorize someone to pick it up for me and then courier it back to me in brazil.  All the while drinking capirinhas on the beach in florianopolis? ? Making sure I have enough time on my current visa to send it away and get it back before it expires so I can renew it again. Which would hopefully be in a renewed form of a work visa and would be much lo her than the 6 month tourist or 1 semester of student visas.

Yep, that's about all of it. Now you just have to hope that the Consulate would allow you to have some third party with a Power of Attorney pick it up for you. Otherwise, you'd have to fly back and pick it up yourself.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Thank you very much for all your help.  Greatly appreciated.

Good stuff on this post.

Hi again James,

I have been doing some more research since our conversation about the ability to apply for a work visa conversion while in Brazil.  I can't find any information to back up the idea that you can apply for any type of visa from within the country.  Everything I read states that you must return to your home country to do anything...Does your lawyer colleague have any online information to clarify this issue?  I have written the Embassy here in Vancouver and am will waiting for a response.

Thanks,

Colby

Hi Colby,

Actually his e-mails to me explained the process twice, both for transformation of a VITUR to VITEM-V and for a VITEM-IV to VITEM-V. In both cases he told me in detail that the process is exactly the same. If you get a job offer during your visa "prazo de estada" you apply to the Ministério de Trabalho e Emprego (MTE) for "permission to work" and the VITEM-V, this requires written confirmation from the prospective employer and all the other documentation necessary for the visa application (available on Ministério da Justiça website). He told me that for example on a VITEM-IV you are allowed to remain in Brazil as long as you continue taking qualified courses and keep renewing the visa, but that you must collect the VITEM-V visa itself in Canada.

He is an excellent and well experienced lawyer who deals exclusively with immigrations law, has been doing so both in the USA, where he lived for several years and studied law and here in Brazil. If that's what he says the process is I'm sure he is absolutely correct. I'm sure he's done just that for his clients countless times.

Actually, I wouldn't get too worried about the process itself right now since many companies retain agencies (Despachantes) that handle all the details for obtaining visas and work permits for their prospective employees. So if you get a good job offer there is a great chance you won't need to do anything except round up the documents that the agent tell you you'll need to submit.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

OK Thanks again, I appreciate the help

Hi,
I was enrolled at UNESP (a public university) in Brazil. After that, I was enrolled in a private language school for learning/improving portuguese. To renew my visa, it is necessary to present the letter of acceptance/enrollment of UNESP to federal police? ON my visa, the name of the UNESP is written. Thanks!!

Currently, I am also enrolled at UNESP till December 2014. But I want to improve my visa to the end/middle of 2015. My recent visa is valid to 8th January 2015. I want to renew it beyond the 8th January 2015.

You will only be able to renew the visa if you are still attending classes. You will require written confirmation from the university. If your course has ended and you are not in another then you will not be issued an extension.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

I am still attending my calsses untill december. And my visa is valid upto 8 January 2015. But I need to enroll in another course too. The university gives me a confirmation that He is enrolled upto the end of december 2014. I want to renew my visa beyond the december.

Should be no problem at all, you just take the confirmation from the school regarding the course and your passport to the Policia Federal, pay the required fee and they will extend your visa.

But the administration of the university told me that federal police will not renew/extend your visa. It is because your current visa is valid upto 8th January, 2015. And your current course is going to be ended on 31th December 2014. He also told me that federal police needs a confirmation that explains the deadline/end-date of your course. And the deadline/end-date of your course is 31th December, 2014.

That is correct, you CANNOT extend a VITEM-IV Student Visa beyond the end of your studies. The only way you can obtain an extension is to enroll in another course and obtain written confirmation from the educational institution.

You cannot apply for a VITUR Tourist Visa from within Brazil so if you are not a citizen of a country that has a Visa Waiver Program agreement with Brazil you would not be permitted to remain in the country beyond the date shown on your current visa.

If you are from a VWP country then you could go to the Federal Police and request them to entry stamp your passport, since they are different visa categories, your stay during your studies do not count against a tourist stay calculation. This would permit you to remain in Brazil a further 90 days. After this you COULD apply for a further 90 day extension, but it is entirely up to the Policia Federal whether or not they would grant the extension.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

I have applied for another university UFSCAR (although I came here to study at UNESP with the letter of acceptance of UNESP). I have not been selected till now by UFSCAR as its selection process is late. But I have the proof of submission of my documents. Can I apply with that proof?

No, you need to have confirmation in writing that you have been enrolled in the course. You have to hope and pray that the confirmation will come BEFORE your current visa expires, or you will have to leave the country. It will also require applying for a new VITEM-IV in this case since you could not simply renew a visa that is already expired.

I am aslo enrolled in a Portuguese  language school (outside of UNESP). Can I present the confirmation of that school?

No, it is quite likely that you can't... the course must be recognized by the Ministry of Education to qualify you for the visa. You'd need to check with the school to see if it is a course that would qualify you for a student visa or not.

ok....Thanks!!!