ANY EXPAT FROM SEAMEN BACKGROUND IN BRAZIL

Well, your timing is awful - all of the shipping companies in Brazil are struggling at the moment because of the corruption scandal in Petrobras and the low oil prices. Thousands of seamen has been laid off and it will get worse before it gets better.

Many of the international companies is leaving Brazil because of the law that says that any vessel built in Brazil, with Brazilian flag, has a right to take over a contract from a foreign flagged vessel if they are able to perform the same job and this is even if the vessel has a valid contract with Petrobras - any Brazilian vessel can challenge that contract and, if deemed so by a court, Petrobras will have to dump the contract with the foreign vessel and hire the Brazilian flagged vessel instead.

In addition any foreign company is required to hire a certain number of Brazilian crew and if they have a long term contract it means almost every one onboard - most of them keeps the Captain & the Ch. Engineer but the rest of the crew will have to be Brazilians - and a permanensia is not good enough - you need a Brazilian passport.

A few years ago it was impossible to get a qualified Brazilian engineer so the government did not impose the rules so strictly but now a company risks very large fines if they do not comply with the rules regarding number of Brazilians onboard so they would not risk it.

So in short - a non-brazilian seaman will find it very difficult to find a job at the moment but the good news is that other, international shipping, is having a rebound so it should not be very hard to find a job in other parts of the world and then you could work for a US dollar salary and at the same time live in Brazil and watch your salary increase all the time due to the falling reais.

Do some research and get a list of all International shipping or oil services companies working in BR.   Apply to them directly.   That is a long short, but it is a 100 times better to come to BR with an International company. 

I read about a year back that the international oil companies were bringing in their workers on Tourist Visas.  They would do the 180 days and the return...rotating in and out.   The bureaucracy and cost of getting work permits was time consuming and expensive.  Evidently, the BR Gov turned a blind eye to this or at least I never read anything about the companies or workers being fined.

Thanks Mr.cabo fabrio.
That was a real picture of actual scenario i will be facing in brazil i guess.
But could you tell me how good are my chances of finding a shore job in brazil based on my Mechanical Engineering degree.i donot have any shore job experience,since from the beginning of my career i am in shipping industry.
I very well understand that i will not get a good paid salary on shore,but having something is better than nothing.
Also could you tell me what all documents do i need to get prepared for a job in brazil?

Thank you Mr.GringogGene!
                                     I have already listed some international companies in brazil and applied for them.but till now not a single company has responded.I am still trying and applying for more companies.
      If possible Could you please suggest some companies which are hiring foreigners as you mentioned inj your post?
                  it will be of great help to me.

Sorry.  I haven't read about any international companies hiring.

Good luck.

Just was sent this on my Facebook, it's something you might want to check out.

http://www.vagasoffshorebrasil.com.br

Cheers,
James   Expat-blog Experts Team

THANKS MR JAMES.
I BELIEVE I HAVE TO SEND MY CV IN PORTUGUESE FOR THIS COMPANY.

Would strongly advice against working in Brazil with only a tourist visa - if you get caught you will be denied entry into the country for 5 years - i know people who have experienced that. They did not care very much since they only worked here on the request of their employers and then spent there holidays in their home contries. But if you live your life in Brazil and have a family here it is not worth the risk.

do they put you in /jail if you ae caught working illegaly in Brazil?

I'm just curious have VIPER

Thanks cabo frio,
                           i would surely not risk it.
                           i am still looking for other options.fingers crossed.....i hope to find a way.

If you have a VIPER Permanent Visa, you are legally entitled to work in Brazil. All you need to do is apply for your Carteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social - CTPS.

If they catch you working in Brazil with only a VITUR Tourist Visa they can notify you that you have 8 days to leave Brazil and usually they will also ban entry for a period of time.

Cheers,
James         Expat-blog Experts Team

Again this CTPS is to be applied along with VIPER after marriage in brazil.am i right?

Hey
You have to shlepp to a place called the superintendencia of the Ministeira de trabalho
(superintendency of the work Ministry) in your city or the one in the nearest city to you to get the workbook , it's a real pain and I'm trying to do it now but when I went for my booked appointment they were on Strike!....and the one I deal with never answer the phone , it's actually proving to be the most difficult document to get in the hand for me personally

James will fill you in on all the documents you need to take with I'm sure