Obtaining student visa while already in Brazil

Jop123 New member

4POSTS

6 years ago

Hello,

I am planning to do my graduation in Brazil next year in São Paulo. I will probably be starting my internship or graduation research around June. I have not found a place to graduate yet. I was wondering if it would be possible for me to go to São Paulo in March next year without a student visa, and then when I find a company I can do my graduation internship at I would like to apply for the student visa. Do you know if it's possible to apply for the student visa while I'm already in brazil or do I need to do this in the Netherlands?

See also

Work permits for Brazil - Guide
Renewing Digital Nomad Visa + Obtaining Cartao RNE - 17 Replies
us citizen overstayed tourist visa while in Brazil - 12 Replies
Digital nomad visa when you're already in Brazil - 20 Replies
Obtaining Antecedentes Criminais - 1 Reply
Student visa while in Brazil: School hours, bkgrd check, etc - 6 Replies
Obtaining RNM from VITEM XI Visa at Polícia Federal - 12 Replies

abthree Brazil Expert

6453POSTS

6 years ago

Jop123

When you say your "graduation internship", are you talking about a work-study requirement for your degree from a Dutch university?

Coming to Brazil on a tourist visa, it is practically impossible to find a company willing to sponsor you for a work visa, particularly if you don't speak Portuguese.

Most student visas for non-Portuguese speakers are granted for the purpose of taking a Portuguese Language course accredited by the Ministry of Education. You can identify courses online, complete that application process from home, and request the visa from the Brazilian Embassy in the Netherlands, or you can come to Brazil, identify a course, and try to get into it. In that situation, make sure that you bring all the documentation you'll need with you: you may not have time to get a lot of new documents from home on your tourist visa.

1 member reacted to this post

Jop123 New member

4POSTS

6 years ago

thanks for the reply!

Would I need a work visa for that? I thought it would need the same kind of student visa I would need for for example studying portuguese. wouldn't I fall under the student interns as this website says:https://brazilianexperience.com/internship-program-student-visa-brasil-vitem-iv/?

Jop123 New member

4POSTS

6 years ago

I mean wouldn't both need the VITEM IV visa?

abthree Brazil Expert

6453POSTS

6 years ago

Jop123 wrote:
I mean wouldn't both need the VITEM IV visa?

The information on the website is good, because they've copied it directly from the Foreign Ministry's visa information. There's no indication that they'll assist you in obtaining an internship, though, and in your case, assistance is critical.

Internships are a normal part of higher education in Brazil, and are a major way that Brazilian students approaching graduation develop business relationships that result in fulltime employment after graduation. Openings are much sought-after and, especially in a flat job market like the current one, effectively reserved for Brazilians. Unless your degree is in an in-demand technical field in which Brazil is not producing sufficient graduates, your chances of finding an internship as a foreign walk-in candidate are practically nil.

Your best bet for a student visa is a course in Portuguese. Your best bet for an internship in Brazil is to work for a European company with Brazilian operations, and for them to send you. Or, if your university has partnerships, exchange agreements, etc. with any Brazilian universities, you may be able to leverage those relationships for an internship.

Texanbrazil ViP

2744POSTS

6 years ago

Good information from the expert abthree (got to get a nick name ab).
I looked on site you stated and appears dated prior 2017, so do not know if all is updated
My opinion, is need for student visa at home. Number one priority is Portuguese.
What is your degree and interest?
Step daughter graduated here in BR and interned with Renault. They liked her and sent her to France to work there. She is gifted in 4 languages. She needed her native Portuguese to speak with production and her French for supervisor and above.
If there is a company in you country which has same in Brazil you can try and apply at the BR office/plant and maybe with bilingual (Portuguese and native tongue) will help.
Do not expect wages to be high in Brazil.
Unless your are Brazilian, difficult to get a job/internship

1 member reacted to this post