Student visas

Hi there,

I arrived in Brazil two weeks ago from Canada on a tourist visa and I plan on staying past my 180 days (with an extension). 

I'm wondering if I can apply for a student visa while in the country and change my visa from a tourist to student or do I have to apply outside of the country. I'm hoping this will allow me to stay for 1 year legally.   

Any information on this process would be helpful.

Thanks,
Craig

Hi Floripabound
Of course you can.
Actually according to my personal expirience, you can apply inside Brazil for any kind of visa which were supposed to be applied outside Brazil, you just need to prepare the correct documents accordlingly plus one declaration letter saying that: you could not apply when you were outside Brazil because you could not get enough instructions about how to apply, and nobody from the Brazilian embassy answered the mails/calls of your doubts--- this is a matter of fact globally as according to my agency.
If necessary, find a agency--`DESPACHANTEŽ  to help you. Lawyers are not recommended because they normally charge high cost, I think there should be a lot of small `DESPACHANTEŽ offices, with a small charge, they can help a lot.

Hi Craig,

Hello from a fellow Canuck in Brazil.

You should check with the Federal Police (Estrangeiros) about tranforming a Tourist Visa (VITUR) into a Student Visa (VITEM-IV) temporary class 4 visa. It will be best if you take somebody with you who speaks fluent Portuguese in case you don't get an agent who speaks English.

I'm not absolutely certain if you can do it from within Brazil or not, I've heard conflicting reports that it can only be applied for in the student's country of origin. However, you can tranform other visas here so it's worth finding out directly from the Feds.

You would be wise to get at it ASAP just in case the process is a lengthy one.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team