Student visa while in Brazil: School hours, bkgrd check, etc

Alexik,

What's your current visa situation?   Are you here on a tourist visa (including the "visa-free" version), have you extended it, and how much time do you have left on it?  The answers will affect your options.

Thanks abthree!

So I have extended my tourist visa, so I've just started my second 90 days which will expire April 30th, 2021. I think I have time to do the criminal background... but my worry is that in the end I'm going to be denied for not taking a 15 hour/week course.

My confusion is on many embassy sites for the VITEM IV:
"A) Students pursuing technical short-term studies (such as Portuguese and Brazilian Culture classes. Must take at least 15 hours of classes per week);"

Which I'm going to assume is the law... but then again... do the PF here verify the course? For example Mackenzie has 3 hours/week... https://www.mackenzie.br/mackenzie-lang … rangeiros/ ... which is way doable for me.

I'm just spoiled by place like Thailand where you pretty much buy your student visa (yeah... lazy corrupt me I actually want to learn but not burn myself out!

Well, it may take a lot of work:
You need to get a new enrollment letter from your school. To get this you'll have to satisfy whatever requirements your school has and pay any appropriate fees.
In return, they should give you two documents, the declaration of enrollment and a testament that the school is real.
Now the school will need to be approved under the PF/Education agencies. Online, courses may not satisfy requirements.
Once your acceptance letter, go to the PF website and make an appointment. Bring all documents under the PF application process.
FBI channellers may help you if you need such for a student visa.
The birth certificate needs to be long-form and certified, then translated. I believe you need to go through the BR Consulate for the process within Brazil
Now I am thinking back to pre- 2017 and maybe updated since 2017.

Alexik,

Yep, you have some time.  That's good!  Getting the FBI Criminal Background Check is a very good idea, if possible.  the Polícia Federal have the option of accepting a declaration, but it's at their complete discretion, so ends up depending on the officer who happens to handle your application.

At this point, trying to follow the VITEM IV requirements will only confuse you.  Since you're already in Brazil, the Polícia Federal rules for Authorization of Residency are the ones that apply:

https://www.gov.br/pf/pt-br/assuntos/im … -de-estudo

Unfortunately, the 15-hour minimum is baked into the law.  See Article 8, paragraph one, in the regulation below:

https://portaldeimigracao.mj.gov.br/ima … 202018.pdf

Mackenzie is respected enough that the Polícia Federal are likely to accept any course that they say qualifies, so your easiest lift would probably be to review your course options with them, and select the least onerous one that they're willing to endorse.

Make sure that the rest of your documentation is up to snuff:  get Sworn Translations (Traduções Juramentadas) of any documents in English that you'll be presenting, except your passport; get a CPF, if you don't have one yet; get your Brazilian federal and state police reports, which are available online.

Some members report success in hiring a representative, usually an attorney, to help them navigate the system.  That can be expensive, but exists as a last resort.

thanks abthree and Texanbrasil! ... this is very helpful and gives me the lay of the land...

abthree: thanks for pointing me to the actual law... that's what I was having a problem with ... now I know what I have to look for