BRAZIL: Clarification of Procedure for Change of Status from Temporary to Permanent Residence Permit

April 17, 2018


The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Justice have issued a joint statement clarifying that applications for conversion of temporary residence into permanent residence permits must be submitted to the Ministry of Labour for processing, rather than the Ministry of Justice.

This applies equally to holders of the temporary work visa (VITEM V) valid before the new immigration law took effect in November 2017 and holders of the new category of temporary residence permits.

  • For pending conversion applications that have already been submitted to the Ministry of Justice, a new permanent residence conversion application will have to be resubmitted to the Ministry of Labour, with the tracking number of the previous application to the Ministry of Justice.
  • The regular immigration status of the applicant will be maintained during processing of the new application at the Ministry of Labour, as long as the previous application to the Ministry of Justice was submitted before that status expired.
  • Any fee already paid to the Ministry of Justice for a pending conversion application will be accepted as payment for the new application to the Ministry of Labour, as long as evidence of the payment is attached to the new application.

All other supporting documents must be resubmitted, including proof of educational level and professional experience, as well as a birth certificate legalized in the country of issuance.

Note that the Ministry of Labour recently issued a Technical Note stating that current temporary residence holders applying for residence in Brazil are not required to present a legalised and translated police clearance certificate from their country of residence covering the last five years. Instead, these applicants must provide a certificate of criminal record issued by the Brazilian police.

Our Advice

Employers of foreign nationals with pending change of status applications submitted to the Ministry of Justice should ensure these applicants resubmit their applications at the Ministry of Labour.

For advice and information on immigration to Brazil in general, please email us at [email protected]