Over 25 thousand foreigners were allowed to work in Brazil in 2017

The Brazilian Labor Ministry granted over 25 thousand work permits to foreigners in 2017: 24,294 permanent, plus 1,006 temporary, as per a report put together by the Observatory for International Migration at the University of Brasília.

The figure is lower than the one observed in 2016, when 30 thousand permits were issued. The decline comes as a result of new immigration rules, in effect as of November last year. “That was a year of changes in immigration law. In the adaptation period, an influence can be seen on the process of granting [permits,]” said Labor Minister Helton Yomura.

Most immigrants are reported to hold a university degree. Men make up the majority of people looking to work in the country—22 thousand, against 3 thousand women. By age, more than 8 thousand permits were given to foreigners 20–34 years old, and another 10 thousand to 35–49-year-olds.

The US is among the countries with the highest number of workers coming to Brazil. More than 5 thousand permits were granted to US nationals. Next come Filipinos, with 2 thousand, then Brits, the Chinese, Indians, and the French, with over a thousand each. In South America, permits were granted to nationals from Venezuela, (239), Colombia (223), and Argentina (188).

The states with the highest amount of international workers were Rio de Janeiro, with over 11 thousand, and São Paulo, with 10 thousand.

*Trainee under the supervision of Lídia Neves

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira