Moving to Brazil 2015! But I have some questions....

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Hello firlus,

I will try to answer your questions as briefly as possible and in order:

1.  None of the private (commercial) language schools will assist you in any way with obtaining a VITEM-V Work Visa. They prefer to hire individuals that already have either their Work Visa or VIPER Permanent Visas. Many won't even ask about your visa because they don't want to know, pretend they aren't hiring undocumented staff.

2.  The only way to obtain a VIPER Permanent Visa without getting married / stable union / Brazilian child would be for investment and that requires a minimum investment of R$150 thousand (around US $74 thousand) and a business plan. If you do obtain a two year Work Visa renew it once, after 3 years here on a VITEM-V you can apply to have it transformed into a VIPER, however.

3.  Meeting people here won't be any problem at all, especially if you're the least bit outgoing yourself. Brazilians on the whole love us "gringos" and want to get to know us, be around us and be seen with us. They're warm, receptive and very friendly. If you do obtain work teaching then you'll get a built-in social circle between co-workers and students to start you off, then you just build on that circle by adding new friends. Actually, the only problem you will have is trying to determine who really is a friend and who is just a "hanger-on" because you're spending money at the bar, etc. You really have to watch out for that.

Good to hear that you're already learning Portuguese. Really put a lot of effort into that, it will pay off in real concrete benefits once here. The better you speak the language the easier you will find every aspect of your day-to-day life and also in making friends. Also the less you speak English in public the better, you aren't seen as a "mark" and if you learn the art of haggling over prices (which is a big part of the Brazilian culture) you will also find you spend less because you aren't being charged the "gringo" prices for a lot of things, but rather prices closer to what the locals are charged.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Wjwooward, thank you! That really clarifies things a lot

I think R$150,000 is about £40,000 here in the UK (sadly I've not won anything on my scratch-cards lately)

So I'm following what you've told me right. IF I can successfully get a two year work visa and then renew it once, which would be another 2 years? and then... I can apply for the VIPER which is effectively the permanent visa?

It sounds simple on paper but I'm sure the bureaucracy will kill me off before any tropical flu or Brazilian does.

I just came across this website about the temporary work permit/visa 

justlanded.com/english/Brazil/Brazil-Guide/Visas-Permits/Work-visas

It says that it's 4 years before you can apply for a VIPER, unless this has now changed to 3 in which case I'm not arguing.

It also mentions that the employer needs to play a part in me getting a temp work visa.
Is that also the case if I go for the option of applying for my work visa I'm here rather than there?

That's correct, the employer plays a big part in one's ability to obtain a VITEM-V Work Visa.

Brazilian law requires that all employers clearly demonstrate that they have exhausted all efforts to place a qualified Brazilian in any job vacancies before they can hire foreign nationals to fill them. It is precisely for this reason that finding a job in Brazil is such a daunting task for expats.

You need an employer's written confirmation that you have been offered a work contract in order to qualify for the visa, which is traditionally granted for a 2 year period (max.).

Unfortunately here in Brazil any of the public sector jobs are reserved for Brazilian citizens and thus teaching in the public school system is out of the question for expats. Unfortunately teaching at language schools, which are private commercial enterprises, rarely if ever qualifies for the VITEM-V and the schools for the most part won't participate in the visa process with the potential teachers. (Rock and a hard place)

However, if you do manage to find a qualifying job in some other line of work and obtain your visa through that employer you stand a relatively good chance of renewing it two years down the road. The legislation requires a minimum of 3 years holding a VITEM-V before one can apply to have it transformed into a VIPER Permanent Visa, so most people wait for the end of the third year when the VITEM is due to expire to actually apply for transformation. I guess that's where you got the 4 year bit from the other source.

My suggestion to you, if you can afford to do so, is to come to Brazil on an extended vacation (at least a month and more if possible) and conduct a thorough job search here where you'd actually be available for personal interviews. I'm sure that would produce much better results than trying to find work from abroad. Another option would be to contact multinational companies in your line of work that have operations both in the UK and Brazil, ask if they can help you with placement in their Brazilian operation or at least refer you to the right people in their Brazilian HR Dept.

You cannot work in Brazil on a tourist visa, but you certainly can look for it, that's no problem. If you were to find a job while here, you actually can apply for the VITEM-V while still in the country through the Ministry of Labor (Ministerio de Trabalho e Empregos - MTE), but if successful you would actually have to return to the UK in order to receive the visa through the Consulado-Geral do Brasil there. Just part of that killer bureaucracy you mentioned.

Cheers,
wjw

OK. I see... so, it's 2 years for the vitem-V and then you extend for another 2 years but apply for the VIPER Visa just after 3 years is up to ensure you get the permanency in time.

I was actually planning on teaching English there. But if there's practically no hope of me attaining a work visa so I can teach there, how does anybody else teach English in Brazil? - because I know it happens... are they just getting lucky?


- Update: I've just read that even though it's not the legal way of doing things, most teachers that aim to teach English in Brazil are more than likely to be doing it on tourist Visas.
It seams that the bureaucracy complexity and cost seems to put off the schools from going down that road. Although I wonder if I were happy to pick up the tab for the entire Visa process, they would be more willing?

It's crap that because their system is so crap it means that most teachers there are working Illegally. I'm sure the Government are quite aware of this too.

Yes, it's quite true that many risk teaching while here on a VITUR Tourist Visa, despite the fact that this is expressly prohibited. They risk being caught and told to leave Brazil voluntarily (usually within 8 - 10 days) and if they don't then deportation proceedings are initiated. Not something I would recommend anyone coming here do.

Does the government know about it? Of course they do, but they aren't turning a blind eye to it either. They check and people do get caught. They also have severe penalties for schools who hire undocumented teachers.

Schools try and side-step the legislation and hire teachers for near-slave wages and without other benefits imposed by labor laws by taking them on under a "Contrato Particular de Prestação de Serviços" (Service Provider Contract) so they can say that the teachers ARE NOT employees, but rather private contractors and the school has no knowledge of their status in the country or the fact that they are working illegally. Pure rubbish, they are doing this intentionally to attract undocumented employees and the tactic is not working, they still get slapped with heavy fines.

As I said, you're best off to find some job in another area of work that will qualify for a VITEM-V Work Visa even if it is not what you want or if it is not full-time. The VITEM-V will allow you to do other kinds of work too, provided you remain in the employ of the company for which you were granted the visa for in the first place. So you work less for the company and then either work for a school on top of that, or like many do recruit private students over time which traditionally will render a much higher income once you've got enough students.

Wow ok, this is very enlightening...  even though being a tad discouraging, I don't really have any other serious qualifications which I think would allow me to easily find work. However I am a trained clinical therapist, but I'm not sure how I could effectively do my role without being fluent in Portuguese, which would take me at least 2 years of me living there and that's if I went all out.

I totally respect what you said about the difficulty of obtaining a work visa as an English teach but I feel compelled to try. I do have a couple of friends in Brazil, one of which is a teacher in Rio ( didn't really want to live in Rio)

but say if I hit the end and there is no other way...

do you know of many people who have gone down the part time route? If so what kind of Jobs were they doing?
I understand that any employer as you said has to exhaust all possibilities of employing a Brazilian before they consider someone like myself.

Again thank you so much for spending your time explaining this to me. I know you are being very real about Brazil's attitude and the means I need to consider to achieve what I want. But I am so eager... even as I write this I feel ever more passionate about living there.

If you have any other ideas of ways to get into a job and acquire the VITEM-V. I'd gladly know how!

I would never right off the idea of meeting someone there and having a child but I'd never want that to be my ticket into a country where I'm sure there are children who have no family.

I taught private students in Brazil. There are a lot of English schools in Sao Paulo, but I had better luck teaching as a private tutor. There's a good blog called "Danielle in Brazil" her blog will explain the ups and down of teaching English in Brazil. It's a very helpful blog.  She discusses her experiences with different schools as well as what pitfalls to afford. Here's the link.............http://daniellebrazil.blogspot.com/
Have a great day. 

I would prefer to teach tutor privately. I've generally felt that has more ups than downs. Do you teach from home or do you rent a room to teach?
What are the best ways to get your own students?

I think I've read some of her blog before and just had another brush through some posts. It's definitely insightful.

I taught from home. The one thing I highly recommend is to have a written contract. If you don't a lot of students will be no shows. The written contract should have in it how much notice you need if a students misses a class, and that they are allowed ( for example) one or two missed classes,past that they are expected to pay whether they show up for class or not.
All English Private English schools have contracts with students. You should have also, otherwise you'll find many students have a tendency to find other things to do. You want to make sure you have a commitment, otherwise you'll have "no shows". Written contacts for services are common in Brazil so your not doing anything out of the ordinary.
The best way to get students is with flyer in public places I also visited the local schools both public and private catholic and let them know your teaching English. Many private schools hire part-time teachers to teach English at night.
Have a great evening..... 

Sorry for the typos. I was writing fast.

Justin,

I've been an English teacher for 26 years, 13 of them here in Brazil. When you get here and settled in I have a contract that I can provide you with, it covers everything you'll need regarding fees, cancellation policy, rescheduled classes, no-shows, etc. You can modify it to your exact needs.

Also I can give you all kinds of guidance regarding recruiting students, running "in-company" or residential classes. I really wouldn't think too seriously about giving classes in your own home in most places in Brazil for security reasons. Besides most students seem to prefer there classes either in their own home or their workplace. You make more for these type of classes.

Cheers,
James

BTW, this contract is in impecablly perfect Portuguese. I know, because I wrote it myself.....

Good Post.
Many people don't realize they need a contract when teaching English in Brazil.
I taught in my home because many of my students were medical professionals or worked for companies that required their employees to learn English as a second language. Your right about security, you want to make sure who your students are.  Cheers.

Also when teaching private students, always have them pay for a month of classes in advance. They don't object to that because it is customary for private teachers to run pre-paid classes. It also helps ensure they don't skip classes without advance notice. I bill a class as if it were given if they don't notify me of their need to cancel at least 4 hours in advance. Also I make it clear that I will only wait for one half of the scheduled class time for late starts, after that they're considered no-shows and they are billed for the class.

More along the same lines....definitely look into teaching English via Skype online, I've done it for a few years, you'll make enough to keep yourself fed and have some bar money. Definitely worth a look-see.