Electronic Filing System Launched for Work Visa Applications

The Brazilian government today launched an electronic filing system to streamline work visa applications. The electronic filing procedure was announced in May 2013 through the issuance of a government resolution but had yet to be implemented until now.

Processing times are not expected to decrease until Ministry of Labor staff completes training on the new system, though Brazil’s National Immigration Council president indicated that processing times could eventually be reduced from the current 30 days to ten days in certain cases.

All work visa applications and supporting documents can now be uploaded to the Ministry of Labor website — a change from the former procedure of in-person filings at the Ministry's office. Pursuant to changes established in May, original, legalized documents from abroad do not need to be presented simultaneously with the electronic Ministry of Labor application; instead, they can be presented within 60 calendar days of the work visa approval. If the documents are presented after this time frame, the approval will automatically be revoked.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global or send an email to [email protected].