Know about the STUDY VISA (VITEM IV) of Brazil

With over 212 million people, Brazil (officially the Federative Republic of Brazil) is the largest country in South America, fifth-largest country by area in the world and the seventh-largest by population. Brasília is the capital of the country with most populous city being São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro and is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language.

Brazil is considered one of the scenic countries in the world with diverse wildlife, extensive natural resources, and most of the areas containing the Amazon basin, including the world’s largest river system and most extensive virgin tropical forest.

International education in Brazil is growing fast and the government is on a drive to improve the quality along with well established universities promoting extensive research to the students. Undergraduate degrees is categorized into Technologist (tecnólogo)– varies between 2 and 3 years of full time studies, Bachelor’s (bacharelado)– varies between 3 and 6 years to complete and Licentiate (licenciatura)– varies between 3 and 4 years to complete. Graduate degrees are known as the second degrees and are categorized into Lato sensu postgraduate” degree i.e. varies between 1 to 2 years to complete representing a specialization in a certain area. MBA programs in Brazil are classified as lato sensu programs. “Stricto sensu postgraduate” degree, on the other hand, enables one to pursue an academic career in Master’s degree (mestrado) which takes 1 to 2 years of full time studies to complete. Doctoral degree / PhD (doutorado) takes about 3 to 4 years to complete while a Postdoctoral research (pós-doutorado) generally denotes excellency in an area of knowledge acquired through supervised research after a doctorate.

Livre-docência is the highest academic qualification in Brazil and is similar to a Habilitation, often abbreviated as Dr. habil., dr hab or D.Sc. The candidate fulfills a criteria set by the university in aspects of excellence in teaching, research, and further education, in the form of a dissertation.

VITEM IV is the type of visa that is a requirement for all foreign students traveling to Brazil to attend regular courses.

The Student VISA application requires every international student to submit an Online Visa Application Form; A Personal Cover Letter; Proof of evidence indicating duration and nature of studies; Proof of last completed education duly apostille by MEA (Ministry of Education)+ 1 copy; Proof of adequate financial means of in the form of bank statements of the past three months or ITR or pay slip. Other documents also includes the evidence of Flight reservation; One set photocopy of the applicant’s Passport; Police clearance certificate; Passport-style photo compliant with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) taken in the last 6 months. Students at the graduate and post graduate level are ought to provide a proof of enrolment at an institution recognized by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Culture.

More to follow…