Student Visa

A student visa gives you permission to be a student in Brazil and is required of all U.S. citizens and many others.   You will apply for this visa in the U.S. or your home country before leaving for your semester abroad.  The visa procedure requires that you already have a valid passport that expires no less than six months before the end of your study abroad program.  Students are responsible for obtaining their own visa.

Each consulate determines its own procedures for obtaining the visa; please consult your consulate for instructions as soon as possible and before making your travel plans.  Most consulates require students to apply in person for their visa; others will process them by mail.

One of the requirements for obtaining a visa is an acceptance letter from the host institution abroad.  Middlebury will request these acceptance letters from the host institutions and will send them directly to you.  It is impossible to know exactly when these letters will arrive, but in some cases, they arrive very near the start date of the program, making it impossible to travel much in advance of the suggested date of arrival.

The visa will be a stamp in your passport, but the consulate will also provide paperwork you must take abroad with you in order to register at the Federal Police.  Take all original visa-related paperwork with you to Brazil.

If you are traveling under another country’s passport, please contact International Programs to inquire about any specific requirements or prohibitions for your particular nationality. Students of all nationalities should bring a photocopy of your passport with you and keep it separately so as to facilitate replacement should it be lost or stolen at any time during your stay abroad.  Be certain to travel with all documents in your carry-on luggage.

Requirements

Requirements for student visas vary according to the length of stay in Brazil.  If your consulate does not list “student visa” as an option, you should apply for the VITEM-IV visa (though it will likely say it’s for “graduate studies,” which is simply a faulty translation).

What follows are the Boston consulate’s requirements at the time of publishing; please verify the specific requirements with your own consular office.  The Boston consulate prefers that students apply by mail, as they only accept 20 in-person applications per day.

  • Valid (not expiring within six months after your intended return to the U.S.) passport or permit to reenter the U.S.
  • Two completed copies of a visa application from your consulate’s website (keep a copy for yourself for use in Brazil)
  • Two recent passport-sized  photos https://www.epassportphoto.com/
  • Evidence of enrollment in a school, college or other academic institution in Brazil (Middlebury will procure this letter on your behalf and send it to you)
  • Proof of means of subsistence in Brazil: consulates require a bank statement (a parent’s is fine) complete with name and address, showing at least $10,000 in the account.
  • “Good Conduct Certificate” (the original form must be legalized by the Consulate at U.S. $20.00 per document) issued by a police department with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence. The student’s residence must be within the jurisdiction of the Consulate General (if you’re applying through the consulate with jurisdiction over your permanent residence, the “Good Conduct Certificate” must come from the state police department of your permanent residence; if you’re applying through the consulate with jurisdiction over your school address, it must come from the state police where your university is located). If your consulate requires the FBI good conduct report, begin the process early, as it can take 10-14 weeks just to process this document.
  • Consular fee—currently $160 + $20 to apply by mail for a total of $180 in Boston for US citizens.  Consult the consulate’s fee scale prior to getting your money order.
  • Non-U.S. citizens are additionally requested to present one of the following:
    • a U.S. resident alien card or
    • a valid re-entry visa to the U.S.

Other consulates will have different requirements, which may include proof of health insurance, yellow fever vaccine, etc.

If you need to list an address, use the international office address at your university:

Universidade Federal Fluminense
c/o Dra. Livia Reis – Diretora da Superintendência de Relações Internacionais/UFF
Rua Miguel de Fria, 9/70
Icaraí, Niteroi, RJ
CEP 24220-000 BRASIL

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
SINTER – Secretaria de Assuntos Internacionais/UFSC Prédio 2 da Reitoria – 1º. Andar
Av. Desembargador Vitor Lima, 222
Trindade, Florianópolis, SC
Caixa Postal 476
CEP88040-400 BRASIL

Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
c/o  Sra. Adriana Libanio – Assessoria de Relações Internacionais / Coordinator of Exchange Programs
PUC Minas – Campus Coração Eucarístico
Avenida Dom José Gaspar, 500, Prédio 4, Sala 102
Coração Eucarístico, Belo Horizonte, MG
CEP 30535-901 BRASIL

A student visa will allow for a stay of one year and can be extended for another year in Brazil. See the Boston Consulate’s website for fees and general information.

Brazilian Consulates in the U.S. by Jurisdiction

The following is current to the best of our knowledge at the time of publishing.

Brazilian Consulate in Boston
175 Purchase Street

Boston, Massachusetts  02110
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617.542.4000
Fax: 617.542.4318
E-mail: cgbos@consulatebrazil.org

Jurisdiction: States of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

 Brazilian Consulate in Chicago
401 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1850
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312.464.0244/464.0245
Fax: 312.464.0299
E-mail: central@brazilconsulatechicago.org

Jurisdiction: States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Brazilian Consulate in Hartford
One Constitution Plaza – Ground Floor
Hartford, CT 06103
Phone: 860.760.3100
Fax: 312.464.0299
E-mail: cghartford@itamaraty.gov.br
Jurisdiction: Connecticut and Rhode Island

Brazilian Consulate in Houston
Park Tower North
1233 West Loop South, Suite 1150
Houston, TX 77027
Phones: 713.961.3063/961.3064/961.3065
Fax: 713.961.3070
E-mail: consbras@brazilhouston.org

Jurisdiction: States of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Brazilian Consulate in Los Angeles
8484 Wilshire Blvd., Suites 711-730
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Phone: 323.651.2664
Fax: 323.651.1274
E-mail: visas@brazilian-consulate.org

Jurisdiction: States of Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and in the State of California, the counties of Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

Brazilian Consulate in Miami
80 SW 8th St., Suite 2600
Miami, FL 33130-3004
Phone: 305.285.6200
Fax: 305.285.6240
Fax on demand for information and forms: 305.285.6259
E-mail: consbras@brazilmiami.org

Jurisdiction: States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Brazilian Consulate in New York
1185 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), 21st Floor
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 917.777.7777
Fax: 212.827.0225
E-mail: consulado@brazilny.org

Jurisdiction: States of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the Bermuda Islands.

Brazilian Consulate in San Francisco
300 Montgomery Street, Suite 900
San Francisco, CA, 94104
Phone: 415.981.8170
Fax: 415.981.3628
E-mail:consular@brazilsf.org

Jurisdiction: States of Oregon, Washington, Alaska and in the State of California, the counties of Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Ladera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benedito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislau, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolunme, Yolo, and Yuma.

Brazilian Embassy in Washington, DC
1030 15th Street NW, Suite 280W,

Washington D.C. 20005

Phone: 202.461.3001
Fax: 202.461.3001
E-mail: consular@brasilemb.org

Jurisdiction: District of Columbia, States of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.