Brazil (BR)
South America's largest country, combining major work hubs, world-famous culture, beaches, Amazon biodiversity, strong digital payments, and complex but navigable bureaucracy for expats.
Qualification Recognition
Getting your foreign credentials recognised in Brazil.
Brazil has a highly regulated profession landscape. Recognition depends on whether the profession is regulated (medicine, law, engineering, architecture, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, accountancy — requiring formal revalidation or professional council registration) or non-regulated (IT, management, most business roles — where employer evaluation suffices). Academic degree revalidation (revalidação for undergraduate; reconhecimento for postgraduate) is handled through the federal Plataforma Carolina Bori system (carolinabori.mec.gov.br), which coordinates 147 participating universities. Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 14 August 2016 — apostilles from signatory countries are now accepted in place of full consular legalisation. All formal submissions require sworn translation by a Brazilian public sworn translator (tradutor público juramentado). Start the process 6–18 months before you plan to practise a regulated profession.
Regulated Professions
Process: Step 1 — Determine if degree revalidation (revalidação) is required. Undergraduate degrees: revalidação is mandatory for regulated professions and must be performed by a Brazilian public federal university authorised for that course area. Postgraduate (master's/PhD): reconhecimento, performed by universities with accredited graduate programmes (SNPG). Step 2 — Apply via Plataforma Carolina Bori (carolinabori.mec.gov.br): create an account, select a participating university, submit required documents (apostilled diploma + transcripts, sworn Portuguese translations, syllabi, workload documentation, thesis if applicable, passport copy). Pay university application fee (typically BRL 200–800). Step 3 — The university conducts an academic assessment within a legal maximum of 180 days. Outcome: full revalidation, partial revalidation with complementary requirements (adaptation exams, supervised practice), or denial with reasoning. Step 4 — After revalidação: register with the relevant professional council (conselho profissional) in the state where you will practise. Submit the revalidated diploma, ID, passport, proof of residence, and council fees. Step 5 — Some councils (OAB, CFC) require passing a national qualifying exam even after degree revalidation.
Authority: Academic revalidation (undergraduate): Brazilian public federal universities via Plataforma Carolina Bori (coordinated by MEC — Ministério da Educação). Postgraduate recognition: universities within SNPG. Professional councils by sector: medicine — CFM (cfm.org.br); dentistry — CFO (cfo.org.br); nursing — COFEN (cofen.gov.br); engineering/agronomy — CONFEA/CREA (confea.org.br); architecture — CAU (caubr.gov.br); law — OAB (oab.org.br); accountancy — CFC (cfc.org.br); psychology — CFP (cfp.org.br); pharmacy — CFF (cff.org.br).
Timeline: Document gathering and apostille in home country: 1–3 months. Carolina Bori application and university processing: 3–6 months (legal maximum 180 days). Professional council registration after revalidation: 1–3 months. OAB bar exam (sits twice per year): add 3–6 months. Medicine (including CFM registration): typically 18 months–3 years total. Engineering and architecture: 6–18 months. Law: 2–4 years. Non-regulated professions: no formal process — employer decides immediately.
Cost: Apostilles in home country: varies by country (USD 10–100 per document). Sworn translation by tradutor público juramentado: BRL 100–300 per page (varies by language pair and state). University revalidation application fee: BRL 200–800 depending on institution. Professional council registration: BRL 200–600 (varies by council and state). Annual council fee: BRL 300–1,500/year. OAB bar exam registration: BRL 600–900 per sitting. Immigration lawyer for full process: BRL 3,000–15,000. Total regulated profession recognition: BRL 2,000–20,000+ depending on complexity.
Academic Degrees
Authority: Plataforma Carolina Bori (carolinabori.mec.gov.br) — the federal government's official platform coordinating revalidação (undergraduate) and reconhecimento (postgraduate) of foreign diplomas. Managed by MEC (Ministério da Educação — mec.gov.br). 147 universities participate (94 for undergraduate revalidation, 131 for postgraduate recognition). Brazil is not a formal ENIC-NARIC member.
Process: Register on carolinabori.mec.gov.br and select a participating university appropriate for your field of study. Submit: apostilled foreign diploma and transcripts, sworn Portuguese translation (tradutor público juramentado) of all documents, detailed syllabus/programme content, academic workload documentation, thesis or final project if applicable, passport copy, and payment receipt. The university performs an academic analysis (comparison of curriculum content, duration, and level) and issues a revalidation decision within 180 days. The Carolina Bori platform tracks the status of your application. Regulatory framework: Resolution CNE No. 2 of 19 December 2024 and MEC Normative Ordinance No. 1,151 of 19 June 2023.
Equivalency service: Plataforma Carolina Bori (carolinabori.mec.gov.br) is the sole official federal platform for revalidation and recognition of foreign higher education diplomas in Brazil. For non-regulated employment where a full revalidation is not required, many private employers accept the foreign degree directly with an official sworn translation — check with the employer first. For immigration/visa purposes: VITEM V (work visa) applicants may need proof of qualified degree; the employer and Federal Police handle this separately from MEC revalidation.
Document Rules
Apostille: Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 14 August 2016. Foreign public documents (diplomas, transcripts, police certificates, civil status documents) from any of the 125+ Hague member countries must be apostilled by the competent authority in the issuing country. Brazilian public documents being taken abroad are apostilled by local notaries (cartórios) authorised by the National Justice Council (CNJ — cnj.jus.br) — over 5,560 municipalities have authorised notaries.
Legalisation: For documents from countries not party to the Hague Apostille Convention: full consular legalisation is required — authentication by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, followed by legalisation by the Brazilian consulate or embassy in that country. This process typically takes 2–8 weeks and costs USD 50–300 per document. Check the HCCH status table (hcch.net) to confirm whether apostille or consular legalisation applies for your country.
Sworn translation: All foreign-language documents submitted to Brazilian institutions for official purposes must be accompanied by a sworn translation (tradução juramentada) performed by a tradutor público juramentado (public sworn translator) registered in a Brazilian state commerce board (Junta Comercial). Translations by non-registered translators or foreign certified translators are not accepted for official submissions. Find registered translators via the Junta Comercial of the relevant state. Cost: BRL 100–300 per page depending on language pair and state. Languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean may cost more and require longer turnaround.
Counselling & Help
- - Plataforma Carolina Bori (carolinabori.mec.gov.br) — official federal portal for all revalidation and recognition applications; FAQ and list of participating universities available on the site
- - MEC (Ministério da Educação — mec.gov.br) — policy and regulatory framework for diploma revalidation; contact via the federal government portal gov.br
- - CFM (cfm.org.br), CONFEA (confea.org.br), OAB (oab.org.br), COFEN (cofen.gov.br), CAU (caubr.gov.br) — respective professional councils provide pre-registration guidance and explain what revalidation is required before council registration
- - Receita Federal / immigration lawyers — for visa and work permit requirements linked to professional qualification; search OAB for registered immigration lawyers in your state
- - International offices (relações internacionais) of federal universities — many universities participating in Carolina Bori have staff who guide applicants through the document submission process
Typical Timelines
Non-regulated profession (IT, business, management, most finance roles): no formal process — employer assesses credentials directly. Document preparation (apostilles + sworn translations): 1–3 months. Undergraduate revalidação via Carolina Bori: 3–6 months (legal maximum 180 days from acceptance of complete dossier). Postgraduate reconhecimento: 3–6 months. Professional council registration after revalidação: 1–3 months. Medicine (full process — revalidação + CFM registration): 18 months–3 years. Law (revalidação + OAB bar exam): 2–4 years. Engineering (revalidação + CREA registration): 6–18 months. Start all regulated profession processes well before arriving — waiting lists at universities are common.
Do not advertise or practise any regulated profession before completing both degree revalidation and professional council registration — titles are protected under Brazilian law even if the scope of work appears similar to your home country role. Name discrepancies between documents (e.g. passport vs. degree) require a notarial declaration (declaração de identidade) before submission. Missing syllabi or workload documentation are the most common reason for process delays — contact your original university well in advance. Some councils (particularly CFM for medicine) assess foreign applicants very strictly and may require a supervised practice period or adaptation exams. The OAB bar exam is held twice per year — plan exam sittings into your overall timeline. For postgraduate (master's/PhD) recognition, check the SNPG list of accredited programmes at capes.gov.br before selecting a recognising university.
Qualification Recognition
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