Brazil's National Immigration Council has enacted Normative Resolution #73 and Normative Resolution #74, both effective February 13, 2007. Normative Resolution #73 establishes a detailed training program requirement for long-term technical visa applications. Normative Resolution #74 establishes new requirements for labor contract (work) visa applications and visa extension and conversion applications. The principal new provisions of both resolutions are outlined below.

Please note that the technical and work visa processes in Brazil involve two steps: an application for work authorization submitted to the Ministry of Labor, and a subsequent entry visa application at a Brazilian consulate. The new requirements apply to the work authorization stage of the visa process. All technical and work visas fall under the Temporary V (5) Visa category.

Provisions of Normative Resolution # 73

Detailed Training Program Description Required for Long-Term Technical Visas. Previously, companies sponsoring foreign nationals for long-term (up to one year) technical visas were required to include in the application confirmation that the assignee would conduct a training program for local workers. Now, sponsoring companies must include a complete training program description in the application. The program description must detail the number of local workers that will be trained; the professional qualifications of the assignee; the scope of the training; how and where the training will be executed; the duration of the training; and the anticipated results. To obtain a visa extension or new visa for the same employee, the company must provide evidence that the training program achieved the anticipated results.

Provisions of Normative Resolution #74

1. Modified Salary Requirements for a Work Visa.

• Foreign nationals hired locally by a Brazilian company (as opposed to intra-company transferees) must be offered a salary that equals or exceeds that of the company's highest paid employee with the same duties or function in Brazil.
• Both temporary and permanent intra-company transferees must also be offered a salary that equals or exceeds that of the company's highest paid employee with the same duties or function in Brazil; and the sum of the salary to be paid in Brazil and the salary to be paid abroad (if any) must equal or exceed the foreign national's last remuneration outside of Brazil.

2. Mandatory Wait Period Before Applying for a Second Work Visa. A company that has previously sponsored a particular foreign national for a Brazilian work visa may now sponsor the same foreign national for a second work visa only after at least 90 days have elapsed from the expiration or cancellation date of the initial work visa. A wait period does not apply to visa extension applications.

3. New Procedure for Companies Filing a High Volume of Visa Applications. The National Immigration Council has authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish a procedure that reduces the documentation requirements for companies that file a high volume of work visa applications annually. The National Immigration Council did not define a framework or guidelines for such a procedure, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be solely responsible for developing it.

4. New Requirements for Visa Extension and Conversion Applications. The Resolution defines documentation requirements for all visa extension and visa conversion applications, which were not previously defined in regulation. The Resolution also requires a sponsoring Brazilian employer to prove that it was unable to locate a qualified and available Brazilian worker in order to extend a work visa. However, the Resolution does not clarify what evidence the employer must present to do so.

Documents now required for an application to extend a labor contract visa include:

• Corporate documents (e.g., articles of incorporation, by-laws);
• Original employment agreement submitted with the initial work authorization request;
• Certified copy of the employee´s work booklet;
• Extended employment agreement including the standard clauses established by the National Immigration Council; and
• Detailed description of the employee's activities during the first two years of the assignment.

In preparing this article, Fragomen has worked closely with EMDOC MRS Specialized Services (São Paulo). The content herein is provided 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 Immigration Services.

Source: http://pubweb.fdbl.com/news1.nsf/c8abb103352ef95a86256e3100809438/1c11475627051a8d8525728f006706a9?OpenDocument