Brazil Researcher Visa Specialists: Support for Research Assignments

Coordinate your research plans in Brazil with the host institution and the immigration process. Oliveira Lawyers assists scientists, researchers, visiting academics, and host institutions with reviewing the proposed activities, funding, and institutional arrangements and preparing the agreed visa or residence applications. Our bilingual full-service firm is led by Luciano Oliveira, an attorney licensed in Brazil, Texas, and California.

Our selective approach. We focus on full representation for clients who value their time, want candid advice, and prefer an established international law firm to manage the legal work. Learn more about our firm and approach.

Why Researchers and Host Institutions Trust Oliveira Lawyers

• Judgment and experience that matter. We review the invitation, research plan, funding, and employment status. Scholarships, visiting appointments, and differences between project dates and travel plans receive individual attention.
• An attorney responsible for your case, with progress you can follow. Our attorneys and team coordinate researcher and host records, applications, and authority responses. Your online board shows documents and the next steps.
• Staffed offices in Brazil, with support abroad. Our Brazilian offices provide local support, while our U.S. offices coordinate documents such as background checks, certificates, and apostilles.
• Support at your Federal Police appointment. Where residence registration is required, we prepare the records and coordinate the Federal Police appointment. Professional accompaniment is available in all major Brazilian cities.
• A relationship that makes the next step easier. Research extensions, a new appointment, or family residency plans may require further legal support. Rely on a team familiar with your academic stay, with related services agreed separately.

Experience you can verify when hiring us. Oliveira Lawyers has received hundreds of Google reviews. Explore client experiences across our firm’s services for feedback on our communication, preparation, and support.

Start with an online consultation to discuss the host institution, research or teaching activities, funding, employment arrangements, and project dates.

Content reviewed October 13, 2026.

Research, teaching and academic extension: VITEM I

The relevant temporary visa is VITEM I. It should not be confused with VITEM II, which concerns health treatment. The appropriate research route depends on the project, length of stay, funding and whether there is an employment relationship with a Brazilian institution.

Identify the arrangement with the host

Official consular guidance distinguishes research and academic activity without Brazilian employment under RN 27/2018 from activity with Brazilian employment under RN 24/2018. Other specialized scientific-cooperation arrangements require their own assessment; one resolution is not a universal checklist for every researcher.

A short, eligible academic visit may fit visitor status, subject to nationality and activity restrictions. A paid Brazilian appointment should not be treated as an ordinary short visit merely because it lasts fewer than 90 days.

Prepare the project evidence

• The Brazilian institution’s invitation and responsible contact.
• The project, teaching or extension activities and planned dates.
• Employment terms, scholarship or other funding arrangements.
• Academic qualifications and professional experience.
• Required personal records and foreign-document formalities.
• Research-specific approvals where the project requires them.

An immigration permission does not replace professional registration, ethics approval, fieldwork authorization or permits for protected areas, samples or genetic resources. A CNPq authorization should be assessed for the particular project rather than listed as mandatory for every academic visitor.

Apply through the correct channel

For applicants abroad, the consular procedure depends on the selected category; employment-based research generally requires prior authorization. For applicants already in Brazil, a qualifying residence request may be filed through CGIL/MJSP and MigranteWeb. It is incorrect to say that every researcher must leave Brazil to change status.

Approval of an in-country residence request does not mean the applicant must then travel abroad to collect a visa. Follow the applicable registration instructions instead. Entry visas, residence duration and the CRNM are separate matters.

Maintain the authorized activity

Review a new employer, project, funding arrangement or extension before making the change. Do not assume that a research permission allows unrestricted unrelated employment. Our team can coordinate the host institution’s records, immigration filing and Federal Police registration within the agreed scope.