Canadian immigration from Brazil
Brazil is a growing source country for Canadian PR, particularly in engineering, IT, and skilled trades. Brazilian applicants benefit from strong English profiles in tech and a growing number of bilateral education partnerships, but Portuguese-language documents require certified translation and degree assessment can be slower than from English-speaking countries. The strongest Brazilian PR cohorts come from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte.
New to Canadian immigration? Start with our plain-English guide.
Programs that fit Brazilian applicants
The pathways with the strongest fit for Brazilian applicants, in order of typical use. Each links to a detailed page covering criteria, documents, and processing times.
Federal Skilled Worker Program
Default for Brazilian professionals. A bachelor's + CLB 8 IELTS + skilled work commonly produces a 450-480 CRS. Aim for CLB 9 to clear comfortably.
Canadian Experience Class
Open after 1+ year of Canadian work — Brazilians on study permits frequently use CEC after completing a Canadian credential.
Alberta Express Entry Stream
Alberta's Accelerated Tech Pathway and Opportunity Stream cover the most common Brazilian PR-applicant occupations (tech, engineering, trades). Calgary and Edmonton recruit Brazilian tech workers consistently.
What Brazilian applicants specifically need
Beyond the standard Canadian immigration documents, these are the country-specific steps that matter coming from Brazil.
ECA via WES
Brazilian institutions send transcripts directly to WES — typical processing is 8-12 weeks. Universities like USP, UNICAMP, UFRJ, and UFMG have established WES workflows.
Document translation and apostille
All Portuguese-language documents need certified translation. Brazil is a Hague Apostille signatory, so apostilling birth certificates, marriage certificates, and police clearances is straightforward — done at any Brazilian notary public (cartório).
Portuguese is not tested
Federal Express Entry tests only English and French. Portuguese fluency doesn't add CRS points. Brazilian applicants focused on English-only CRS scoring routinely clear CLB 9 with structured prep.
Brazilian PCC
Issued by Polícia Federal — request in person or through a consulate abroad. Valid for 90 days from issue, so timing matters for the final submission.
Immigration from Brazil — questions
Can Brazilians immigrate to Canada without strong English?+
Not realistically through Express Entry. CLB 7 minimum for FSW; CLB 9+ is needed for a competitive CRS. Invest 6-12 months in IELTS prep before submitting a profile — language is the largest controllable CRS factor.
Are Brazilian engineering degrees recognised in Canada?+
Yes, after ECA. Brazilian engineering degrees assess at Canadian bachelor's equivalent (and master's where applicable). For practising engineering (P.Eng.), Engineers Canada FC2I or provincial engineering association assessment is the separate professional licensure step.
Other source countries
Coming from somewhere else? We have country-specific pages for these source countries too.
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