São Paulo – Famous throughout the world as a travel destination, Brazil also has been attracting foreigners that are seeking to study in the country. With agencies specializing in helping students find courses, volunteering programs and even internships here, Brazil is entering the world circuit of student tourism.
“There are a lot of different programs”, points out Rafaela Rolim, coordinator of Study in Brazil, a program from the Brazilian Educational & Language Travel Association (Belta), which gathers the main Brazilian institutions that operate with courses, internships and exchange programs abroad. Study in Brazil comprises ten organizations that offer inbound tourism services for students in Brazil, meaning that they help foreigners who want to study here.
Exchange programs in Brazil are offered in several ways. There are, for instance, extensive and intensive courses for the study of Portuguese. “These schools also offer cultural and sports activities, such as diving and capoeira classes”, says Rolim.
Service Learning programs, in which the student does volunteering work in his field of study, are also available, while the Faculty Lab Program offers the opportunity, to a group of students from the same university, to take a theme trip to Brazil, under a theme such as leadership, for instance, visiting companies, getting to know success stories and also the country’s natural beauties. There are also programs to native speakers that want to teach their language here.
Foreign graduate or post-graduate students can apply for internship programs in Brazil that last from two to four months. Contrary to what one might think, speaking Portuguese is not a requirement for taking an internship in Brazil. “English is a precondition. Usually, these companies [that accepts foreigners] are in contact with the global market”, says Rolim, pointing out each company has its own requirements to accept someone from an exchange program.
For students interested in attending high school in Brazil, Portuguese is not a barrier either. “Usually, the students go through an intensive Portuguese course before classes”, explains Rolim. Meanwhile, for volunteers, learning Portuguese is optional. “The social projects are used to working with foreigners”, he says.
The time period of the programs are also varied. Internships can last from two to four months; the volunteer programs, from two to 12 weeks; the Faculty Lab trip usually lasts a week or two; while the foreigners that come to teach English stay from four to 12 weeks. The longest programs are those for high school, which can last a semester or a year.
In general, students that come to study are also interested in doing some tourism in the country. “Brazil is perceived as a tropical country. Foreigners tend to travel a lot to see other cities in Brazil”, says Rolim.
According to the executive, there aren’t many inbound tour operators in the country. “It’s a growing field in Brazil”, she says. According to her, Belta works to assure the “quality and credibility” of the companies and schools offering the programs.
In the Portuguese for foreigners programs, the cities that welcomed the most students are Salvador, Bahia, and Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. For the trips offered by Faculty Lab Program, São Paulo is the city with the most foreigners. In the internship programs, São Paulo and Curitiba, Paraná, are at the top positions, and for high school studies, the preferred destination is São Luiz, Maranhão.
The countries most students and volunteers come from include the United States, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Colombia and Bolivia. The Ministry of Tourism hasn’t yet released the number of students that came to the country in 2015, but in 2014 Brazil received 115,000 foreign students.
Before packing the bags, however, the person needs to find what type of visa they require to enter the country. For short-term programs, foreigners can come to Brazil with a tourist visa. For the internship programs, a specific visa is required, along with a signed contract with the company in Brazil. Portuguese-learning programs can be taken with a tourist or student visa, depending on the duration of the course, while high school programs require a student visa, which will be valid throughout the period of the course.
The financial factor, usually a cause for concern for students seeking to leave their countries, must also be considered. But the devaluation of the real, Brazil’s currency, has contributed to attract foreign students. “Brazil was always considered as an expensive destination. Ecuador and Peru, for instance, were cheaper”, says Rolim. “It’s an opportune time for foreigners to choose Brazil”, she says.
Further information about studies in Brazil is available at http://studyinbrazil.com.br/. The list of associated agencies can be found at the tab Affiliated – Find an Institution.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
