1. Immigration Policy of Brazil

2. Objective Immigration history Immigration policy of Brazil is looking for “brains and human capital” Brazil is in the market for immigrants. Brazil works visas for foreign professionals. “we need millions of people”

3. History Historically immigrants helped to build Brazil. The great inflow was in the second half of the XIX century (1888 to 1929), excluding World War One, when the country received on average 100.000 immigrants per annum, mainly Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, Germans, Middle East, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians. They started working in the big coffee plantations and then when the industrial burst moved to manufacturing. In the 1920 and 1930, the Japanese arrived. However believing the Brazilian identity was at peril, immigration quotas were introduced.

4. Cont. Brazil’s so-called “big migration” came in the second half of the 19th century. Between 1888 and 1929 — excluding World War I — more than 100,000 immigrants arrived annually with Italians leading the way, followed by immigrants from Portugal, Spain, Germany, the Middle East, Poland, Russia and the Ukraine. At first they came to work Brazil’s coffee plantations but then they were needed on the factory floor as Brazil rapidly industrialized.

5. Immigrants-”brains and human capital” While the United States wrangles over immigration policy, Brazil has already made up its mind about immigrants. It wants more — as many as 6 million more. For a country that once prided itself on its immigrant past, Brazil now has one of the lowest rates of foreign-born citizens in the world. “Brazil has become very, very closed to immigration,’’ said Paes de Barros. “We used to pride ourselves as a nation made by immigrants. But that just isn’t true anymore.’’

6. Cont. Another reason more immigrants are desirable is that fertility rates have declined rapidly since the 1960s, resulting in slower population growth. Brazil is still a relatively young nation, demographically speaking, but that will start to change around 2025. At that point, people of working age will start to decline with the elderly accounting for a higher percent of the population.

7. B. In the market of immigrants Another reason more immigrants are desirable is that fertility rates have declined rapidly since the 1960s, resulting in slower population growth. Brazil is still a relatively young nation, demographically speaking, but that will start to change around 2025. At that point, people of working age will start to decline with the elderly accounting for a higher percent of the population.

8. In 2012 Brazil extended 73.022 work visas for foreigners but only 8.340 were permanent. Of that total 9.209 were for US residents followed by workers from the Philippines, Haiti, United Kingdom, India, Germany, China and Italy. Still that was well ahead of the 42,914 visas granted as recently as 2009. The number of visas granted to professionals also is up dramatically since 2009.

9. The Ministry of Labor noted that the 4,706 visas for Haitians were humanitarian-based due to disruptions caused by the 2010 earthquake and didn’t reflect a long-term trend. Last year, thousands of Haitians who crossed the border from Peru after a complicated trip from their homeland began crowding into small towns in the Brazilian Amazon.

10. Despite the increasing numbers of work visas being granted, “it’s still a very small flow of people,’’ conceded Paes de Barros. “We need millions of people.’’