The General Immigration Coordination (CGIg) of the Ministry of Labour granted 28,658 work permits to foreigners living in Brazil in 2016. Most were granted to men, who received 25,393 permits, compared to only 3,265 for women.
In 2016, most work permit recipients were granted to US nationals: 3,952. Other major countries in terms of recipients included the Philippines (2,841), United Kingdom (1,844), India (1,675), Italy (1,664), Spain (1,389), Germany (1,228) and France (1,204). Of the 28,658 permits given in 2016, about half (15, 993) were for workers with a college degree.
Most immigrants who received authorization to permanently settle in Brazil are from Ghana (397), Senegal (226) and Bangladesh (123). Almost all are men – 1,050, compared to 106 women.
The work permit is a prerequisite for foreign nationals to apply for a work visa in Brazil. Unlike what happens in cases of humanitarian visas, the applicants for which are mostly from poor countries and have low level of education, work permits are usually requested by people from developed countries with some degree of academic training.