Immigration
How to start life over in another country?
Documents in order, the language, a support network and a job that pays the bills. In Brazil, the Migration Law guarantees rights to newcomers.
bairogonzalez.com team, drawing on Bairo's story · Published
Moving to another country is starting everything over at once: language, documents, work, friends, even the way you order a coffee. There are days of excitement and days of homesickness that squeeze your chest. Both are normal, and both become part of who you are.
What to do now
- Get your documents in order before anything else. In Brazil, the Migration Law (Law 13,445/2017) guarantees migrants rights such as access to health care, education, the courts and work. Regularization is done with the Federal Police, which issues the residence authorization and the National Migration Registry Card (CRNM). If you are from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru or Uruguay, the Mercosur Residence Agreement opens a simpler path: two-year temporary residence, requested from the Federal Police. Keep copies of everything, on paper and on your phone.
- Get your CPF and open an account. The CPF is the key to working, renting and opening a bank account. The Federal Revenue Service issues it to foreigners.
- Make learning the language a priority. Public universities, NGOs and churches often offer free Portuguese courses for migrants. The sooner you start, the more doors open.
- Find the support network. Migrant associations, reception centers, the Catholic migrant ministry and organizations such as Caritas give guidance on documents, work and housing. SUS, the public health system, serves migrants, documented or not.
- Start with the work that's possible. Many migrants start below their qualifications. It's not defeat; it's a bridge. Meanwhile, look into getting your diplomas recognized and showing what you know.
- Know your labor rights. A foreigner with regular documentation has the same labor rights as a Brazilian. Be wary of anyone who offers off-the-books work and insists on keeping your documents.
- Take care of the homesickness. Keep in touch with those who stayed behind, meet people from your country and build new bonds. If sadness weighs too much, CVV answers at 188, in Portuguese, free of charge.
When it happened to Bairo
Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez was born in Colombia in 1982 and said from boyhood that one day he would live in Brazil. Capoeira was the bridge: before the language, before the country, came the rhythm of the berimbau.
He says he arrived in 2002, with an education company, in a management position. The boyhood dream had come true. But when he decided to follow his own path and leave the company, he found himself without documents in hand, far from home and afraid. Hard years followed, with no direction and no network.
He started over with what he had: his partner, the daughter who was born here and a neighborhood salon. Today, he runs companies in Brazil and in the United Kingdom.
The path
Bairo says the sun is for everyone, but shade, in the heat, is for the few. Migrants know the strong sun and the lack of shade. But they also learn something people who have never left home don't know: that it is possible to build a whole home with your own hands, in a language that at first wasn't yours. The new country can become your country.
Keep your origins with pride. The language, the food, the music and the customs you brought are part of what you have to offer the new country. Many immigrant businesses start right there, with what people knew how to do back home. Your arrival story, told truthfully, is capital too: it builds trust and connection with those who went through the same.