New labour-market data released on 14 December show that foreign workers are moving from the margins to the mainstream of Brazil’s economy. According to the latest Cadastro Geral de Empregados e Desempregados (Caged) bulletin, foreigners accounted for a net gain of 73,400 positions between January and October 2025, equal to 4 % of all new jobs created with a labour card. Almost half of those hires—47.8 %—were Venezuelan nationals fleeing the socio-economic crisis across the northern border. Haitians, Argentinians and Paraguayans round out the top four nationalities.
Economists link the jump in foreign recruitment to two converging trends: a historic low unemployment rate of 5.4 % and a steady inflow of regional migrants. Labour-short sectors such as agribusiness, construction and food processing are using migrant labour to plug skills gaps and contain wage inflation. Employers also point to language affinity and relative ease of hiring under Brazil’s Mercosur residence agreement, which lets citizens of neighbouring countries regularise their status quickly.
For global-mobility managers the data confirm what many HR teams are seeing on the ground: a more internationally diverse workforce and greater demand for Portuguese-language onboarding, tax equalisation and family-integration services. Companies sending expatriates to Brazil now need to factor in tighter competition for housing in migrant-heavy cities such as Boa Vista, Manaus and São Paulo, as well as longer queues at Federal Police offices that register foreign residents.
![Foreign Nationals Now Fill 4 % of Brazil’s Formal Jobs as Venezuelan Hiring Surges]()
At this juncture, specialised visa assistance is crucial. VisaHQ, for example, streamlines the process of securing Brazilian work permits, Mercosur residence cards and family-reunification visas through an easy-to-use online platform, document verification and real-time status tracking—supporting both employers and individual applicants. Full details can be found at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/.
Legal specialists note that the rise in formal hiring coincides with stricter enforcement of work-authorisation rules. The Ministry of Labour has increased workplace inspections and is cross-checking Caged entries against visa categories. Fines for informal employment of foreigners start at R$800 per worker and can exceed R$100,000 for repeat offenders.
Looking ahead, analysts expect the foreign share of new hires to keep climbing if Brazil’s economy stays on a 2 %-plus growth track and regional instability continues to drive emigration. They also warn that the labour-market impact will vary by state: in Roraima, Venezuelans already make up more than one in five formal workers, while in the south their presence is barely noticeable.
Economists link the jump in foreign recruitment to two converging trends: a historic low unemployment rate of 5.4 % and a steady inflow of regional migrants. Labour-short sectors such as agribusiness, construction and food processing are using migrant labour to plug skills gaps and contain wage inflation. Employers also point to language affinity and relative ease of hiring under Brazil’s Mercosur residence agreement, which lets citizens of neighbouring countries regularise their status quickly.
For global-mobility managers the data confirm what many HR teams are seeing on the ground: a more internationally diverse workforce and greater demand for Portuguese-language onboarding, tax equalisation and family-integration services. Companies sending expatriates to Brazil now need to factor in tighter competition for housing in migrant-heavy cities such as Boa Vista, Manaus and São Paulo, as well as longer queues at Federal Police offices that register foreign residents.
At this juncture, specialised visa assistance is crucial. VisaHQ, for example, streamlines the process of securing Brazilian work permits, Mercosur residence cards and family-reunification visas through an easy-to-use online platform, document verification and real-time status tracking—supporting both employers and individual applicants. Full details can be found at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/.
Legal specialists note that the rise in formal hiring coincides with stricter enforcement of work-authorisation rules. The Ministry of Labour has increased workplace inspections and is cross-checking Caged entries against visa categories. Fines for informal employment of foreigners start at R$800 per worker and can exceed R$100,000 for repeat offenders.
Looking ahead, analysts expect the foreign share of new hires to keep climbing if Brazil’s economy stays on a 2 %-plus growth track and regional instability continues to drive emigration. They also warn that the labour-market impact will vary by state: in Roraima, Venezuelans already make up more than one in five formal workers, while in the south their presence is barely noticeable.
