Most Brazilians who became permanent residents of Canada in each year from 2022 to 2025 came through economic programmes, which select people for their skills and work experience, according to admissions data from IRCC, Canada's immigration department. From 2023 to 2025, the largest single group came through a province's nomination. Under the Provincial Nominee Program, provinces and territories run their own streams for the people their economies need, such as skilled workers, students and business people. Some streams work through Express Entry, the online system that invites the skilled workers with the most points to apply for permanent residence, where a nomination brings extra points.

Ask your university early for your histórico escolar (transcript). For an educational credential assessment (a report on what your degree equals in Canada), WES, an assessor IRCC designates, accepts it only from the university, electronically where WES has an arrangement, as with the University of São Paulo, or in a sealed envelope signed or stamped across the flap. For the police certificate, IRCC accepts only the Federal Police's national certificate, not those of Brazil's states. The Federal Police issue it online, only in Portuguese, so it needs a certified translation; if a namesake or a mismatch with your CPF (taxpayer) record blocks it, you get a protocol number to take to a Federal Police unit, in person or through a representative.

The mistake to avoid is assuming that a união estável settles how IRCC sees an unmarried couple. Brazil's Civil Code recognizes a união estável (stable union) as a public, continuous and lasting relationship aimed at forming a family, without setting a minimum time, while IRCC defines a common-law partner as someone who has lived with you as a couple for at least one year. Whether you have a spouse or common-law partner can change how Express Entry scores you, so answer by IRCC's definition, counting only the time you have actually lived together.