Guide for foreigners
Hi, be welcome!
Here is important information that foreigners should have:
Here is important information that foreigners should have:
- It may be helpful to contact the UFES International Office (incoming@ufes.br) before arriving in Brazil. You can write a brief email stating that you are an incoming PPGCosmo student and when you will arrive. They may provide additional and relevant help and assign you an "Anjo" to guide you around the city and university.
- To successfully complete your registration in Brazil, you have to follow the steps outlined below within 30 days of arrival:
- Fill out the registration form you find here in order to request your registry. There is a ~R$ 200 fee;
- Schedule an appointment by visiting the Federal Police website;
- Visit the Federal Police building located in Vila Velha (to go to Vila Velha you can take an uber or the 501 bus that stops at UFES. Take the bus 1.5 hours before because of traffic; you need a bus card as it is not possible to pay the driver in cash).
- Present your passport and visa application form, along with any other required items described here (declaration of address), for document review;
- You may be asked to return on another date with additional documents;
- After completing the registration process and fee payment, the Federal Police will issue you a temporary foreign identity card known as RNM (Registro Nacional Migratório - Foreigners National Registration).
- The office is Unidade Registro Estrangeiros: ure.drex.sres@pf.gov.br, 27 32464000, 10:00-17:00.
- Please join the slack channel #life-in-vitoria for practical infos; click here to join the cosmo-ufes workspace.
- If you did not obtain the CPF (Brazilian social security number) from you consulate (strongly advised to do so), you will have to ask for it here, you may need your birth certificate. This document is necessary for opening a bank account, purchasing airline tickets, activating a cellphone account, and other similar activities.
- In Brazil you can use the free Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), Unified Health System, which is entirely free of any cost at the point of service for any person, including foreigners.
- When searching for an appartment, please consider this region, at walking distance from UFES. If you would like to search for a room, you should look for terms like "república", "kitnet", "quarto compartilhado", "quarto mobiliado", "apartamento mobiliado". Here are some of the most common websites where you can find places: olx, facebook groups, zapimoveis e quinto andar. Ask #life-in-vitoria for the approximate cost of renting a furnished room or studio (kitnet).
- To receive your stipend from CAPES or FAPES, it is necessary to open a bank account in Banco do Brasil or BANESTES, respectively. When you visit the bank, be sure to bring your CPF, RNM, passport, a document from the Graduate Program or the University (such as a student card or enrollment declaration), and a bill with your address in Brazil (such as a water, electricity, or phone bill) in your name. If you don't have any bills in your name, you can bring a bill in someone else's name, but that person must provide a declaration stating that you are living with them. Inform the bank that you want to open a 'Conta Universitária' (University Student Account) to take advantage of lower fees.
- On-campus, there is a restaurant where you can register for a card that you can load with a budget. To register, you'll need to provide your student card or enrollment declaration. The restaurant offers two meals per day at a cost of ~R$5 per meal, with vegetarian options available on the menu.