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Brazil was one of the countries served by the Student Direct Stream, the fast-track study-permit route that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada closed on 8 November 2024. Brazilian applications are now processed through the standard study-permit stream.

The standard stream asks for proof of first-year tuition plus living costs. For applications made on or after 1 September 2026, a single applicant outside Quebec must show CAD 23,448 for a year of living costs, separate from tuition and travel, rising to CAD 29,192 for two people and CAD 35,888 for three.

Canada operates five Visa Application Centres in Brazil, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Recife and Porto Alegre, where applicants submit documents and give biometrics.

Brazil charges IOF (Imposto sobre Operacoes Financeiras), a federal tax on foreign-exchange transactions. As of 2025, under Decree 12,499/2025, most transfers of money abroad, including tuition paid to a foreign school, are taxed at 3.5 percent, while a reduced 1.1 percent rate applies only to transfers made for investment. IOF rates changed several times in 2025, so a family should check the current rate before transferring.

Foreign-exchange operations are governed by Law 14,286/2021, overseen by the Banco Central do Brasil. Individuals may buy foreign currency and send money abroad with no value limit for a lawful purpose such as education, but only through institutions authorised by the Banco Central, and Brazil sets no annual remittance quota.

Many Brazilian families arrange study abroad through education agencies (agencias de intercambio). The main industry body is BELTA, the Brazilian Educational and Language Travel Association, founded in 1992, whose member agencies it says account for more than 60 percent of the market.

BELTA runs a voluntary quality mark, the Belta Seal, for affiliated agencies and belongs to an international federation of education and language consultant associations. Membership and the seal are held on a voluntary basis rather than under a government licence.

The 2021 census counted about 48,500 immigrants born in Brazil living in Canada, most in Ontario (about 23,100), then Quebec (9,700) and British Columbia (8,800).

At the metropolitan level the Toronto area has the largest Brazil-born population (about 15,400), followed by Montreal (7,200) and Vancouver (7,100), with smaller communities in Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary and Winnipeg. Most private schools listed on MapleRank are in Ontario and British Columbia, which together hold close to two-thirds of Canada's Brazil-born residents.