Brazilian Degree in Portugal: Level Recognition or Specific Recognition?

In short: a degree earned in Brazil is not automatically recognized in Portugal. You will apply either for level recognition, which confirms the degree level (licenciatura, master's, doctorate), or for specific recognition, which compares your program with a Portuguese program in the same field. To work in a profession regulated by a professional order, the rule is specific recognition.

Each type of recognition can only be requested once for the same diploma. That is why choosing wrong is costly. Below we explain, with examples, how to decide, what to submit, how long it takes and the mistakes that cause applications to be refused.

Terms you will come across

• DGES: the Directorate-General for Higher Education (Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior), the Portuguese government body that manages the recognition system.
• Public higher education institution: a Portuguese state university or polytechnic. These institutions review most applications.
• Panel (júri): a group of university professors who assess your diploma.
• Licenciado: in Portugal, a person with an undergraduate degree (the Brazilian bacharelado or licenciatura).
• Professional order (ordem profissional): a body that authorizes the practice of certain professions, like the OAB or the CRM in Brazil.
• Fee (emolumento): the fee paid for the application to be reviewed.
• Hague apostille: the certification, issued by a notary's office in Brazil, that makes the Brazilian document valid in Portugal.

The three types at a glance

The rules are in Decree-Law 66/2018 (Decreto-Lei), amended by Decree-Law 86/2023. The application steps are in Ordinance 33/2019 (Portaria), amended by Ordinance 43/2020.

Those who cannot apply for automatic recognition can apply for level recognition, specific recognition, or both for the same diploma (Art. 4(5) and (6)). But each one can only be requested once (Art. 4(4)).

Which one to request: decide based on your goal

Regulated profession (professional order)

Medicine, nursing, engineering, psychology, law and other professions require registration with a professional order. Recognition of the diploma is not enough to practice the profession (Art. 4(7)). The Medical Association (Ordem dos Médicos), for example, requires specific recognition or equivalence. The Order of Nurses (Ordem dos Enfermeiros) also accepts, for those who graduated in Brazil, a separate route under the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Consultation between Brazil and Portugal. Before applying for any recognition, check with the order which document it accepts. A summary by professional order is on our diploma recognition page. For lawyers, see Practicing law in Portugal.

A job or public competition that requires a "licenciatura" or "master's degree"

When the employer or the public notice only asks for the degree, with no specific field, level recognition is usually enough. It gives the Brazilian diploma the same rights as the equivalent Portuguese degree (Art. 17(1)).

Example: Paulo, a business administration graduate from Belo Horizonte, receives a job offer that requires a "licenciatura". Level recognition solves it. But if the notice asks for a "licenciatura in Management", read it carefully: specific recognition may be needed.

Visa or residence permit for qualified work

For the D3 visa for highly qualified workers, the Foreigners Act (Lei de Estrangeiros) accepts as proof a higher education diploma or at least five years of experience. If the profession has a professional order, there are specific rules of proof. Diploma recognition may be only one part of the application. Plan both together.

Master's or doctorate completed in Brazil

First check whether the program has a CAPES score of 5, 6 or 7 on the DGES automatic recognition list. If it does, automatic recognition is the fastest route. If not, the same options as for undergraduate degrees apply.

Step-by-step application

1. Define your goal and the type of recognition. If a professional order is involved, ask it to confirm in writing which document it requires.
2. Choose the institution. For level and specific recognition, it must be a public higher education institution that awards the degree in the same field. Applying to an institution with no equivalent program is a frequent cause of delay.
3. Ask whether there is a precedent decision. In level recognition, an earlier decision by the same institution on an identical diploma is binding for the new decision. Identical means the same Brazilian university, the same program and degree name, and the same length or credits. In that case there is no panel, and the deadline drops to 30 days (Art. 19). Example: if someone else has already had the same Civil Engineering program from the same Brazilian university recognized, your application will tend to move faster.
4. Gather the documents (list below) and get the Hague apostille in Brazil.
5. Submit the application through the DGES online form, choosing the institution. Everything can be done electronically or by mail, without going to Portugal (Art. 2(2) of the Ordinance).
6. Pay the fee on time. Each institution sets its own amount (Art. 11 of the Decree-Law). Failure to pay ends the procedure, unless double the amount is paid within the following 10 days (Art. 7(2) and (3) of the Ordinance).
7. Respond quickly to requests for additional information. If the application is incomplete, the law allows up to 30 days to correct it (Arts. 17(4) and 20(6)). A case left idle for more than six months because of the applicant is declared abandoned (Art. 7(4) of the Ordinance).
8. Receive the registration certificate. Every recognition receives a unique number on an electronic platform. The certificate proves the recognition for all legal purposes (Art. 9 of the Decree-Law and Art. 8 of the Ordinance).

Documents: the checklist

• Diploma: a copy certified by the competent authorities, the original, or a document with a publicly verifiable registration number (Art. 3(1) of the Ordinance). For paper Brazilian documents, institutions usually ask for the Hague apostille. The University of Porto, for example, indicates the apostille or the Portuguese consulate for documents that are neither originals nor digitally verifiable.
• Academic transcript with the courses, the syllabi (the content of each course), the length of the program and the final grade. It is mandatory for level recognition without a precedent and for specific recognition (Art. 4(1)(a) of the Ordinance).
• Grading scale showing the minimum passing grade and the maximum grade, if you want your grade on the Portuguese scale (Art. 3(2) of the Ordinance).
• Dissertation or thesis in digital format, for a master's or doctorate (Art. 4(1)(b) and (c)).
• Digital documents are accepted if they cannot be edited and bear the university's qualified electronic signature (Art. 5(1)).
• Translation: documents in Portuguese do not need translation. The Ordinance only requires it for languages other than Spanish, French and English (Art. 6).

How a Brazilian grade becomes a Portuguese grade

In Portugal, passing grades range from 10 to 20. In automatic and level recognition, you can ask for your grade to be converted. For common scales, the formula is in Art. 7(2) of the Decree-Law:

Final grade = [(C − Cmin) ÷ (Cmax − Cmin)] × 10 + 10

Example: a final average of 8.5 on a 0 to 10 scale with a passing grade of 5. The calculation is [(8.5 − 5) ÷ (10 − 5)] × 10 + 10 = 17. If the same university set the passing grade at 6, the grade would be 16.25, rounded to 16 (Art. 7(3)). That is why the document showing the minimum passing grade matters. In specific recognition, there is no formula: the grade is assigned by a reasoned decision of the institution (Art. 6(2)).

Indicative timeframes

The legal deadlines run from the date of a properly completed application:

• Automatic: up to 30 days (Art. 15(2)).
• Level with precedent: up to 30 days (Art. 19(6)).
• Level without precedent: up to 90 days (Art. 18(4)).
• Specific: up to 90 days (Art. 20(5)).

The clock stops while the university waits for your answers, checks the authenticity of documents or holds exams (Art. 7(1) of the Ordinance). In practice, the total time depends mostly on whether the file arrives complete. Also add the time it takes to obtain the transcript with syllabi and the apostille in Brazil.

Common mistakes

• Applying for automatic recognition for a Brazilian undergraduate degree. Undergraduate degrees are not on the list. The application is refused and you lose time.
• Applying for level recognition when the order requires specific recognition. Since each type can only be requested once, first confirm what the order accepts. If level recognition is refused, you can still apply for specific recognition (Art. 19(4)).
• Choosing an institution with no program in the same field. The law requires it to award the degree in that field.
• Sending a transcript without syllabi or course hours. The panel compares content and length. Without them, the application is incomplete or is rejected.
• Forgetting the grading scale. Without the minimum and maximum grades, there is no conversion.
• Using the title "licenciado", "mestre" or "doutor" as if awarded by a Portuguese institution. Recognition does not authorize this use (Art. 8(2)). The diploma is identified in its original language, with a note of the recognition (Art. 8(1)).
• Letting the case sit idle. A late fee payment or no response for more than six months ends the procedure.

If the application is rejected, you can file an administrative complaint and an appeal (Art. 22(4) of the Decree-Law) and then bring a court action. The deadlines are on the diploma recognition page.

• Decree-Law 66/2018 (Decreto-Lei) of August 16, amended by Decree-Law 86/2023 (Arts. 3, 4, 6 to 9, 11, 15, 17 to 20 and 22)
• Ordinance 33/2019 (Portaria) of January 25, amended by Ordinance 43/2020 (Arts. 2 to 8)
• DGES — Recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas
• DGES — Table of automatic recognition decisions (Brazil: master's and doctorate, CAPES 5, 6 or 7)
• DGES — Online recognition application form
• University of Porto — Recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas (authentication by apostille or consulate)
• Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Consultation Brazil–Portugal (Decree 3,927/2001)
• Law 23/2007 — Foreigners Act (Lei de Estrangeiros) (Art. 3(t) and Art. 61-A)

Sene & Araújo Sociedade de Advogados team. Content prepared and reviewed by the firm's lawyers, admitted to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados), with offices in São Paulo and Albufeira. The provisions cited were checked against the official sources listed above. Meet the team.