Refugees in Brazil: A Timeline

Fearing persecution for political, religious, racial, or social group reasons, or widespread human rights violations, refugees leave their countries of origin in search of another nation that offers better living conditions and security.

Refugees are often confused with immigrants, who move for different reasons. While the former migrate due to persecution, the latter move for personal reasons, like seeking improvements in their economic situation.

There are two classifications for refugees: for environmental reasons or due to war. The first group is characterized by migration driven by the consequences of earthquakes, floods, climate change, and loss of fauna and flora. 

The latter move due to war and political conflicts that devastate the country in many ways. Brazil has been receiving refugees since the beginning of its history. However, it was easier to collect more accurate historical data from the 1920s onwards.

During this period, the country received over 75,000 people under these circumstances, mainly from Germany and Italy. The era was also marked by the creation of the High Commission for Russian Refugees (ACRR).

The Second World War caused catastrophic damage to many countries, with economies weakened, around 60 million dead and cities destroyed, as well as widespread hunger and poverty. These outcomes influenced a siginificant flow of migration to Brazil.

In the post-war period, it was not only Europeans – refugees from the consequences of the Second World War – who came to Brazil, but also Latin Americans and those fleeing conflicts related to the decolonization processes in Africa and Asia.

During the Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), Brazil even prevented the entry of refugees, denying asylum requests from the UN. And it expelled about a thousand Argentines, Uruguayans, and Peruvians, whose countries were also under a civic-military regime.

In the 1980s, with democratization, new legislation regarding refugees was defined. Thus, their presence in Brazil increased in the following years, with the arrival of many Angolans, Cubans, Palestinians, Colombians, and Afghans, among others.

In 2001, World Refugee Day was established as June 20. Created on the basis of a resolution approved by the UN, the date celebrates the courage of people forced to leave their countries of origin due to persecution and conflict.

Conflicts and humanitarian crises continued to drive refugees to Brazil in the 2000s. In 2010, after the severe earthquake in Haiti, many Haitians migrated to the country.

Syrians, Sudanese, and Venezuelans also sought asylum in Brazil following economic crises and wars. They faced significant prejudice and tensions in border cities.

According to UN data, in 2022 there were 50,355 applications for refugee status in Brazil, originating from 139 countries. The primary nationalities applying were Venezuelan, Cuban, and Angolan.

The ‘Refuge in Numbers 2023’ report, published by the International Migration Observatory (OBMigra), revealed that 2022 saw a significant increase in the presence of women and children among refugees in Brazil.

The number of LGBTQIAPN+ refugees is also significant, with people migrating from countries with exclusionary policies over the last decade. According to data from Conare and ACNUR, 369 people from this group were registered.

In 2023, Brazil’s historical role in assisting refugees was recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees during a public hearing of the Human Rights, Minorities, and Racial Equality Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.

Despite the recognition and progress over the years, experts point out the need for improvements in assistance to refugees. The average waiting time for regularization processes at the National Committee for Refugees has reached two years.