The capital of Paraíba has become the latest Brazilian city to treat labour-market integration as a pillar of migration policy. On 8 July 2026 the municipal government of João Pessoa and the Regional Labour Court (TRT-13) unveiled “Sou CLT – Edição Migrante: Direitos que Cruzam Fronteiras”, a one-day employment fair and a year-long mentorship track designed specifically for refugees, asylum-seekers and other foreign nationals who have settled in the state. The project brings together the city’s public employment service (Sine-JP), the Secretariat for Economic Development and Work (Sedest) and local NGOs that specialise in Portuguese tuition and social assistance. Unlike general job fairs, Sou CLT focuses on demystifying Brazil’s labour legislation for newcomers. Morning workshops walk participants through the requirements for obtaining – or converting to – a Carteira de Trabalho Digital and registering for social-security benefits. Legal clinics operated by TRT-13 judges explain how to file labour-rights complaints regardless of migration status, while Sedest recruiters conduct on-the-spot CV screening and schedule interviews with companies that have signed diversity pacts. City officials estimate that roughly 6,000 Venezuelans and 1,400 Haitians now live in metropolitan João Pessoa, alongside growing communities from Senegal, Cuba and, more recently, the Middle East. Many arrived with professional experience but remain confined to the informal economy because they lack Brazilian references or fear discrimination.
![João Pessoa launches “Sou CLT – Edição Migrante” to fast-track refugees and migrants into formal jobs]()
For migrants still abroad or in the early stages of planning their move, online platforms such as VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork involved in securing the right visa or residency permit. Through its dedicated Brazil hub, VisaHQ walks applicants through document preparation, translation and appointment scheduling, helping newcomers land in João Pessoa with their legal status—and employability—already in order.
By pairing legal orientation with direct employer matchmaking, the organisers hope to shorten the average time it takes a migrant to secure a formal CLT contract from nine months to “less than three,” according to Sine-JP coordinator Carlisson Figueiredo. For businesses, the initiative offers a structured pipeline to bilingual talent at a moment when João Pessoa’s IT-outsourcing, hospitality and call-centre sectors are scrambling to fill vacancies created by record tourism inflows. Participating firms can earn compliance credits under Paraíba’s Inclusive Hiring Decree 2.188/2025, which grants tax rebates to companies that maintain a workforce with at least 2 % recognised refugees. The organisers plan to replicate the model every quarter in different neighbourhoods and to roll out a digital dashboard that tracks placement outcomes in real time. If the pilot meets its targets, Paraíba’s labour court intends to recommend the template to other northeastern capitals, turning local job fairs into a soft-landing mechanism for Brazil’s new Migration Law ecosystem.
For migrants still abroad or in the early stages of planning their move, online platforms such as VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork involved in securing the right visa or residency permit. Through its dedicated Brazil hub, VisaHQ walks applicants through document preparation, translation and appointment scheduling, helping newcomers land in João Pessoa with their legal status—and employability—already in order.
By pairing legal orientation with direct employer matchmaking, the organisers hope to shorten the average time it takes a migrant to secure a formal CLT contract from nine months to “less than three,” according to Sine-JP coordinator Carlisson Figueiredo. For businesses, the initiative offers a structured pipeline to bilingual talent at a moment when João Pessoa’s IT-outsourcing, hospitality and call-centre sectors are scrambling to fill vacancies created by record tourism inflows. Participating firms can earn compliance credits under Paraíba’s Inclusive Hiring Decree 2.188/2025, which grants tax rebates to companies that maintain a workforce with at least 2 % recognised refugees. The organisers plan to replicate the model every quarter in different neighbourhoods and to roll out a digital dashboard that tracks placement outcomes in real time. If the pilot meets its targets, Paraíba’s labour court intends to recommend the template to other northeastern capitals, turning local job fairs into a soft-landing mechanism for Brazil’s new Migration Law ecosystem.
