From Undesirable to Desirable: Investment Growth and Chinese Immigration to Contemporary Brazil

Abstract

International migration flows have been characterized, on the one hand, by a rise in the number of vulnerable people seeking opportunities abroad and, on the other, by a trend of closing borders and implementing restrictive migration policies. In Brazil, the rapid increase in the arrival of Chinese immigrants—considered "skilled" and coming to provide technical assistance and technology transfer to companies operating in the country—stands in contrast to this broader reality. Over the past five years, this flow has increased approximately sixfold (OBMIGRA, 2026) amidst expanding Chinese investment and trade between the two nations. Until the mid-20th century, Chinese nationals were viewed as undesirable and faced restrictions on entering or remaining in Brazil; today, however, they are welcomed as they drive investment in the country.

Thus, a clear contradiction emerges: while migrants seeking humanitarian refuge or those crossing borders are frequently met with rhetoric of control and suspicion, skilled Chinese workers linked to strategic investments are admitted and encouraged by the Brazilian state. This article analyzes statistics on work and investment authorizations granted by the General Coordination of Labor Immigration (within the Ministry of Justice and Public Security’s Department of Migration) and data on the formal labor market integration of these immigrants from the Ministry of Labor and Employment’s General Registry of Employed and Unemployed Workers (CAGED). Finally, the study finds that "skilled" immigration creates hierarchies among migrants based on selectivity criteria that classify them as either desirable or undesirable.