Official Gazette of the Union Federative Republic of Brazil - National Press - Section 1 Edition Number 167 of 08/29/2003 Ministry

of Labor and Employment National Immigration Council NORMATIVE RESOLUTION No. 55, AUGUST, 27, 2003 Provides on work permit and awarding of visas to alien individual under a technical assistance service agreement, cooperation agreement, covenant or similar instruments, without an employment relation or in case of emergency. The NATIONAL IMMIGRATION COUNCIL, created by Law no. 8.490, from November 19, 1992, by virtue of the authority vested in by Decree no. 840, of June 22, 1993, decides: Art. 1. To an alien individual who comes to Brazil with no employment relation with a Brazilian company or in case of emergency, in order to transfer technology and/or to render technical assistance services as a result of an agreement, cooperation agreement, covenant or other similar instruments entered with a foreign legal entity and a Brazilian legal entity may be awarded a work permit and a temporary visa pursuant to article 12, sub-paragraph V, of Law no. 6.815, from 19, August, 1980, modified by Law no. 6.964, of December 9, 1981 being forbidden its change into a permanent visa. Sole paragraph. administrative, financial or managerial functions are excluded from the concept of the technical assistance. Art. 2. The application request shall be submitted to the Ministry of Labor and the following documents shall be attached thereto: I - work permit application pursuant to the form approved by the Ministry of Labor and signed by the legal representative of the applying institution; II - evidence of collection of the work permit individual fee - DARF; III - articles of association of the applying institution; IV - election, appointment or nomination act of the applying institution officer or representative; V term of commitment for the aliens repatriation upon expiration of the agreement or termination thereof, or the employees dismissal;

VI proof of health insurance valid in Brazil, with the expiration dated within the expiration of the agreement; VII - certified copy of one of the documents evidencing the situation referred to in art. 1 hereof, namely: a) agreement filed or registered with the competent body or agency whenever is implied: technology transfer, so understood the rights license agreements (patents exploration or use of trademarks); acquisition of technological knowledge (technology supply and rendering of technical and scientific assistance services) and franchise agreements; b) agreement issued by the Brazilian Internal Revenue Dept. in case of purchase and sale of equipment including technical assistance service; c) duly signed agreement with identification of the parties, in case of technical cooperation between companies of a same group, with due evidence of the association relationship linking them; d) agreement entered in foreign currency between a national public legal entity and a foreign legal entity; e) agreement or covenant. Paragraph 1. The agreements shall clearly indicate the object thereof, demonstrating the program of the transfer of technology and/or the training of the Brazilians employees concerning technical assistance, the compensation at any title, the agreement and the execution duration and other contracted clauses and conditions. Paragraph 2. The applying company should indicate to the Ministry of Labor all places where the foreigner shall render services, reporting any modification immediately. Paragraph 3. The representative of the foreign institution shall evidence his/her legal competence to enter into the agreement or similar instrument, upon submitting of the act granting him/her such authority in accordance of the foreign country law. Paragraph 4. Whenever an agreement is written in a foreign language, in addition to the consular legalization, a sworn translator shall translate it into a Portuguese as well. Art. 3. The awarding of the visa pursuant to the terms of this Normative Resolution, in order to attend the company that does not have national manpower, shall be subject to the presentation of the Training Program that considers the national manpower. Sole paragraph. To the awarding of new visas and/or visas extension the results achieved by the Training Program shall be evidenced. Art. 4. The work permits referred hereto shall have the following validity:

a) in the case of technology transfer, for a term of two (2) years, extendable for the same period when based on items a and d above; b) in the case of technical assistance and/or technical cooperation, for a term of twelve (12) months, extendable for the same period, when based on items b, c, and e above. Art. 5. In the case the company needs a foreigner to come to Brazil in order to provide technical support services for a determined and non-extendable time term of up to 90 days, the work permit and the temporary visa pursuant to article 12, subparagraph V, of law n. 6.815, from 19, august, 1980, modified by Law no. 6.964, 9, December, 1981 may be awarded provided the following documentation is presented: I work permit application; II - company and candidate data; III - evidence of collection of the work permit individual fee - DARF; IV act of organization of the applicant institution; and V proof that the company is included in one of the items pursuant to article 2, subparagraph VII. Sole paragraph. It is forbidden the awarding of a new work permit, based hereon to the same foreigner, before a time period of a hundred and eighty (180) days after the expiration of the previous permit has elapsed. Art. 6. In case of emergency, at the discretion of the consular authority, the temporary visa set forth in item V article 13, of Law no. 6.815, from 19, August, 1980, modified by Law n 6.964, 9, December, 1981, may be awarded only once at every ninety (90) days time period to the same foreigner, for a non-extendable time term of thirty days, being dispensed the formalities described herein. Sole Paragraph. Emergency is understood as a fortuitous situation that puts in imminent risk the life, the environment, the property, or that it has caused the interruption of the production or the rendering of services. Art. 7. This Normative Resolution will become effective on the date of its publication, and Normative Resolutions no. 34, from 10, August, 1999 and n. 53, from 19, July, 2002 as well as the Administrative Resolution n. 04, from 21, May, 2003 are all hereby revoked. JAQUES WAGNER National Immigration Council President