Perfis de migrantes no Brasil: subsídios para a discussão sobre formas de comprovação de proficiência em português em processos de naturalização

Abstract

This dissertation aims to provide input for the discussion on ways of proving proficiency in Portuguese in naturalization processes in Brazil, based on an analysis of the profiles of migrants seeking secondary nationality. This is because, when we look at the context of migrants wishing to naturalize in Brazil, we notice that the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners (Celpe-Bras) is one of the main instruments used to prove proficiency, but we want to understand the profiles of migrants who take the exam. To carry out this research, we used the theoretical and methodological framework of Indisciplinary Applied Linguistics (Moita Lopes, 1998; 2006; 2008), also known as Critical (Pennycook, 2001; Rajagopalan, 2006) and Transgressive (Pennycook, 2006), in dialogue with the conceptions of Critical International Law (Ballestrin, 2013; Bragato, 2016; 2019; Rosa, 2019; Squeff, 2021a; 2021b), Language Policies and Language Law (Sigales-Gonçalves, 2019; Sigales-Gonçalves; Zoppi-Fontana, 2021; Diniz, 2012, 2014, 2020), and decolonial thought and education (Bhabha, 1998; Mignolo, 2008; 2013). The development of this research is supported and justified by its great challenge and purpose: to present and create mechanisms for the reality of migrants in Brazil faced with the need to prove proficiency in Portuguese for naturalization. To this end, in constructing the analytical path, we adopted critical qualitative criteria, understanding elements that come from national and international legislation and protocols that permeate the theme of international migration. We also adopted a quantitative approach to analyse official data on the Celpe-Bras obtained from the Anísio Teixeira National Institute of Educational Studies and Research - Inep, and data on naturalization in Brazil from the Migration Department of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security - DEMIG/MJSP. In addition, to build the critical path, participants from each of the previously determined groups were interviewed in order to complement the profile drawn up with the quantitative data generated and analyzed in the previous stages. We observed signs that many migrant families in Brazil have Brazilian children (jus solis criterion), so these families would be interested in naturalization in order to be "in the same conditions" as their children; we also noticed that some migrants have Brazilian spouses and, because they have been in Brazil for some time, want naturalization; and that some migrants who came to study/work and stayed in Brazil want naturalization because they already have a stable life in the country. The path we have traced has allowed us to propose some recommendations and improvements, such as: the need for more details on the possibility set out in Art. 5, I, d, of Ordinance 623/2020 (Brasil, 2020a) to avoid many certificates being refused at Federal Police stations; the need to recognize certificates from PLAc courses, projects and programs for naturalization processes, by accrediting the institutions that offer such courses; and a specific certification for crisis migrants can be drawn up and carried out by some institution as long as this assessment is recognized within the naturalization processes. It is hoped that the practical findings of this work can take on (even more) political, social and legal contours and serve as a basis for critical reflection on the possibilities of proof of proficiency that are set out in Ordinance 623 of November 13, 2020.