If you contribute to the INSS (the Brazilian National Social Security Institute) and are considering working or going on a student exchange in Portugal, Italy or Cape Verde, we have some good news for you. Thanks to a diplomatic agreement between Brazil and the three federations, through the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the governments of those three countries, Brazilian tourists and immigrants are entitled to receive free medical assistance. The Certificate of Entitlement to Medical Assistance (CDAM) is valid for one year, but can be renewed limitlessly by the applicant.
The benefit is granted based on the certificate issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Health that refers to assistance in public hospitals in both European countries and in the neighboring African continent. It is worth noting that, though it doesn’t replace the International Health Insurance, the CDAM offers Brazilians the same procedures that are free for the natives of the three countries. In return, Italian, Portuguese and Cape Verdean citizens are entitled to the same treatment here in Brazil, whether as tourists or immigrants.
For Portugal, the Brazilian applicant must present his RG (identity card), CPF (individual registration number), a valid passport and proof of residency in Brazil. For Italy and Cape Verde, besides the aforementioned documents, a Proof of Link to the INSS is needed. The CDAM is valid for anyone who contributes to the INSS, such as employees, employers, domestic workers, freelance workers, temps, retirees/pensioners of the INSS and dependents (minors under 21 and spouses).
The Certificate of Entitlement to Medical Assistance is issued by the People Management service (Gestão de Pessoas) and must be requested from any of the State Nucleuses (Núcleos Estaduais) of the Ministry of Health, with headquarters in all of the state capitals in Brazil. More information at: https://bit.ly/2Cqa68k