Sao Paulo’s New Reference and Assistance Center for Immigrants (CRAI) in Its Eastern Region

Brazil

Dec 2

Written By Sophie van Haasen

City of São Paulo

Mayor

Ricardo Nunes

Start of Project

01/02/2019

End of Project

31/12/2024

Overview

São Paulo commits to expanding services for migrants and refugees by opening a new Center for Reference and Assistance to Immigrants (CRAI) in eastern São Paulo.

Historically, the city of São Paulo has been the main destination for migrants and refugees in Brazil, known for its intercultural character and its ability to welcome diverse populations. With the intention of contributing to the improvement of services for migrants and refugees, the municipality developed and implemented a service provision model through the CRAI system, which is part of the municipal public network for human rights and citizenship. CRAI focuses on promoting human rights and social, cultural, employment, and economic inclusion, and works by integrating expertise from its diverse network of public services and civil society actors.

Located in the center of São Paulo, the first service has been in operation since 2014. Now, the municipality is planning to open a second CRAI in the eastern part of São Paulo, an area with the second-highest concentration of migrants and refugees. Additionally, this new center will hire migrant and refugee professionals who will offer cultural and linguistic mediation, provide social and psychological assistance, and help with legal counseling.

Expected Impact

The city of São Paulo is, historically, one of the main destinations of national and international migratory flows, being recognized for its intercultural character and its capacity to integrate diverse peoples. An example of this is that the city currently has immigrants and refugees of 203 different nationalities. According to data from the Federal Police database (January 2000 to March 2022), the number of immigrants and refugees registered in the municipality of São Paulo is around 394,818. It is observed, however, that the current profile of the immigrant and refugee population is mostly composed of nationals from Bolivia (26%), China (7%), Haiti (6%), Peru (5%), and the United States (5%).

Thus, the service will be able to serve a large part of this population, with an average of one thousand services per month (current average of CRAI Oriana Jara), considering its territorial bias, which will focus on the migrant and refugee populations residing in the eastern zone of São Paulo, according to the municipality's service data, the territory where there is the highest concentration of this population.

In addition, this service intends to have migrant professionals acting in cultural and linguistic mediation at the CRAI, assisting the social assistance, psychology, and legal orientation services in providing more humanized interactions. They are also expected to mediate some highly complex cases of the municipality's public services network, such as health services, social assistance, education, and ombudsmen, among others. The mediators will also be responsible for translating information materials produced by the municipality for the general population, ensuring that migrants are also included in the dissemination of information to guarantee rights in a broad and systematized way.

Reported Progress [as of June 2026]

CRAI East is currently in the planning and technical-administrative development phase, including demographic, territorial, and budgetary studies.

Service Provision at the Main Office: A total of 5,786 technical assistance services were provided at the CRAI headquarters (144.65% of the semiannual target), primarily related to migration regularization (5,183 cases), followed by social, legal, and psychological assistance.

Direct Outreach in the East Zone (Mobile CRAI): The mobile service carried out 35 outreach actions across 20 districts, providing a total of 684 services. Significant presence was recorded precisely in the East Zone territories that justify the project, including Itaquera, Artur Alvim, Ermelino Matarazzo, Lajeado, and Ponte Rasa.

Considering the existence of a permanent CRAI unit in the central region of the city, the demands of São Paulo’s five macro-regions are currently being assessed to determine the most appropriate service delivery model. This analysis includes the possibility of establishing additional permanent or mobile units, as well as strengthening decentralized mobile strategies, with the aim of expanding the reach and effectiveness of services provided.