São Paulo at a Glance

Education and Healthcare in São Paulo

There are many ways to stay healthy while living in São Paulo.

If you consider going to Brazil as an expatriate, living in São Paulo may be your first choice. After all, São Paulo is Brazil’s major economic center. However, living in São Paulo can be quite challenging: We’ll take you through important facts on São Paulo, such as healthcare and safety.

International Schools

Like other popular expat destinations, the city has a number of private international schools catering specifically to expats as well as to the affluent local population. There are several international schools in São Paulo which follow the American curriculum. Others include two German-Brazilian schools, namely Colégio Humboldt and Colégio Visconde de Porto Seguro, the French Liceu Pasteur, the Swiss School of São Paulo, and the British St Paul’s School.

In addition to their respective national curriculum, most of the international schools offer their students the opportunity to acquire the internationally-recognized International Baccalaureate and/or the Brazilian high school diploma.

International education, however, comes at a price: Depending on the specific school and grade where you’d like to enroll your child, annual tuition fees may cost as much as R$ 60,000, not including one-time registration fees.

Healthcare

Regarding healthcare in Brazil, expats generally have two options: They can make use of the free universal medical care provided by the government to everyone legally residing in Brazil, or they can opt for the private medical sector.

Although standards in the public system are considerably high, many expats and more affluent locals prefer the private system: Waiting times are usually much lower, and facilities and medical equipment tend to be more up-to-date. Since healthcare costs in the private sector can be very high, expats should make sure they have adequate health insurance. Nowadays, many employers in São Paulo offer their employees private health insurance as part of their remuneration.

Medical Facilities

Generally, there is no need for expats moving to São Paulo to be too worried about healthcare. It is considered very good, especially in the private sector. The city has a high density of both general doctors and specialists, a number of whom speak English or other foreign languages. Also ask your Embassy or Consulate General for a list of doctors who speak your mother tongue. Usually, diplomatic missions include a relatively up-to-date list of medical service providers with multi-lingual staff in the information available for foreign nationals in São Paulo.

Generally speaking, it is best to seek recommendations from other expats or contact the local consulate of your home country. The city of São Paulo is also home to what many consider the best hospitals in Brazil, both public and private. As such, it has become a destination for medical tourists.