CELPE-Bras
CELPE-Bras ( Ce rtificado de Proficiência em L INGUA P ortuguesa para E strangeiros) is the name of the only in Brazil officially recognized language certificate of the Brazilian Ministry of Education (Ministério da Educação do Brasil - MEC) for the Portuguese language (the Brazilian Portuguese ). It is used by Brazilian and international institutions to check the Portuguese language skills of non-Portuguese speaking foreigners. All non-Portuguese-speaking foreigners who have reached the age of 16 and have the appropriate basic education can take part in the CELPE-Bras examination. The language proficiency certificate is based on four proficiency levels: "Certificado Intermediário" (intermediate level I); "Certificado Intermediário Superior" (intermediate level II); "Certificado Avançado" (upper level I) and "Certificado Avançado Superior" (upper level II).
In February and August of each year, the ministry publishes the exam notice and schedule. Enrollment takes place exclusively over the Internet on the Ministry's website. In Germany, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena has been commissioned by the MEC to carry out the CELPE Bras test. In Austria, the Romance Studies department of the University of Salzburg is responsible.