FIES Debt: learn how to renegotiate and obtain amnesty

Do you have debts with FIES and are having difficulty paying the bills you have acquired?

This happens to many students in our country, who seek different options to deal with debts and pay off their debt.

That's what we're going to discover today, some tips for paying off the code, renegotiating the debt and getting amnesty.

What is FIES?

FIES, or the Higher Education Student Financing Fund, is a program offered by the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

It was created in 1999, during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso government and its rates were 6.5%. But in 2010, during the Lula government, the interest rate fell to 3.4%

This program allows students to compete for full or partial financing of the monthly installments of the course they choose.

How does it work?

And it works like this: every semester, FIES opens and candidates can register to compete for student financing.

Those selected will receive full or partial assistance from the Federal Government in paying their tuition fees, from the beginning to the end of the course.

And at the end of the course, when the student finishes, he will have to pay back the financed amount in monthly installments.

This is done mainly so that the student can dedicate himself to his studies and when he leaves college, he can get a job and have more time.

What does amnesty mean?

In a very simple and general way, amnesty is a term widely used in the legal field and means forgiveness. It's that simple.

But putting it in the context of FIES, we have a process in which the government makes a total or partial remission of debts related to the student benefits program.

Amnesty may be granted in specific situations, such as cases of extreme financial hardship, serious health problems, natural disasters or other exceptional circumstances.

Is it possible to renegotiate the FIES debt?

Students who had debts could request renegotiation and amnesty until December 31, 2022. This was a measure taken during the pandemic to help the many students with late payments.

In this case, there would be an amnesty for fines, interest and other charges arising from default, not necessarily the entire amount, but something that could help students.

However, it is still possible in 2023 to renegotiate to obtain partial forgiveness or suspension of the debt you have.

Rules for renegotiating

In order to renegotiate a debt, you must have signed the FIES contract by the second half of 2017.

And to obtain forgiveness and renegotiation, it is necessary to have a debt, so the delay must be at least 90 days and at least part of what is owed must have been paid.

In order to negotiate, a division of debtors is made to allow for better management.

Anyone who is 90 to 360 days behind on their debts will have to pay a minimum installment of R$$200 reais.

In addition to being able to pay for your renegotiation in up to 150 installments, which will take approximately 12 years and six months.

But anyone who is overdue for more than 360 days will have the discount applied before the installment plan, which can only be made in up to 10 months.

Furthermore, if forgiveness or renegotiation is granted, the student will have to pay interest of 1% per month, much less than when he started. 

How to renegotiate FIES debt?

When signing the FIES contract at the beginning of your course, you will have to choose between Banco do Brasil and Caixa Econômica to make payments.

And it is through these banks that students can request FIES renegotiation.

By Caixa Econômica

To be able to make the request through Federal Savings Bank, you will need to go to Caixa and access your account.

After logging in, you will find the option to renegotiate FIES. According to information from other users, Caixa has the necessary information to know whether or not your profile is eligible for renegotiation.

Additionally, you can run a simulation to find out what the renegotiation installment will be.

By Banco do Brasil

Now, if your contract was made by Banco do Brasil, you will need to log in with your account at this specific bank.

On the home page you will find the option “Debt Solutions”, by selecting this topic you can make the request.

Can I participate in FIES?

And after all this information related to FIES debts, you may want to participate in the program to have the opportunity to graduate.

But what are the requirements? Well, the first one is to have finished high school and to have taken any Enem since 2010, with an average of at least 450 points and not to have scored zero in the essay.

In addition, the student must have a gross family income of up to 3 minimum wages per person per month.

And the most important point, the student must be enrolled in a higher education course at an educational institution registered with FIES, and it must also have a positive evaluation from the MEC.

And who can't?

And of course there is also the category of people who cannot participate in the Higher Education Student Financing Fund program, and there are reasons for that.

The most basic of these is for people who do not meet the minimum requirements of the program, such as family income and minimum Enem performance.

However, anyone who is enrolled in a college and signed up for the program with their course suspended will also not be able to participate in the process.

Anyone who has already been a FIES beneficiary, or has a full scholarship in ProUni will also not be eligible to participate in the selection.

As well as those who are in default with Educational Credit Programs.

Anyone who falls into any of these situations will not be able to participate in FIES and apply for student financing. And if you have already participated, hurry up so you don't default on your debt.