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BRAZIL – Resumption of Visitor Visas (UPDATE 2)
August 16, 2023
New information as of 29 August.
The government of Brazil has moved back the deadline for requiring passport holders from the United States, Canada, and Australia to acquire visit visas (VIVIS) before entering Brazil. The visa requirement will now go into effect on 10 January 2024. A requirement for Japanese citizens to obtain visit visas was dropped when Japan and Brazil signed a reciprocal visa waiver agreement. The Brazilian government pushed back the visa launch date for the other three countries in hopes it can strike similar visa waiver arrangements with their governments as well.
Information updated as of 15 August.
Brazil is issuing updates on its visitor visa plan. Under the original plan, travelers from four countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United States) would need to apply for visit visas (VIVIS) before traveling to Brazil, for trips occurring after 1 October 2023.
Since the initial announcement, Brazil removed Japan from the list after the two countries signed a reciprocal visa waiver agreement set to go into effect on 30 September 2023. As of now, travelers from the three other countries – Australia, Canada, and the US – will still need to get a VIVI to enter Brazil.
The eVisa platform for the VIVI is expected to go live on 1 September 2023. VIVIS allow for a stay in Brazil of up to 90 days and cover activities including tourism, business (provided there is no renumeration in Brazil), transit, artistic or sports activities, study, and volunteer work.
Brazil’s immigration authorities have informally suggested the 1 October deadline for implementation could be extended, though no formal statement has yet been made. Follow this blog for more information as it becomes available.
Immigration Insights
Newland Chase recommends Brazil-bound passport holders from Australia, Canada, and the US, who will be traveling after 1 October apply for their VIVIS to avoid any potential entry issues. Please feel free to contact us if you have any specific questions.
Original post:
The government of Brazil has moved to reinstate the visa requirement for citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada, and Japan. The visa requirement will apply to all passport holders from those countries traveling to Brazil for business, tourism, or other reasons.
Brazil had suspended the visa requirement for those four countries in 2019 in an effort to boost tourism and business visits. After an initial boost, the number of travelers from those countries dropped. Even after the COVID pandemic waned, the volume of visitors from the four countries did not rebound to 2019 levels.
Nor did the four countries extend visa-waivers to Brazilian citizens. Brazil expects reciprocity in visa-waiver schemes. Therefore, the decision was made to again require visas for passport holders from the US, Australia, Canada, and Japan. Citizens of these countries will need visas to enter Brazil beginning on 1 October 2023.
Newland Chase Insights
Passport holders from the US, Australia, Canada, and Japan can apply now for visit visas (VIVIS) for travel to Brazil after 1 October 2023. VIVIS allow for a stay in Brazil of up to 90 days and cover activities including tourism, business visits for activities such as conferences or meetings (provided there is no renumeration in Brazil), transit, artistic or sports activities, study, and volunteer work. The VIVIS for these four countries will be in the form of an electronic visa.
