Written by León Lanis V., Paralegal
The Brazilian government has announced new “e-visa” requirements for Australia, Canadian and US citizens wanting to travel to Brazil, which will be effective by the 10th of January, 2024. These new requirements will make travelling a bit more complicated than before as passport-holders of these countries will need to be granted a visa prior to travel to Brazil.
Context
Reciprocity has long been the guiding principle for Brazil’s migration policy, however, during the previous Bolsonaro government a visa-on-arrival program was introduced for these countries, along with Japan, in order to encourage commercial relations with Brazil. It was also done on the basis that these countries would engage in negotiations for reciprocal visa waivers. During the period of which the visa requirement had been relaxed, however, only Japan was able to implement a reciprocal visa waiver. In contrast, the USA in fact refused the possibility of Brazil joining its Waiver Program.
The new requirement
Thus, as of 10 January 2024, passport holders from Australia, Canada and the U.S. will require an electronically issued Visa to enter Brazil, which will be valid for a period of 10 years for U.S. Citizens and 5 years for Canadian and Australian citizens. It will cost USD $80.90. The requirements to access said Visa are:
- A valid passport issued by the country of origin,
- Completed Visa form (online or through a Brazilian Consulate),
- Fee payment,
- Confirmation of flight reservation (with entrance and exit date),
- Bank statement showing transactions of the last 30 days and showing at least USD $2,000 for travelling.
It is worth mentioning that the online form will probably ask you to attach the bank statement, but it must be printed and ready to be handed out to immigration authorities upon entering the country.
The bottom line
Although this is not very convenient news for travellers as it adds an extra step and expense for passport-holders of these countries, it is anticipated that the application will be a fairly quick process, where everything can be expediently done online. If you have travel plans for Brazil, it is important to plan ahead and apply for the visa with plenty of time in order to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
