Brazil Travel and Visa Guide

Visa requirements to Brazil

  • Brazil has a reciprocal visa policy with all countries, meaning that whenever prices and restrictions are applied to Brazilian visiting a country, Brazil adopts the same measures for that country’s visitors.
  • Citizens from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay may enter the country with a valid ID card and stay up to 90 days.
  • No visa is required for stays of up to 90 days from holders of passports from these countries, unless otherwise indicated: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Rep., Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR passport, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom (Including British National (Overseas) passport holders), Uruguay , Venezuela (60 days) and Vatican City. Note that the immigration officer has the right to restrict your visa to less than 90 days, if he deems fit. (This has been done routinely for lone male travellers arriving in Fortaleza, allegedly to combat prostitution tourism.) He will then state the number of days (e.g. 60 or 30) in pen writing inside the stamp just given in your passport; if not, it remains as 90 days. Note that even if you receive a tourist visa that is valid for a longer period of time, a tourist visa is invalid unless it has been initially used within ninety days of its issue.
  • Citizens from the following countries currently need a visa for Brazil: Angola, Armenia, Australia, Canada, Cape Verde, China (not including Hong Kong and Macau, see above), Cyprus, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, Taiwan, the United States, former Soviet countries and others not listed above (complete list – Portuguese only).
  • Citizens from Canada and The United States do require visas. Americans have to pay at least US$131 for a tourist visa and US$191 for a business visa. As of November 2008, citizens of Canada should expect to pay at least CDN$ 117.00 for a tourist visa not including any handling or processing fees.
  • Tourist visas (including those granted on the spot in immigration control, as for most Europeans) can be extended at any office of the Policia Federal. All state capitals, and most border towns and international ports have one. Tourist visas only be extended once, for a maximum of 90 days, and under no circumstances can you be granted more than 180 days with a tourist visa for any 365-day period. You should contact the federal police about 1 week before your visa expires. The handling fee is currently R$ 67 (Oct. 2008). You may be asked for an outbound ticket (book a fully refundable one on the internet, then cancel when your visa is extended), and a proof of subsistance (for which your credit card is mostly accepted.) In order to apply for the extension, you must fill out the Emissão da Guia de Recolhimento on the Federal Police website, which you will carry to the Banco do Brasil in order to pay the fee. Do not pay the fee until you have spoken with a federal police officer about your case. If she/he denies the extension of your visa, you must have a bank account in Brazil in order to receive a refund