by Brian Major
Last updated: 10:55 AM ET, Fri January 5, 2024
The Brazilian Tourist Board (Embratur) has postponed required
entry visas for passport holders from Australia, Canada and the United States until April 10, 2024.
The extension will enable Embratur to “complete the process
of implementing the E-Visa [system] and prevent the change from interfering
with the flow of tourists from these countries to Brazil during the high season,”
said officials in a statement.
Embratur announced the launch of its VFS Electronic Visa (eVisa) platform on December
1. Under the program, citizens from the U.S., Canada and Australia are required
to obtain authorization to enter the country. The visa application process can
be completed online and costs $89 per person.
The visa will enable multiple entries over a period of
years depending on the holder’s nationality, remaining the same as previous conventional
Brazilian visas. American visas are effective for 10 years, with Canadian and
Australian visas set at five years.
Travelers can apply on the vfs.global website; the application
and approval process takes five working days, according to Embratur officials.
Approved travelers will receive a PDF file via email containing
their eVisa. Recipients should print a copy of the eVisa to present to border
authorities, and also retain a downloaded copy on their smartphones.
Embratur is advising travelers with dual nationality to apply
under the country that issued their travel documents. Visitors who already have
a valid physical visa attached to their passport that covers their arrival period
are not required to apply for a new visa.
The eVisa program is intended to “streamline the visa
application and issuance process, making it faster, simpler and more convenient
overall,” according to Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.
Brazil reported sharply higher visitor arrivals for 2023, with 4.78
million international travelers between January and October, a 74 percent
increase compared with 2022.
U.S. travelers helped to drive the increases. Brazil hosted
483,000 Americans between January and September of 2023, second only to
Argentina, which contributed 1.5 million travelers during the period.
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