Brazilian Tourist Visa - Recent Experience?

Has anyone used a visa service recently when obtaining a Brazilian tourist visa? If so, I would welcome any contact information and your comments, either positive or negative, about the visa service you used.

Thank you!

We used CIBT to process our Brazilian visa a year and a half ago. They were great. We were sailing with Oceania and CIBT had a reduced rate. We did not go through Oceania as their price was much higher. The process is dirt of complicated but CIBT answered all my questions and review your documents before sending them to the consulate. We live 8 hours from New York and since one has to wait five days to get the visa, it was cheaper for us to use the service. Some of the fees were sending the passport via UPS. You are able to track your visa progress online. We just used them a month ago for China. They were almost as efficient. The only hang up we had was dealing with Chinese New Year when the entire country shuts down for a week.

There may be other agencies out there who may do it cheaper. I felt very secure using the service. They literally hold your hand through the process.

Pearl

One caveat.....

Make sure you read very carefully the site of the specific Brazilian Consulate which has jurisdiction over your residence, to understand the precise timeframe for a visa agency to get your visa (often longer than for people who do not use one) to give yourself sufficient time before you travel. (lots of recent posts online of people who left it too long and are now stuck....)

You only need a printed itinerary in most cases, not a paid ticket. Apply as soon as possible.

One caveat.....

Make sure you read very carefully the site of the specific Brazilian Consulate which has jurisdiction over your residence, to understand the precise timeframe for a visa agency to get your visa (often longer than for people who do not use one) to give yourself sufficient time before you travel. (lots of recent posts online of people who left it too long and are now stuck....)

You only need a printed itinerary in most cases, not a paid ticket. Apply as soon as possible.

Do you still have to use the visa with in 90 days of receiving it? I know we did the last time we went to Brazil. If they are good for 5 years it shouldn't matter? Thanks

Allan

Do you still have to use the visa with in 90 days of receiving it? I know we did the last time we went to Brazil. If they are good for 5 years it shouldn't matter? Thanks

Allan

No, nowadays the visas a are good for 10 years and they automatically start on the date of issue.

Has anyone used a visa service recently when obtaining a Brazilian tourist visa? If so, I would welcome any contact information and your comments, either positive or negative, about the visa service you used.

 

Thank you!

I downloaded information from the consulate's website, filled out the forms, sent in the package. Returned as promised after their promised 10-day turnaround time. I had looked into the idea of a Service but all I could see was that it would add time and expense. I would still have had to do the same form-filling, package mailing steps. YMMV. (This was January 2015.)

I downloaded information from the consulate's website, filled out the forms, sent in the package. Returned as promised after their promised 10-day turnaround time. I had looked into the idea of a Service but all I could see was that it would add time and expense. I would still have had to do the same form-filling, package mailing steps. YMMV. (This was January 2015.)

"The" consulate's website?

From YOUR consulate's website.

Not all Brazilian Consulates in the US now accept applications by mail. Some only accept them in person: yours, a relative's or a visa service's representative (if you live too far to get there yourself).

Everyone's MMV in these visa cases.

"The" consulate's website?

From YOUR consulate's website.

Not all Brazilian Consulates in the US now accept applications by mail. Some only accept them in person: yours, a relative's or a visa service's representative (if you live too far to get there yourself).

Everyone's MMV in these visa cases.

Thanks for the correction. I had heard that they had tried that policy in Florida and maybe then rescinded it? Whatever... Since the OP's question didn't specify region of the country I didn't think to track down the specifics in their area, just reflected my own positive experience with the process. As you say, YMMV. In my case, the consulate is about a five-hour drive away. If I had needed to do this in person, I would have driven the five hours rather than deal with an agent.

We used CIBT to process our Brazilian visa a year and a half ago. They were great. We were sailing with Oceania and CIBT had a reduced rate. We did not go through Oceania as their price was much higher. The process is dirt of complicated but CIBT answered all my questions and review your documents before sending them to the consulate. We live 8 hours from New York and since one has to wait five days to get the visa, it was cheaper for us to use the service. Some of the fees were sending the passport via UPS. You are able to track your visa progress online. We just used them a month ago for China. They were almost as efficient. The only hang up we had was dealing with Chinese New Year when the entire country shuts down for a week.

 

There may be other agencies out there who may do it cheaper. I felt very secure using the service. They literally hold your hand through the process.

Pearl

I called CIBT Monday morning, and the representative to whom I spoke emailed the Brazil Visa Application Kit immediately.

Thank you to all who posted!

Pearl

We are on an Oceania cruise in November 2015 and interested in using the CIBT services, but a bit confused on their pricing:

CIBTvisas Fees:

The following prices are for CIBTvisas's professional services. CIBTvisas fees are charged per item. The final cost is determined by the number of business days allowed for processing and the services required to complete your order.

Standard (8 business days or longer) $114.00

Rush Surcharge (4-7 business days processing) $109.00

Consular Fees:

In addition to CIBTvisas's service fees, consular processing fees are included in the cost of your visa application. CIBTvisas submits payment for your application to the appropriate consulate on your behalf. A 5.7% processing fee is assessed on government agency fees when they are paid by CIBT. The fees for consular processing services, exclusive of a visa application fee when applicable, are as follows:

4 Business Days $160.00

__________________

Also, I think that I read it was an additional $48 for shipping, so the total would come to $322 per passport if rush is not needed. Is this the correct amount or am I misunderstanding what I am reading? The Oceania fee to get the Brazilian Visa is $399 per passenger.

Thanks for any help I can be provided.

from the consulate end of things:

The Brazilian visa costs U$160 for US passport holders.

None of the Brazilian Consulates do expedited/rush visas (for individuals or through an agency, so some of the info doesn't seem applicable to Brazil).

(Assuming you live too far to go in person) Does your consulate not allow you to submit by mail yourself?

I believe from the documents that I have reviewed that the entire process can be handled via mail if I utilize this agency. I am unsure about going through a consulate myself

I believe from the documents that I have reviewed that the entire process can be handled via mail if I utilize this agency. I am unsure about going through a consulate myself

It is not a particularly difficult process to do on your own, Lane, directly with the Brazilian Consulate, if mail applications are allowed by "your" consulate.

Where do you reside? (To determine your consular jurisdiction and the requirements if that particular consulate--they each have a website with specific details--and each has slightly different requirements)

Of course, you can choose to pay extra for the convenience of having an agency handle things, even if you are able to deal directly with the consulate, but that is a choice, not a necessity in many cases.

I believe from the documents that I have reviewed that the entire process can be handled via mail if I utilize this agency. I am unsure about going through a consulate myself

As Vida has said, you can probably do this yourself. If you go through an agent, they will have you fill out the forms. If you deal directly with a consulate, they will have you fill out the forms. The difference is that the agent has you send the forms to them, and they handle it from there. This can be important if you live in a region where the consulate requires face-to-face processing.

By mail: I did this in January. I downloaded the forms for the two of us, filled them out, got "passport" pictures at the local camera shop, went to the post office, bought a Money Order for $320, bought return postage for the package, sent Priority Mail package to "my" consulate. If I had used an agent I would have done all of the above anyway except I would have mailed to the agent, I maybe could have used a credit card rather than money order, and it would have cost me twice as much.

So, check on the web to find the consulate in your area. Check if they allow mail-in-service and go on from there. Visas are a large part of any consulate's business and the information is relatively prominent on the web sites.

However you get the Visa, it is good for 10 years, so no need to wait until close to your departure date.

Stan

As Vida has said, you can probably do this yourself. If you go through an agent, they will have you fill out the forms. If you deal directly with a consulate, they will have you fill out the forms. The difference is that the agent has you send the forms to them, and they handle it from there. This can be important if you live in a region where the consulate requires face-to-face processing.

 

By mail: I did this in January. I downloaded the forms for the two of us, filled them out, got "passport" pictures at the local camera shop, went to the post office, bought a Money Order for $320, bought return postage for the package, sent Priority Mail package to "my" consulate. If I had used an agent I would have done all of the above anyway except I would have mailed to the agent, I maybe could have used a credit card rather than money order, and it would have cost me twice as much.

 

So, check on the web to find the consulate in your area. Check if they allow mail-in-service and go on from there. Visas are a large part of any consulate's business and the information is relatively prominent on the web sites.

 

However you get the Visa, it is good for 10 years, so no need to wait until close to your departure date.

 

Stan

2 notes:

1) requirements for some consulates have slight additions/differences from the list above--check "your" consulate's site carefully

2) visa is good for 10 years from date of issue (US passport holders)

(under the old system, for which info is still found online on forums, a new visa had to be activated by entering Brazil within 90 days of visa issue)

Thanks for the information. I will contact the Brazilian Consulate Office if New Orleans as there is not much information provided on the website.

Thanks for the information. I will contact the Brazilian Consulate Office if New Orleans as there is not much information provided on the website.

Your Brazilian Consulate may actually be Houston.

http://houston.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/jurisdictions.xml

"Jurisdiction: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas."

See the list on the same page of other Brazilian Consulates in the US.

(I have never heard of a Brazilian Consulate in New Orleans, one dealing with non-Brazilians. Occasionally they offer "itinerant" consulate services to Brazilians in locations other than those in the list.)

Edit: I Googled and did indeed find:

"Honorary consulate

365 Canal Street, Suite 1600, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

TELEPHONE: (+1) (504) 561-6206"

An Honorary Consulate does not deal with the normal visa process.

Lane, that price seems about the correct amount. We are in the New York district which does not allow one to mail in the forms. They also have a five day turn around. Had we not used the service we would have needed to drive 8 hours one way, stay in a hotel for four nights, and then drive home. Going through the service was a bargain. It is worth the hassle as we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Brazil.

Hope it all works out.

Pearl

@Lane--

The page for the Houston consulate reads:

"The Consulate of Brazil in Houston DOES NOT ACCEPT ANY VISA SUBMISSIONS BY MAIL or WALK-INS." (in person without appointment)so you cannot send your documents by mail on your own, and if you do not live within reasonable driving distance of Houston, you would be using a visa service to get your Brazilian visa.

We are in the New York district which does not allow one to mail in the forms. They also have a five day turn around. Had we not used the service we would have needed to drive 8 hours one way, stay in a hotel for four nights, and then drive home.

No, to be precise, you would have had to drive 8 hours one way to present your documents and leave the staff an envelope to mail the passport with visa back to you.

Yeah I realize now that I will need to use a service. There is an Embassy website that provides an address and phone number for a Brazilian Consulate in New Orleans but I have zero success contacting anyone today.

So, back to square one and using a third party agency to get the Visa.

Thanks for the suggestions and help

Yeah I realize now that I will need to use a service. There is an Embassy website that provides an address and phone number for a Brazilian Consulate in New Orleans but I have zero success contacting anyone today.

 

So, back to square one and using a third party agency to get the Visa.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and help

Even if you have success in contacting someone in New Orleans, an Honorary Consul does not deal with routine visas.

I didn't read the requirements for every consulate office but it appears that you have to appear at the office for the area in which you live. We live near Washington, DC and have to apply in person but other offices allow mailed applications. The requirements are very particular so read before you apply.