visa for brazil

Hi all,is this normal procedure to obtain a visa for South America,cost is$285 per person,myself and my wife?We also have to obtain another seperate passport foto each and to ensure we have enough blank pages in the Passport

for border control agents,also have to write a letter each explaining why we want to visit Brazil? wonder if its worth all the hassel. We still have to get

Yellow fever jabs and these are not cheap.The costs keep mounting up,does everyone go through this or is it just me?:confused:

Yes -- we had to go through all that years ago when we did a South American cruise.

Had to get the yellow fever shots.

Our TA gave us an extra set of photos -- she also took care of getting our visas for us -- and sent the passports for these visas - and the letter. So it was not a hassle for us.

Well worth it -- great cruise -- not quite the same one you are thinking about doing.

Hi all,is this normal procedure to obtain a visa for South America,cost is$285 per person,myself and my wife?We also have to obtain another seperate passport foto each and to ensure we have enough blank pages in the Passport

for border control agents,also have to write a letter each explaining why we want to visit Brazil? wonder if its worth all the hassel. We still have to get

Yellow fever jabs and these are not cheap.The costs keep mounting up,does everyone go through this or is it just me?:confused:

You do need the visas for Brazil. We took the pictures ourselves with a digital camera and printed them. 2"X2". Not hard to do.

If you go to the HAL website and click on the area for visas it will direct you to ZVR and you can fill out the form. No need for a letter that way.

Terri

Hi all,is this normal procedure to obtain a visa for South America,cost is$285 per person,myself and my wife?We also have to obtain another seperate passport foto each and to ensure we have enough blank pages in the Passport

for border control agents,also have to write a letter each explaining why we want to visit Brazil? wonder if its worth all the hassel. We still have to get

Yellow fever jabs and these are not cheap.The costs keep mounting up,does everyone go through this or is it just me?:confused:

the red tape is normal, but the cost is WAY too high. the $180 is the cost brazil charges. the rest is going to whatever service you are using. try this company. i have used them twice. looks to be $230:

is it worth it? that is up to you. depends on how long you are going. by the way, brazil charges $180 becuase that is what the US charges them. we have more red tape, too. a copy of your travel itinerary is what you need to proivide for your 'letter'. that website i posted has very specific instructions.

http://www.visaexpress.net/brazil/braziltouristvisa.htm

That's all normal, but $285 is way too high. I think Brazil actually charges $130 or $150, same as the US (it's retaliatory). Can you get to a Brazilian consulate & do it in person?

the # of brazil cruises is off because of this . ...remember, however , a lot of this is reciprocal . i know some non us cits who wont cruise out of usa because its a hastle ...........all this is going to get even more intetesting as argentina is on a kick re shipss calling at stanley falklands [ malvinas ] and ships flying uk colors [ even bermuda ] l

we got our visas in Nov 2011 directly from a brazilian consulate. The cost was $140/pp. If you go thru a 3rd party to get the visa for you, you will definitely pay more $ - whatever they want to charge.

I made two day trips to the Brazilian Consulate in Chicago from Iowa and obtained visas for less than the visa services would have charged us. Don't have the scoop for Canadians, though.

when we got our Brazil visas - we just sent everything off to their consulate (I was really nervous but used guaranteed mail). Everything came back in about 30 days. Is it worth it? Well, do you want to get off there? Even if you are just leaving the ship you need to have a visa for Brazil. Highly recommend you stay a couple days and explore.

the only good thing about the visa is that it is supposed to be good as long as your passport - if you have our luck - our passport only had one more year of life:rolleyes:

the South America cruise is a wonderful experience and I really recommend it - the visas are a pain - but it's part of life when you visit different countries:D

Jacqui, at least for the US (I suspect Canada is the same) the visa is good for 10 years regardless. If your passport expires, you should be able to take the old passport with the visa.

I think in terms of what you get the one time cost is a pretty small, if irritating, piece of the pie.

I think a few years ago you got a visa that was only good for 90 days from issue, I think that was a big hassle.

Roy

Jacqui, at least for the US (I suspect Canada is the same) the visa is good for 10 years regardless. If your passport expires, you should be able to take the old passport with the visa.

 

I think in terms of what you get the one time cost is a pretty small, if irritating, piece of the pie.

 

I think a few years ago you got a visa that was only good for 90 days from issue, I think that was a big hassle.

 

Roy

Roy, the rules might have changed but our Canadian passports are only good for 5 years - my info was that the visa was valid as long as the passport was. We did have to wait 90 days prior to entry to apply but it was good as long as the passport was. I was playing with another cruise so called the Embassy and was told no - if the passport was expired it was not valid (might be like getting info from Seattle for HAL though not sure, but I took them at their word).

For us, it was a part of the cruise cost and there was no question in our minds that we were going to get it and pay for it. I don't regret one minute of it and recommend the OP does this cruise if it interests them:D

We had nearly 21 enchanting days and enjoyed every moment:)

when we got our Brazil visas - we just sent everything off to their consulate (I was really nervous but used guaranteed mail). Everything came back in about 30 days. Is it worth it? Well, do you want to get off there? Even if you are just leaving the ship you need to have a visa for Brazil. Highly recommend you stay a couple days and explore.

 

the only good thing about the visa is that it is supposed to be good as long as your passport - if you have our luck - our passport only had one more year of life:rolleyes:

 

the South America cruise is a wonderful experience and I really recommend it - the visas are a pain - but it's part of life when you visit different countries:D

We went down to Rio 4 days precruise -- loved it.

Our passports expired 2 years after we were there -- so didn't get much out of those visas.

Canadians and Americans are very lucky - not many visas are required for travel. Many nations have to get visas for nearly every trip they take (even simple vacations)! This can be months long process with trips planned well in advance and processes that sometimes need in person interviews, letters of sponsorship, letters of employment, bank statements, plane tickets etc etc and then still getting denied the visa or getting the visa and being turned away at the point of entry.

So as much as its a "pain" - fill in a form and pay some money - do put it in perspective. It could be much more difficult!

...the only good thing about the visa is that it is supposed to be good as long as your passport - if you have our luck - our passport only had one more year of life...

For US citizens, the above is not true. I don't know about Canadians.

For US ctizens, a Brazilian visa is now good for ten years and remains valid even if the passport expires. All that is needed is to carry both the old and the new passports.

By the way, this is also true for India.

Scott & Karen

...service these folks provided:

http://www.travelvisapro.com/visa/brazil

Looks like it's about $229 pp for a Brazil visa these days ($180 counselar fee and a $49 processing fee). Seems reasonable.

We provided our own return postage & tracking 'thingy' so you don't need FedEx, etc. If I recall we got everything back in less then 10 days although we selected the 10-14 day processing option on the drop down menu.

Have a great cruise.

Bon Voyage & Good Health!

Bob:)

For US citizens, the above is not true. I don't know about Canadians.

 

For US ctizens, a Brazilian visa is now good for ten years and remains valid even if the passport expires. All that is needed is to carry both the old and the new passports.

 

By the way, this is also true for India.

 

Scott & Karen

my info was Canadian as the op is Canadian as well:) If the reciprocity agreements for Canada have changed and the visas are good for 10 years, even better but the op would need to double check this info - the last thing I heard was they were not (5 years) - their best source is the embassy itself. None of us are experts in visas and rules can change on a regular basis;)

the red tape is normal, but the cost is WAY too high. the $180 is the cost brazil charges. the rest is going to whatever service you are using. try this company. i have used them twice. looks to be $230:

 

is it worth it? that is up to you. depends on how long you are going. by the way, brazil charges $180 becuase that is what the US charges them. we have more red tape, too. a copy of your travel itinerary is what you need to proivide for your 'letter'. that website i posted has very specific instructions.

 

http://www.visaexpress.net/brazil/braziltouristvisa.htm

The OP lists "Canada" as location -- that ma very well change things, like cost and required documentation'

When we last went through the process (5 years ago), we were directed as to which Brazilian Consulate we had to work through (dependant upon ZIP Code of residence). Different Consulates had different rules that one had to comply with, although the costs were uniform (whatever the US was charging Brazilians at that time - I do not recall the exact amount).

Whether, or not, Yellow Fever innoculation was required depended on one's itinerary, and advisories in effect at that time. We were not required, but got them any way (we needed them the following year for a different itinerary).

Ray in NH

Not sure this applies to Canadian citizens but ---These are obtained at an International Travel clinic --- your personal physician can't give them to you. Fortunately, living in Buffalo, NY -- wirh Canada just across the lake -- ours was easy to obtain. However, if you are over 65 years of age with health issues (DH is a diabetic with heart issues) --- you may be exempt from getting it. There is a area on the Yellow Immunization booklet that your personal physican needs to complete.

For our Brazilian visas --- we used "www.itseasyvisaservice.com" in NYC --- had our passports back in under a week !!!

This a fabulous trip !!!!!!! I certainly hope you can go ---

Jacqui, at least for the US (I suspect Canada is the same) the visa is good for 10 years regardless. If your passport expires, you should be able to take the old passport with the visa.

 

I think in terms of what you get the one time cost is a pretty small, if irritating, piece of the pie.

 

I think a few years ago you got a visa that was only good for 90 days from issue, I think that was a big hassle.

 

Roy

When our passport expired I e-mailed the consulate in Miami & asked if we could still use the visa which was in our old passport & still had two years to go..They e-mailed me back & said as long as we carried both passports together (we stapled them together) we could still use the visa & that is exactly what we did..However, our visa has since expired so will need a new one..Too bad as that visa was only good for 5 yrs..

Re the 90 day rule..Do you mean it is no longer in effect..We don't get into Brazil until Feb 16 even though we leave on our cruise Jan 5..I hope that is the case, as I've been concerned about sending our passports off mid. November & getting them back in time for our Jan 5 departure..I hate doing things like this during the Holidays, as there always seem to be delays at that time..

thanks..

Cheers...:)Betty

Roy, the rules might have changed but our Canadian passports are only good for 5 years - my info was that the visa was valid as long as the passport was.

I got my Brazilian Visa in 2009 from the Brazilian Consulate in Vancouver. When I applied I was told that the Visa would be good from 1-5 yrs., depending on the information about income that was provided to them. My Visa was approved for 5 years, but I had to get a new passport recently. I was told at the Consulate that if my passport expired before the Visa did, that I could just take my new passport and the old passport with the non-expired Visa in it with me and all would be fine. Two of my friends did that on a HAL cruise and had no problems at all.

When our passport expired I e-mailed the consulate in Miami & asked if we could still use the visa which was in our old passport & still had two years to go..They e-mailed me back & said as long as we carried both passports together (we stapled them together) we could still use the visa & that is exactly what we did..However, our visa has since expired so will need a new one..Too bad as that visa was only good for 5 yrs..

Re the 90 day rule..Do you mean it is no longer in effect..We don't get into Brazil until Feb 16 even though we leave on our cruise Jan 5..I hope that is the case, as I've been concerned about sending our passports off mid. November & getting them back in time for our Jan 5 departure..I hate doing things like this during the Holidays, as there always seem to be delays at that time..

 

thanks..

Cheers...:)Betty

Betty, the following posts are from the Crystal forum (emphasis mine). I consider Keith a VERY reliable source. There's a bit of jargon in there with regard to cruise numbers and I'll just try to translate the schedule into English:

3209: Kobe to Vancouver, ending 4/29/13

3228-3229 NY to Miami, ending 11/23/13

My Prinsendam embarking 11/26/13; my passport expires early 11/13.

For any of you who are booked on one of the 2013 Crystal Serenity Voyages either the 2013 Full World Cruise. one of tw voyages that either begin or end in Brazil, or a couple of legs of the World Cruise where you will transit through Brazil, I waned to let you know that the Visa information is on the Pinnacle Travel Document Systems (TDS) web site via the Crystal Cruises Web Site.

 

This link will take you there.

 

http://www.traveldocs.com/uploads/pinnacle/operators/crystal/CRYSTAL%20WC%20%202013%20REQX.pdf

 

Unlike in the past where one had to enter Brazil within three months of the issuance of the Visa, that is no longer the case and the visa is now good for ten years from the time it is issued.

For anyone certain to be taking this cruise, this is a good time to apply as the turn around time is around ten days or slightly less from the time you send your Passport and Visa application to Pinnacle and the time you will likely receive it back. Later in the year turn around time would likely be much longer by the Brazilian Consulates as the demand for visas increase significantly for those traveling there during their summer season.

 

Keith

I am looking at this as well although the voyage is actually on the Prinsendam (3305 looked great for both itinerary and price but was too close in time and too far in distance vs 3209 to be a good fit). My passport expires November 2013, leaving me with just over 6 months to go at the end of 3209. What I hope to do is send in my passport renewal immediately after 3209 and get the Brazil visa as soon as I have the new passport. I then have 6 months before 3228, 3229, and the Amazon. Is this a reasonable timetable or is there a better alternative/

 

Thanks

Roy

Roy I am sure this will be fine but why don't you just get the visa now. The visa is good for 10 years. And you can just bring your old passport with the Brazilian Visa and the new passport for your cruise.

 

Are you talking about getting the new passport after 3209. If you do, that would work but I would apply for that new passport as soon as you get back and I would overnight it to them and have them send it priority mail back to you. You'll still have a lot of time but it's just good to have the passport back and then work on the visa. Applying for a Brazil Visa in May is fine. They will tell you one month but we got ours back in less than two weeks because most people apply for the visas in the Fall.

Now, one more approach and yes I know your existing passport doesn't expire until next year but you could get a new passport now and then that is already taken care of. I've done that before.

 

Anyway, all three options would work.

 

Keith

I think you're very safe applying for that visa now; in fact it seems like a very good time to do so.

I noticed the link in Keith's first post takes you to the visa service Keith uses, and actually I may go through them since my time constraint is the time between 2 Crystal cruises, but I've had good service from ZVS as well.

Roy

Hi all,is this normal procedure to obtain a visa for South America,cost is$285 per person,myself and my wife?We also have to obtain another seperate passport foto each and to ensure we have enough blank pages in the Passport

for border control agents,also have to write a letter each explaining why we want to visit Brazil? wonder if its worth all the hassel. We still have to get

Yellow fever jabs and these are not cheap.The costs keep mounting up,does everyone go through this or is it just me?:confused:

Since there's no Brazilian Consulate anywhere near us we used Zierer visa service http://zvs.com/

and found that to be an easy way to get the visas in our passports.

It was nowhere near $285 per person. But it might cost more for Canada, we're from US.

Where in Brazil are you going? We only had port stops on the coast and then spent a few days in Rio so we didn't need yellow fever shots. Those are needed for the interior.

The fee for a Canadian to get a Brazilian Visa is CAD $81.25 + $25 processing fee ($106.25). http://vancouver.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/fee_schedule.xml

Betty, the following posts are from the Crystal forum (emphasis mine). I consider Keith a VERY reliable source. There's a bit of jargon in there with regard to cruise numbers and I'll just try to translate the schedule into English:

 

3209: Kobe to Vancouver, ending 4/29/13

3228-3229 NY to Miami, ending 11/23/13

My Prinsendam embarking 11/26/13; my passport expires early 11/13.

 

 

I think you're very safe applying for that visa now; in fact it seems like a very good time to do so.

 

I noticed the link in Keith's first post takes you to the visa service Keith uses, and actually I may go through them since my time constraint is the time between 2 Crystal cruises, but I've had good service from ZVS as well.

 

Roy

Roy thanks so much for that info..It's good to know that we don't have to wait until 90 days prior..I think you are right ..I'll call ZVS & discuss having them get our visa's now instead of waiting for the fall or later season..Fortunately our Passports are good until 2016 & our Yellow Fever shot which we had in 2006 is still good..

Thanks again..

Cheers.. Betty

Roy thanks so much for that info..It's good to know that we don't have to wait until 90 days prior..I think you are right ..I'll call ZVS & discuss having them get our visa's now instead of waiting for the fall or later season..Fortunately our Passports are good until 2016 & our Yellow Fever shot which we had in 2006 is still good..

 

Thanks again..

 

Cheers.. Betty

OK I just checked out ZVS WEB site..

Their fee in addition to the visa fee for Brazil which is $180 for U.S. Citizens, is $99.00 per person..So our Visa's for Brazil would cost $558 if we went through ZVS...I'll call the Miami Consulate & see what I have to do to get our Visa's directly from them considering the fact that we have loads of time..

Cheers...:)Betty