Brazil visa

[PRH]

We were just notified that a visa for Brazil will be required for our March transatlantic from Buenos Aires.  Has anyone done the research on this yet?  Viking suggests a company that tends to charge way more than others for processing a visa.  Thanks!

[Reaniel]

1 hour ago, PRH said:

We were just notified that a visa for Brazil will be required for our March transatlantic from Buenos Aires.  Has anyone done the research on this yet?  Viking suggests a company that tends to charge way more than others for processing a visa.  Thanks!

 

I mean you can certainly just do it on your own to "cut out the middle man".  However, from the looks of it, visit visa for Brazil sure look like a serious hassle at this time.  You can check out the visa info page at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington DC: https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-washington/consulate-general-of-brazil-in-washington-dc/visitor-visa-vivis

 

However, I don't recommend you start applying for your visa until January, since that's (probably) when a new eVisa will become available.  They're supposed to have the system set up 30 days before the Jan. 10th date, but who knows.  And from what I gather, it'll cost less (USD $44.50 vs USD $185) and valid for longer (2 years multiple entries vs 1 year single entry).

 

So I suggest having everything ready but hold off on applying just yet.

[millybess]

On 10/29/2023 at 7:58 AM, PRH said:

We were just notified that a visa for Brazil will be required for our March transatlantic from Buenos Aires.  Has anyone done the research on this yet?  Viking suggests a company that tends to charge way more than others for processing a visa.  Thanks!

The latest from our consulate.  I just received this email today.

 

Dear Madam,

 

Visitor visas for Canadians are not yet available to the public. 

 

The Government is working on the online platform that will be used by applicants to request electronic visitor visas. The visa will be issued electronically, with no need to attend the Consulate.

 

We suggest visiting the visa section of our website in early December for updates on the availability of the new platform. https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-toronto/visas

 

 

Best regards / Cordialmente,

 

Consulate General of Brazil in Toronto 

Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Toronto

http://toronto.itamaraty.gov.br

[ropomo]

Another alternative is to do it in person. We did this at the Brazilian consulate in Atlanta. You make an appointment, appear for an interview and your passport with visa is available for pick up later in the day or it may be possible for them to mail it to you if you provide a self addressed, postage paid priority envelope. I see you are about a 2 hour drive to Boston where there is a consulate that serves your area. May not be convenient for you, but it's an option and would give you an excuse to go to Boston.

[millybess]

1 minute ago, ropomo said:

Another alternative is to do it in person. We did this at the Brazilian consulate in Atlanta. You make an appointment, appear for an interview and your passport with visa is available for pick up later in the day or it may be possible for them to mail it to you if you provide a self addressed, postage paid priority envelope. I see you are about a 2 hour drive to Boston where there is a consulate that serves your area. May not be convenient for you, but it's an option and would give you an excuse to go to Boston.

That's really interesting.  So you have a new visa for 2024?

[ropomo]

I should have mentioned, this was in 2011. Apparently, things may have changed since then. Sorry if this caused confusion.

[millybess]

NP ropomo.  We were hoping that the same would happen here and we would just be able to go to the Brazilian Consulate and get our visa.

 

I think that with their new rules, one has to get an e-visa and apply online and unfortunately they aren't set up for that at the moment.  

 

Our problem is that we are departing Toronto on January 18th and their new rules come into effect on January 10th.  It really doesn't give us much time.

 

Thanks for your input.

[Reaniel]

6 minutes ago, millybess said:

NP ropomo.  We were hoping that the same would happen here and we would just be able to go to the Brazilian Consulate and get our visa.

 

I think that with their new rules, one has to get an e-visa and apply online and unfortunately they aren't set up for that at the moment.  

 

Our problem is that we are departing Toronto on January 18th and their new rules come into effect on January 10th.  It really doesn't give us much time.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Like I said before, that the official government announcement said the system is supposed to be ready at least 30 days before the new rules take effect.  Hence the early Dec date to come back and check to see if the e-visa system is up and running (mentioned by Consulate).

 

It's possible they'll push back the date again if they still can't get the system online in time for the 30-day deadline they promised, but who knows.

 

Otherwise, you'll need to do the traditional visa via mail (because the various consulates don't take appoints over visitor visa anymore), which costs more, requires more documentation, etc.

[millybess]

2 minutes ago, Reaniel said:

 

It's possible they'll push back the date again if they still can't get the system online in time for the 30-day deadline they promised, but who knows.

 

Yes, as I've said since this became an issue, that seems to be the consensus of people I've talked to.  Fingers crossed!!

[Reaniel]

30 minutes ago, millybess said:

Yes, as I've said since this became an issue, that seems to be the consensus of people I've talked to.  Fingers crossed!!

 

The thing I'm hoping for the most is if their new e-visa system will be along the lines of Turkey's in terms of documentation requirements.  I mean I understand how they're trying to root out stuff like money laundering when they're asking for financial statements.  Still doesn't make it less of a hassle and unnecessary burden. 

[millybess]

23 minutes ago, Reaniel said:

 

The thing I'm hoping for the most is if their new e-visa system will be along the lines of Turkey's in terms of documentation requirements.  I mean I understand how they're trying to root out stuff like money laundering when they're asking for financial statements.  Still doesn't make it less of a hassle and unnecessary burden. 

I'm not sure what the issue is in the USA, but in Canada the Brazilian government has an issue with our reciprocity in visa exemptions.

 

Whereas, my issue is we can't board the ship in San Juan without a visa for Brazil. 

[Iloveketo]

We checked with GenVisa and they suggested we check back in December. We live in the US. 

[deec]

We too are waiting for the website to go live  we are scheduled to go to Iguaza Falls mid January and want to visit the Brazilian falls. 

[millybess]

On 11/17/2023 at 11:55 AM, deec said:

We too are waiting for the website to go live  we are scheduled to go to Iguaza Falls mid January and want to visit the Brazilian falls. 

The website is available as of today. Still a little “buggy”. 
 

https://brazil.vfsevisa.com

 

The Brazilian government has contracted a company in India to do this for them we think.  We've had to "chat" a few times.  The issues aren't resolved at the moment.

[deec]

how much is it to apply?

 

[millybess]

3 minutes ago, deec said:

how much is it to apply?

 

$81 U.S.

 

[deec]

thanks

[millybess]

On 11/17/2023 at 11:55 AM, deec said:

We too are waiting for the website to go live  we are scheduled to go to Iguaza Falls mid January and want to visit the Brazilian falls. 

We also need our visas for January. We’ve spent about 5 hours on this today for just 1 visa so far. We’re still not done just for that visa. 

[Critically Cruising]

Try looking here:

 

https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/assuntos/portal-consular/QGRVsimplesing30OCT23.pdf

 

Seems to me that citizens of Canada and the USA are exempt from needing a Brazilian visa.  This is the official government website, not a service, and is updated as of October.

 

NOTE:  This is not to be construed in any way as legal or immigration advice or counsel.  It is merely for informational purposes gleaned from a reading of the government website.

 

https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/assuntos/portal-consular/vistos/informacoes-sobre-vistos-para-estrangeiros-viajarem-ao-brasil

 

 

[deec]

Critically Cruising new requirements will begin January 10, 2024.  this date has been adjusted numerous times in the last year

[Meander Ingwa]

Critically Cruising, the information you linked to is over a year old.  The Brazilian consulate in DC has current information and the above posted link to the on line portal for applications

[millybess]

FYI, today the application and payment for the second visa went much more quickly.  They have given no timeline for processing the visa.  

[Iloveketo]

3 hours ago, millybess said:

FYI, today the application and payment for the second visa went much more quickly.  They have given no timeline for processing the visa.  

Glad it went better for the second one. We are in the US, not Canada, but hopefully it will be basically the same. Do you have any tips?

[millybess]

31 minutes ago, Iloveketo said:

Glad it went better for the second one. We are in the US, not Canada, but hopefully it will be basically the same. Do you have any tips?

The process has been somewhat on the frustrating side.
They are very strict on the characteristics of the photo.

The banking information they require is a little over the top.

They want our itinerary from the moment we leave Toronto until we leave Brazil, but there isn’t a way of explaining that we are arriving by sea and departing by air. That has required another chat session which has yet to be resolved.
 

Maybe in a couple of days I will have more helpful information. Hopefully they will soon relax their standards for future visa-seekers 
 

I think that people from all of the countries that now need a visa to visit Brazil will be dealing with the same company that has been contracted by the Brazilian government. When we applied for the first visa on their day 1 of implementing the program, they were definitely still working on getting the kinks out.  

[Iloveketo]

31 minutes ago, millybess said:

The process has been somewhat on the frustrating side.
They are very strict on the characteristics of the photo.

The banking information they require is a little over the top.

They want our itinerary from the moment we leave Toronto until we leave Brazil, but there isn’t a way of explaining that we are arriving by sea and departing by air. That has required another chat session which has yet to be resolved.
 

Maybe in a couple of days I will have more helpful information. Hopefully they will soon relax their standards for future visa-seekers 
 

I think that people from all of the countries that now need a visa to visit Brazil will be dealing with the same company that has been contracted by the Brazilian government. When we applied for the first visa on their day 1 of implementing the program, they were definitely still working on getting the kinks out.  

Thanks for the update and good luck.