Brazil Visa Problems?

[JMARINER]

Is anyone else, who is on the full Navigator Discovery voyage, having problems with the 90 day time frame for use of the Brazilian Visa.

 

We are (were) leaving for France 12 days early on Sept 15, but with the Brazilian Embassy processing times of up to 20 days and arrival in Rio on Dec 4, the dates are not working. The latest date for issue of the Visa would have to be Sept 5th. So if the application was submitted on Sept 5 and add 20 days makes it Sept 25 and the ship sail from Monte Carlo on the 27th.

 

ZVS and Regent have not been any help so far. Neither has the Brazilian Embassy other than to remind me that they follow the same rules that the US make for their citizens. :mad:

 

Any suggestion?

 

J

[NHBob]

That's a real problem. Only solution I can see while maintaining your travel schedule would be to wait until you get to France to apply for the visa, but I don't know if the Brazilian embassy in Paris will even issue visas to anybody but French citizens or residents.

 

Ask ZVS if they have an associate in Paris with Brazilian Embassy contacts who could expedite a visa. I know from experience that these visa services can sometimes accomplish the seemingly impossible, although it can cost a lot in what we used to call "acceleration fees" in some of the places I've worked.

 

About the only other thing that appears possible, which I'm sure you've thought of, would be to delay your departure for France. Not a desirable solution, but probably preferable to being forced to cancel the cruise.

 

Good luck

[TedC]

We're on last two segments, so it's not a problem for us. But I was concerned how full Discovery pax could hande it and surmised Regent would help them. I guess I surmised wrong (again).

 

Brazil visas are usually good for five years. I learned recently that if you have one in an old passport you can bring old passport with your current one and visa will be honored. However, most people do not come under that situation. Our last Brazil visas expired in 2006 so we have to apply in September for new ones.

 

Perhaps you could talk to someone at Brazil consulate and explain your problem. Or, better yet, perhaps Regent will work something out.

 

BTW, visa cost has more than tripled since we got ours in 2001. At that time we were told Brazil was just charging us what US charged its citizens - reciprocity.

 

Good luck

[mariners]

J, you could try http://www.travisa.com which appears to allow you to apply for a second valid US passport for certain situations. I searched "second valid US passport" but I have no experience with US passports or any of the companies and something else might be more valid for you. Good luck.

We'll be on board from Cape Town to Fort Lauderdale.

[mrlevin]

Just make arrangements with the Embassy to have the visa issued on Friday 5 September and mailed to you via express mail; you will have on Monday 8 September. Even if you wait until the 8th to get the visa, should be no problem getting back to you before you leave. Better yet is to personally go to Embassy or Consulate and not take chances with the mail.

[Grothj]

We are not leaving quite so soon but still getting the visa within the time period is not easy. instead of using Zier we are going to do it ourselves. We live in Colorado so it is the Brazilian consulate in Houston that will handle it. Their web site says 10 days handling by mail. They actually say it takes long if you use a service. So I'd suggest going to the web site and find the consulate servicing your state, and see what they say about processing times. We are going to get our Quatar and Indian visas right away and then the Brazilian in early September!

[JMARINER]

Just make arrangements with the Embassy to have the visa issued on Friday 5 September and mailed to you via express mail; you will have on Monday 8 September. Even if you wait until the 8th to get the visa, should be no problem getting back to you before you leave.....

 

I wish this would work, but the local Brazilian Embassy will NOT accept or return applications by mail (including FedEx, etc.) I have called them and they could care less about the problem and told me to email the consulate, which I did, twice in the past week, with no response.

 

As far as getting the Visa in France, so far as I can tell it will not work. The visa has to be obtained from your home jurisdiction. And even in the US, each consulate has different rules, like using mail and processing times.

 

I have spoken with Regent several times. They say they are working on the figuring it out, but no answer so far. I know that I am not the only one with this problem.

 

As far as getting a second passport, this might work. However the logistic would be a problem as I would have to find a way to get the new passport with the visa to me on the ship after I have left the US. I have seen the problems others have had getting their luggage to catch up with them on the last world cruise, so I am not re-assured that the new passport would do any better.

 

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will post what I find out.

 

J

[SnoBirdCruiser]

In case you didn't know everyone entering Brazil has to have a yellow Fever inocculation.These are good for 10 years I believe. We were lucky to be able to bring our forms to a Brazillian Embassy in Toronto but even then it was a little longer than we liked(2 weeks).However it is good for 5 yearsof reentering.

[Shorex]

In case you didn't know everyone entering Brazil has to have a yellow Fever inoculation.

 

For our recent cruise to several coastal cities of Brazil we did get yellow fever inoculations.

 

However, it's not a requirement for entering Brazil (at least for US citizens, can't imagine Canadian citizens would be any different.) The US Center for Disease Control lists certain areas of Brazil where yellow fever is endemic. The coastal cities we visited were not on the yellow fever list. Our concern (besides being very cautious about health issues) was that the countries we visited after Brazil (and after Cape Verde when YF is endemic) would require proof of vaccination before allowing us to enter.

 

As it turns out, no one, either in Brazil, Spain, France or the US ever asked to see the proof of vaccination.

 

Is it possible that Canada requires proof of vaccination before allowing travelers to Brazil to return to Canada?

[jhp]

This probably doesn't address your problems, but I would email the address at the bottom of it if you have questions. This just came up on another board.

http://www.brazilsf.org/visa_faq_eng.htm

[NHBob]

 

However, it's not a requirement for entering Brazil (at least for US citizens, can't imagine Canadian citizens would be any different.)

 

 

Well, yes and no. It is a definite requirement for visiting states where yellow fever is endemic. The regulations are quite complex and I highly recommend careful study of the CDC Yellow Book, http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/yellowBookCh5-MalariaYellowFeverTable.aspx.

 

I don't know if authorities ever asked for vaccination certificates on my Amazon cruise but Crystal made it very clear that nobody would be allowed to board the ship without providing Crystal a copy of the certificate.

 

Biggest problem with yellow fever vaccination is that in US it can only be administered by relatively few government-approved vaccination centers - a nuisance and quite expensive. Centers used to be willing to just give you the shot and send you on your way, but now they insist on a lengthy consultation - suppose they are concerned about liability.

 

On the plus side, vaccination is good for 10 years and neither I, my family, nor anybody I know has ever had an adverse reaction.

 

Bob

[NHBob]

Well, yes and no. It is a definite requirement for visiting states where yellow fever is endemic. The regulations are quite complex and I highly recommend careful study of the CDC Yellow Book, http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/yellowBookCh5-MalariaYellowFeverTable.aspx.

 

 

Re-checking the the above reference, I see that vaccination before visiting Brazilian states where yellow fever is endemic is not a requirement, but a CDC recommendation. The reason it was a requirement for my Amazon cruise was that we called in endemic area French Guiana before proceeding to Brazil.

 

Sorry for any confusion.

 

Bob

[JMARINER]

What a saga. I won't go into the mired details, but ZVS has not been much help and neither was Regent until the matter got to upper management. Forget any help from the Brazilian Embassy. My agent has been a real trooper.

 

So now the bottom line is that I have to get a 2nd US passport. I didn't know that was possible, (neither did anyone at Regent) but it is. The second one is valid for 2 years. ZVS will get the Brazilian Visa in the 2nd passport and send it either to Regent or the ship before we get to Cape Town.

 

One thing that bugs me though; Regent is requiring me to sign a waiver before boarding that if the visa does NOT make it to the ship by the time we depart Cape Town, they will put me off the ship.

 

J

 

PS Thanks to "mariners" for your post regarding the 2nd passport information above. This is one of the reasons this board remains valuable.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow, what a mess--for you and for Regent. They didn't think of this when they designed the itinerary, I'm betting. And they are doing a similar one next year! We are planning to book the last segment, so luckily it's not an issue for us (and we have a consulate here in Toronto.)

 

I'm still studying the yellow fever issue--if we could get away with not having the shots, I would. I've read elsewhere that a doctor's note saying that you can't have the shot for health reasons would suffice. Hmm...

[mariners]

I'm glad the second passport will allow you to keep your travel plans. Two years ago, we were on the SeaDream Tenerife to Rio crossing and one of the passengers was not permitted to embark as she did not have a visa for Brazil. We were told that the whole ship would not be cleared if one person, crew or passengers, did not have the visa.

 

Wendy, regarding the yellow fever vaccine, it is some of the countries after Brazil that require the certificate - such as Barbados. You can check the CDC yellow fever site to determine which countries on your itinerary require the certificate. We were initially reluctant to get our vaccinations, but our travel doctor explained it was necessary to ensure we did not spread the disease (rather than to protect us from the disease).

 

We did have two people on our cruise whom became infected with Dengue Fever from one of our stops in Brazil. There is no prevention other than clothing/mosquito repellent for Dengue.

[PaulaJK]

--What a nerve wracking situation!

--So interesting to learn about a 'second passport'.

--Frankly, I'm not surprised about the waiver, more surprised that they would board you at all since carriers are always so strict/regulated about you having all of your travel documents. Good luck.

--We got the yellow fever shot/innoculation a few years back when our sailing took us to Brazilian ports..don't recall the precise, prevailing reason at the time, but it was ' required'. No problem w. the shots. Of course it's your decision, but having the shot seems easier than chancing that Brazilian authorities will accept a doctor's note. They seem to take delight in being difficult. Even the NY Consultate, where we obtained our visa, was difficult, inhospitable and surly. Recent notes on this topic point in the direction of this attitude's continuation.

[neviboy]

There is one word which clarifies all visa problems. RECIPROCITY. Many visitors to the U.S., mostly Europeans, do not need a visa to enter the U.S. as visitors.

They enter on a 90 day waiver. That is because U.S. Citizens do not require visas to enter these countries as visitors, by country agreements.

Visitors from most S.American countries require visitors' visas to enter the U.S. They are given various amounts of times of stay, and must pay various amounts of fees.

U.S. Citizens , therefore, must subscribe to the same conditions as visitors to these countries. All of the above fall into the reciprocity definition.

There are many UK , Canadian and other nationalities, living in the U.S. who have dual passports. Their visas depend on the reciprocity arrangements made with foreign countries. It is sometimes to their advantage to use their passports other than their U.S. passports.

The rules for vaccinations are well documented for each country.

[JaneBP]

>"Biggest problem with yellow fever vaccination is that in US it can only be administered by relatively few government-approved vaccination centers - a nuisance and quite expensive. Centers used to be willing to just give you the shot and send you on your way, but now they insist on a lengthy consultation - suppose they are concerned about liability."

 

I found the consultation with the Travel Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania most helpful. Many do not have a grasp of the normal adult immunizations and updates recommended. The nurse took into account other planned foreign travel. Yes. I did end up with 6 innoculations, but am now covered and no more worries. Well worth the time and expense for this cruiser.

 

Also, I had a tight Brazilian visa issue last December and the ZVS service was terrific.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yikes, Dengue fever, yes, I've heard about this. I wonder if it's a problem in the coastal cities. Oh well, I guess we pack our repellant!

[Donaldm]

Brazil can be very strict about visas. We have a friend who thought she had a valid Brazilian visa. The US airline okayed her visa, but when she landed in Rio, she was denied entry and was forced to take the next plane back to the US. So, when you receive your visa, be sure to read it carefully to be sure it is valid.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Can you explain in what way her visa was not valid? How can someone have an invalid visa, unless it's expired?

[JMARINER]

Can you explain in what way her visa was not valid? How can someone have an invalid visa, unless it's expired?

 

With a Brazilian Visa, it can become void, even before it expired, if more than 90 days elapsed from date of issue and date of first entry into Brazil. This is the problem I have been having with the Discovery Cruise.

 

I do no know if this is what happened in the previous post, but this is one way to have a Brazilian visa go invalid before expiration.

 

J

[Wendy The Wanderer]

J., yes, I understand that aspect. Just inexplicable. I keep thinking that Regent would step in and sort things out, but sounds like they have not even thought it out.

[JMARINER]

Good news, if fact I consider it amazing news: I got the 2nd passport back yesterday fro the passport office. 10 days turnaround instead of the 10 weeks I waited last year for my renewal.

 

Anyways.. Now the 2nd passport is off to ZVS to get the Brazilian visa. Still have not figured out how ZVS/Regent is going to get the 2nd passport with the Brazil visa to me on the ship. Regent is "working on it"

 

Bad news and note to anyone on the Discovery Cruise UAE segment. ZVS told us today that it seems that Qatar has changed their visa rules and will not issue a visa more than 30 days out. We are supoposed to be in Qatar on Oct 26 and the voyage starts on Sept 27. Something else to get worked out.

 

J

 

ADDED:

 

Just got email from my agent. Qatar visa problems seems to be resolved and it looks like we we will not now need any visa for Qatar, as ship may be getting blanket visa for everyone except new passengers getting on in Dubai.

[mariners]

Hopefully, Regent is learning how to handle Visa issues as they are offering a similar itinerary next year. Would it be possible for your passport (with Visa) to be sent to the US Embassy in Athens where it could be held and you could pick it up before the cruise? If this was me, I know I'd be fretting until the passport was actually in my hands and would not want to wait until Cape Town to see if it arrived. or Is your travel agent hosting any segment of the trip where he/she could have the passport mailed to him/her and bring it onboard? If neither of these work, could it be sent to the Embassy in Cape Town? Regent must have a way of getting passports/Visas to the ship as crew would require them. They should be able to figure out the logistics. May everything after this be smooth sailing!