Planning to Visit Brazil? Heads-Up About New Visa Rules

[Mayor]

Hey folks! Just a heads-up (I had no idea either): North Americans now need a visa to enter Brazil. So if you're planning a trip to Iguazú or thinking of heading up north, things just got a bit trickier, it's about $80 USD, takes up to two weeks to process, and they might ask for a photo, proof of income, etc. Ugh.

Apparently, it's a reciprocity thing, Brazil is just matching the visa requirements we've had for Brazilians all this time. Fair, I guess… but still annoying 😅

Anyway, don’t get caught off guard like I did. I’m detouring to Paraguay instead 😂

 

[timon]

Yeah, this has been in the works since last year but kept getting postponed. As of April 2025, citizens of the U.S., Canada, and Australia now need a visa to enter Brazil. It’s a reciprocity thing, since those countries have long required visas from Brazilians. Here's the official site with all the info: https://brazil.vfsevisa.com/. I just went through it, and honestly, it wasn’t that bad. You fill out an online form, upload a passport-style photo, show proof of income (like a bank statement or pay stub), and pay $80, like you said. Mine came through in about 10 days.

 

[Painting]

Caught me off guard too. I had this whole Iguazú Foz Curitiba route planned, but now with the visa thing, I’m rethinking it. Brazil used to be super easy for Americans to visit, but I get it, fair is fair. Still kind of a bummer for regional travel though.

 

[Maxx]

Yeah, I found out the hard way too! I was planning a quick weekend trip from Argentina to Rio and didn’t even think to check the visa rules. Got to the airport and… no dice 😩 Had to cancel everything last minute.
Honestly, the process isn’t that bad once you know what to expect, I applied online and they asked for a photo, travel itinerary, and proof of funds. Took about 10 days to get approved. Costs a bit, but yeah, like you said, it's just reciprocity.

Still, kind of a bummer if you’re used to hopping around South America without much paperwork. Now I double-check every country just in case 😂

 

[Darksider415]

They've been talking about it for two years or so... I already had one because the original implementation was supposed to be April 2024, and my wedding party was planned for May in Rio.

It really wasn't a surprise, and they extended the dates twice before final implementation.

 

[TonyTigre]

Yes, technically, 'fair is fair', but it's also a case of 'stupid is as stupid does.'
Surely it will negatively impact their tourist industry, especially when tourists from the US, Canada, and Australia are probably some of the biggest spenders. And what will Brazil gain from it? A little pride?
It's probably a positive for Argentina though, not just in terms of tourism, but also in terms of Brazil/US relationship vs. Argentina/US.

 

[fetch rover]

Yes, technically, 'fair is fair', but it's also a case of 'stupid is as stupid does.'
Surely it will negatively impact their tourist industry, especially when tourists from the US, Canada, and Australia are probably some of the biggest spenders. And what will Brazil gain from it? A little pride?
It's probably a positive for Argentina though, not just in terms of tourism, but also in terms of Brazil/US relationship vs. Argentina/US.

This makes NO sense at all. We are coming back to Buenos Aires in a few weeks and just found about this as we planned to go to Brazil. Probably not difficult and less than $100 each but why create a hurdle?

 

[earlyretirement]

Yes, technically, 'fair is fair', but it's also a case of 'stupid is as stupid does.'
Surely it will negatively impact their tourist industry, especially when tourists from the US, Canada, and Australia are probably some of the biggest spenders. And what will Brazil gain from it? A little pride?
It's probably a positive for Argentina though, not just in terms of tourism, but also in terms of Brazil/US relationship vs. Argentina/US.

@TonyTigre,

You are spot on target as usual. Par for the course. I just experienced this madness myself last week. I am a 23 year permanent resident of Argentina. I have a DNI and I knew I'd have to get a visa but I applied online on their website. I assumed this was just a cash grab. The website is very bad. I decided to go to Rio with a few friends. It was a relatively last minute decision. One I convinced to go the same night. We were at Osaka at 1 AM and I told him to go for the next day and talked him into it. He was very hesitant until I told him I'd pay for his airline ticket! He was fortunate he had an Italian passport too even though he was American. My story is below:

USA citizens with Permanent Residency with DNI in Argentina can NOT fly to Brazil with their Argentina DNI

Just a public service announcement for Americans and Canadians that have a USA/Canadian passport and trying to fly to Brazil. The other night at dinner I decided to fly to Rio with one of my clients, John. We were at Osaka and I talked him into a last minute trip to Rio.

I decided the night before and applied for the e-Visa online and I mistakenly thought it was just a pay to play visa where you paid it and you were good to go. I have had permanent residency in Argentina for 23 years and besides several years when Lula was President many years ago, my DNI has always gotten me in.

I went ahead and paid the fee for the e-Visa as an American but it never arrived. I still went to the airport at 5 AM for my morning flight. I was disappointed that they couldn’t allow me to board without that e-Visa. Totally my fault. I’ve traveled to over 600 cities in 85 different countries and never had this issue.

I guess just having permanent residency I thought I would be covered traveling to Brazil. I got NO sleep that night as we were hanging out in my apartment until my driver picked me up from a late night out.

By the time I got back to my apartment in Palermo, it was 6:30 AM and the Brazilian consúltate office on Cerrito opened at 9 AM. (I’ve been there plenty of times before to get my Visa as an American in the early 2000’s when a visa was required).

The nice security guard told me that you can’t even talk to a human. He said the e-visa program is handled by a third party. John had an Italian passport too other than his USA passport so he was all covered. But I just had my USA passport. I’m eligible to get my Argentina passport and Mexican passport and will finally pull the trigger in 2026 on them.

John kept his ticket but not to be deterred, I immediately booked a ticket to Iguazu and was determined to drive across the border and just fly out of Iguazu (Brazilian side). I hired a driver, Paola who was amazing and she got me through 2 check points. But she explained that the airport in Brazil won’t allow you to fly out without getting a special stamp at the border.

At the 2nd check point, they looked at my DNI and I thought it would be ok but then she said the same thing as the airport that 2 months ago the law was changed and ALL Americans had to get the e-visa no matter what to fly. I could easily enter Brazil with my DNI and did over the past 3 days to enjoy Iguazu but they wouldn’t let me fly.

I offered the lady at the check-point $500 USD to stamp it right then and there but she said she could not. Alas, I got “stuck” in Iguazu for 3 days.

It’s incredibly beautiful and this was my 5th time here. Just make sure you apply for the e-Visa as an American far ahead of time. It’s a slow process.

 

[Bingo]

@TonyTigre,

You are spot on target as usual. Par for the course. I just experienced this madness myself last week. I am a 23 year permanent resident of Argentina. I have a DNI and I knew I'd have to get a visa but I applied online on their website. I assumed this was just a cash grab. The website is very bad. I decided to go to Rio with a few friends. It was a relatively last minute decision. One I convinced to go the same night. We were at Osaka at 1 AM and I told him to go for the next day and talked him into it. He was very hesitant until I told him I'd pay for his airline ticket! He was fortunate he had an Italian passport too even though he was American. My story is below:

USA citizens with Permanent Residency with DNI in Argentina can NOT fly to Brazil with their Argentina DNI

Just a public service announcement for Americans and Canadians that have a USA/Canadian passport and trying to fly to Brazil. The other night at dinner I decided to fly to Rio with one of my clients, John. We were at Osaka and I talked him into a last minute trip to Rio.

I decided the night before and applied for the e-Visa online and I mistakenly thought it was just a pay to play visa where you paid it and you were good to go. I have had permanent residency in Argentina for 23 years and besides several years when Lula was President many years ago, my DNI has always gotten me in.

I went ahead and paid the fee for the e-Visa as an American but it never arrived. I still went to the airport at 5 AM for my morning flight. I was disappointed that they couldn’t allow me to board without that e-Visa. Totally my fault. I’ve traveled to over 600 cities in 85 different countries and never had this issue.

I guess just having permanent residency I thought I would be covered traveling to Brazil. I got NO sleep that night as we were hanging out in my apartment until my driver picked me up from a late night out.

By the time I got back to my apartment in Palermo, it was 6:30 AM and the Brazilian consúltate office on Cerrito opened at 9 AM. (I’ve been there plenty of times before to get my Visa as an American in the early 2000’s when a visa was required).

The nice security guard told me that you can’t even talk to a human. He said the e-visa program is handled by a third party. John had an Italian passport too other than his USA passport so he was all covered. But I just had my USA passport. I’m eligible to get my Argentina passport and Mexican passport and will finally pull the trigger in 2026 on them.

John kept his ticket but not to be deterred, I immediately booked a ticket to Iguazu and was determined to drive across the border and just fly out of Iguazu (Brazilian side). I hired a driver, Paola who was amazing and she got me through 2 check points. But she explained that the airport in Brazil won’t allow you to fly out without getting a special stamp at the border.

At the 2nd check point, they looked at my DNI and I thought it would be ok but then she said the same thing as the airport that 2 months ago the law was changed and ALL Americans had to get the e-visa no matter what to fly. I could easily enter Brazil with my DNI and did over the past 3 days to enjoy Iguazu but they wouldn’t let me fly.

I offered the lady at the check-point $500 USD to stamp it right then and there but she said she could not. Alas, I got “stuck” in Iguazu for 3 days.

It’s incredibly beautiful and this was my 5th time here. Just make sure you apply for the e-Visa as an American far ahead of time. It’s a slow process.

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This is terrible! Why would Brazil do this?? I did not know about this and was planning to go to Brazil next week. @earlyretirement did you finally get the Brazilian visa? How long did it take you??

 

[Darksider415]

This is terrible! Why would Brazil do this?? I did not know about this and was planning to go to Brazil next week. @earlyretirement did you finally get the Brazilian visa? How long did it take you??

When I did mine, back when the process started, it took me a week. I know some folks who took about 2-3 weeks in 2024, but I don't know the current timelines.

That said, it's pretty consistent with Brazil's diplomatic stance over the past 100 years... They treat foreigners the way foreigners treat Brazilians. If Brazilians need a visa, well, so do you. The anomaly was the Bolsonaro years, where Bolsonaro lifted visa restrictions on Americans to boost the tourism industry, but by all accounts it didn't work.

From a purely statistical perspective, Argentines are a very close #2 per capita for tourist dollars spent in Brazil, after Americans. Even in 2023, where Argentina was at its weakest compared to Brazil, Argentines still outnumbered Americans 3:1.

Taking that into account, along with how small the tourism sector is for the Brazilian economy as a whole, they really just don't care. I love Brazil, I have my tourist visa and I'll be going back later this year, but it's way, way harder to navigate for tourists to navigate than Argentina, even comparing tourist hotspots like Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.

Outside Rio, Iguaçu or SP, Godspeed if you don't speak Portuguese.

 

[earlyretirement]

This is terrible! Why would Brazil do this?? I did not know about this and was planning to go to Brazil next week. @earlyretirement did you finally get the Brazilian visa? How long did it take you??

No! I still haven't gotten mine and it's been a week. The system is terrible! The first time after 48 hours they told me the photo had a shadow in it. Then I submitted it again and they told me not enough of my shoulders was showing so I submitted it again 2 days again. Still no response. The entire thing is a mess. Especially terrible when you can't go into a Consulate office and get it solved. I went to the Brazilian Consulate in Buenos Aires on Cerrito which I had gone many times in the early 2000's when you had to get a Visa and they did it there.

This time a guy said there isn't even a human to talk to about it as it's all done by third party company. (I'm guessing kickbacks from Lulu from this company). Just a mess! I still don't have it. I'm going to Spain and Italy for the summer and back in BA in August so I hope to have it by then.

 

[Jakoval]

No! I still haven't gotten mine and it's been a week. The system is terrible! The first time after 48 hours they told me the photo had a shadow in it. Then I submitted it again and they told me not enough of my shoulders was showing so I submitted it again 2 days again. Still no response. The entire thing is a mess. Especially terrible when you can't go into a Consulate office and get it solved. I went to the Brazilian Consulate in Buenos Aires on Cerrito which I had gone many times in the early 2000's when you had to get a Visa and they did it there.

This time a guy said there isn't even a human to talk to about it as it's all done by third party company. (I'm guessing kickbacks from Lulu from this company). Just a mess! I still don't have it. I'm going to Spain and Italy for the summer and back in BA in August so I hope to have it by then.

Sorry this happened. Now you're experiencing a glimpse of what I've been through countless times. It's no fun.

 

[earlyretirement]

Sorry this happened. Now you're experiencing a glimpse of what I've been through countless times. It's no fun.

It is beyond ridiculous! I'm on my 4th time they are asking for a photo. It's insane!

Brazil are MORONS of the biggest proportion. I STILL don't have my visa to travel to Brazil. This is the THIRD time they are rejecting the photo. The first time they said there was a shadow in the photo. The 2nd time they said my shoulders weren't showing enough. This time they said the photo is "tilted". WTF. They are allergic to taking in tourist money. Such is the life in Brazil. I spent $10,000 USD in Argentina during my Iguazu trip between my luxury baller Falls View suite hotel stay at the Gran Meliá Iguazú, massages daily, shopping on the Argentina side, tours, restaurant meals, etc. All of that would have been spent in Rio de Janeiro. Morons.

 

[earlyretirement]

It is not just me either. Here is another guy it took 4 times with the photo.

 

[Gringoboy]

It is not just me either. Here is another guy it took 4 times with the photo.

This is idiotic of Brazil. Makes zero sense!

 

[Quilombo]

It is not just me either. Here is another guy it took 4 times with the photo.

This happened to me too! I had to do it 4 times!

 

[lemonade]

Yes, technically, 'fair is fair', but it's also a case of 'stupid is as stupid does.'
Surely it will negatively impact their tourist industry, especially when tourists from the US, Canada, and Australia are probably some of the biggest spenders. And what will Brazil gain from it? A little pride?
It's probably a positive for Argentina though, not just in terms of tourism, but also in terms of Brazil/US relationship vs. Argentina/US.

I can't believe this is happening. I don't have a problem in paying to get a visa but this sounds like a nightmare!

 

[Finance Prof]

Sorry this happened. Now you're experiencing a glimpse of what I've been through countless times. It's no fun.

Wow! All of these South American countries suck.

 

[Ceviche]

I can't believe this is happening. I don't have a problem in paying to get a visa but this sounds like a nightmare!

Exactly. I don't care if they want to charge for it. I had to get a visa before when Lula was president but it wasn't jumping through too many hoops. Insane they will make you upload photo 4 times!