Getting to Brazil as an American citizen has long been a huge pain due to their cumbersome visa process.
I started this website in 2004 while volunteering for the year in Sao Paulo on bochur shlichus, mentoring and studying with younger students and organizing community activities. And doing some crazy stuff while touring the country.
I was there on a student visa and Brazil caused all kinds of trouble because they didn’t like that my legal middle name is just an initial, though eventually that was sorted out.
I received Smicha in 2006 and in 2007 I was studying to earn an MBA when I returned to Brazil and had my closest near-death experience.
But that didn’t stop me from taking advantage of the short-lived ability to book out the entire 4 seat TAM first class cabin to visit Brazil with my family in 2014:
And we had a great time there:
- Trip Notes Brazil Part 1: 10 Years Of Travel And Deal Blogging And A Return To Where It All Began (Published 11/23/14)
- Trip Notes Brazil Part 2: Flying “Private” To Sao Paulo With Miles (Published 2/7/16)
- Trip Notes Brazil Part 3: Iguaçu Falls (Published 4/17/16)
- Trip Notes Brazil Part 4: Rio de Janeiro (Published 5/1/16)
The major pain point for visiting Brazil has always been the visa. In my case I would have had to fly to Washington DC with money orders in order to obtain a tourist visa. In the end we used a service to do that for us, but we still had to go back and forth a few times with notarized documents in order to get visas for our kids.
Today, Brazil has finally launched the ability to apply for a visa online.
You can read what you need to do here and then apply here.
Previously a tourist visa cost $160 for 10 years.
With the online visa the cost is just $44.24, though the visa will only be valid for 2 years. You can enter multiple times with the same visa, but the maximum stay is 90 days per year.
I’ve been to the beautiful island of Florianopolis, the stunning city of Rio, the breathtaking rainforest and waterfall in Iguaçu, the urban planning laboratory of Curitiba, and the warm Jewish community and excellent restaurants in Sao Paulo. But I still have bucket list items in Brazil like the Amazon Rainforest in Manaus, where a friend of mine is the Chabad Shliach, and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.
Visiting Iguaçu Falls has gone from requiring 2 visas of $160 each from Argentina and Brazil to just one $44 visa from Brazil as Argentina no longer requires a visa for US citizens. It’s one of the most beautiful places on this planet.
Will you visit Brazil with the new cheaper and easier to apply for visa?
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16 Comments On "Brazil Is Finally Allowing Online Tourist Visa Applications"
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hyperlink on “Today, Brazil has finally launched the ability to apply for a visa online”
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shame they didnt have this a few weeks ago im still recovering from $160 x 4 ppl
Thanks, fixed.
Always happens that way, doesn’t it? Happened to me when Argentina got rid of their visa fee as well.
Looking forward to seeing your trip report 🙂
Still smarting from Ukranian visa that i paid for at the consulate, 5 days after they stopped requiring them in July 2005.
You paid AFTER they stopped requiring a visa?
You still have to pay the $160. But you apparently just pay it online instead of engage in all the rigmarole of the old system. I just did the rigmarole last year and believe me, it was worse than paying the $160. I spent most of a day gathering the materials needed and getting through the glitches on their application website. I then had to spend most of a day visiting their consulate. I’m not entirely convinced that it’s “worth” going to Brazil for $160 — when many equally or more interesting South American countries (like Chile and Argentina) don’t charge Americans, but at least it’s now plausible to go.
Incorrect. The correct fee is in this post.
Great for me, planning to go to Brazil for pessach. Save some money and hassle
FWIW my middle name is also an initial – countless issues with DMVs 🙂
I always ask, “What was Harry S Trumans middle name?”
Herbert Walker, no? 😛
Would chase sapphire reserved travel credit apply for this visa?
Just waiting on a deal already on tickets, haven’t seen any in a while..
Any cheap tickets thru hidden citiy mehalech? For Israel EWR-TLV-hidden city you can always find a better deal. Boa viagem
Have a Brazilian passport and usa passport so was easy for me I remember when was a kid went when just under 11 yrs old and went alone and in the cockpit and the stewardess were my chaperone and went up and down the steps and slept in bed up stairs went to play center tons of fun and horseback riding by the water etc etc
Note that if you happen to have an Israeli passport as well as a US one, you don’t need a visa when entering with the Israeli passport…
Fernando de Noronha is beautiful.
It is just about 6 hours of flying time from Miami via Recife.