Lula's government postponed the start of the requirement until April 10 to get the system up and running; Travelers from Canada and Australia must also use the app
Tourism Minister Celso Sabino said on Monday (January 22, 2024) that the government is working to make the application for issuing visas available to travelers from the United States, Canada and Australia before April. He explained that the plan is for the system to be operational “well before” April 10, when visa requirements for tourists from these countries come into force.
The government postponed the deadline at the beginning of the year. The requirement would initially begin on January 10th. This was the second postponement, as the measure was initially scheduled to come into force on October 1, 2023. Sabino stated that the time was needed to resolve issues with the application.
“The application for electronic visas for tourists should come into force in good time before January 10th. As we approached January 10th and there were still difficulties accessing the platform and uploading passport photos, the Brazilian government decided to extend the visa waiver for another three months, until April 10th,” he explained in an interview with journalists.
Sabino said the system would be simplified and unbureaucratic so as not to repel foreign tourists. The requirement for the three countries is based on the “reciprocity principle” as they require visas from Brazilians.
“We are working to ensure that this application works quickly and efficiently in time for April 10 to ensure the safety of foreign tourists who have purchased travel packages to Brazil. And if the platform does not have the stability and functionality expected by the government, we will defend an extension again,” he said.
UNDERSTAND
The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) unilaterally lifted the visa requirement for travelers from the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan in 2019 by Decree 9,731. He said this would help boost international tourism in Brazil.
The decision by the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to require visas for the USA, Canada and Australia should have come into force on October 1, 2023. The deadline has been pushed back to January 10th. It is now scheduled for April 10th.
The decision does not apply to Japan. The Japanese government announced in May 2023 that it was considering eliminating visa requirements for Brazilians. Tokyo confirmed the decision in August, valid from September 30 and only for trips lasting up to 90 days. In return, Brazil no longer requires visas for Japanese people.
EMPLOYED COMPANY
On October 31, 2023, the Brazilian government, through the Brazilian Consulate General in Miami, commissioned VFS Global to “develop and operate an online platform for processing electronic visit visas for citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia.”
In other words, the company that was supposed to create and manage the website for foreigners to apply for a Brazilian visa was hired on the day the requirement was supposed to come into force for the first time.
According to the contract extract published in the Official Journal of the Union on October 31, the company will receive $184,000 per year for five years. By 2028. The cost estimate is based on a unit cost of US$0.90 per visa issued and an expected issuance of 205,000 visas per year.
Applications for Brazilian visas can be made on the companycontrolled website at this link. Although the contract calls for the creation of a “communication center to serve applicants in English, Spanish and French,” only the English version was available until January 4, 2024.
According to the platform, applying for a visa is a threestep process: sending the documents, paying a fee of $80.90, and downloading the digital visa. The corporate fee is $0.90.