Canadians, Americans and Australians will have some difficulty traveling to the Rio de Janeiro carnival. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that starting January 10, 2024, all citizens of those countries will require an Electronic Visa or eVisa Brazil to enter its South American territory for tourism or business purposes.
The Brazil eVisa can be requested online at a cost of 81 dollars. Management company VFS Global will process the applications prior to clearance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Once approved, the applicant will receive email confirmation and their eVisa will be linked to their passport number without the need to stamp it on the booklet.
About eVisa Brazil
Electronic visas (eVisa Brazil) have the same requirements as regular visas. In the same way, they will allow multiple entries and will have the same validity period. VFS Global, in charge of the eVisa, provides technological and visa outsourcing services to various governments and diplomatic missions.
The eVisa Brazil joins other digital initiatives such as ETIAS that will be implemented around the world. These measures promise to both control and facilitate the flow of travelers and migrations.
Brazil’s decision comes as a surprise specifically to the United States, given that they had Brazilian visa requirements dropped in June 2019. The Brazilian government gave no reason for this measure nor should it since every independent nation imposes its own immigration laws.
This new visa requirement should not greatly affect the Global Passport Index for these three countries. Nevertheless, they should probably reconsider their bilateral agreements with Brazil and facilitate entry to their citizens.
