I commend Brazil today for its decision to soon no longer cut off its nose to spite its face. While Brazilians will still be subjected to onerous visa requirements to visit the United States, U.S. Citizens can soon much more easily obtain a visa to visit Brazil.
Starting November 21, 2017 citizens of Australia will be able to apply for an electronic visa online. Both tourist and business visas will be issued electronically within 72 hours of application.
Starting in January 2018, citizen of the USA, Canada, and Japan will also be able to apply for e-visas in advance, avoiding the need for lengthy visits to the closest Brazilian consulate.
Marx Beltrão, Brazil’s Tourism Minister, explained–
The facilitation of visas aims to reduce bureaucracy and, above all, to boost the entry of foreign tourists into Brazil.
The Tourism Ministry predicts foreign tourism will incearse by up to 25% in Brazil next year due to this visa change.
Indeed, the visa policy kept me from going to Brazil for many years (minus my “illegal” visit), though I did obtain a visa in 2011 that remains valid until 2021.
> Read More: Breakfast in Paraguay, Lunch in Brazil, Dinner in Argentina
I applaud Brazil for this common-sense policy change. We can argue all day how strict the USA should be in the issuance and fees for visas, but the concept of reciprocity fees strikes me as a misguided pushback rooted in pride and not common sense. (I argued the same of Turkey recently).
Argentina and Chile have both wised up in recent years and removed their visa fees (the USA also made Chile a visa-waiver nation) and have seen the fruits of more American tourism. If you think obtaining a visa is not a hindrance, you should hear all of my clients who refuse to visit Russia for that very reason.
Except new flocks of Australian, Canadian, Japanese, and American tourists in Brazil thanks to this policy change.
CONCLUSION
Yes, there is a lot of poverty and crime in Brazil. But it is a beautiful nation with beautiful people. This enlightened change in visa policy will show more that very beauty and bring in additional tax revenue that will help Brazil to address some of the issues it continues to battle.
(H/T: One Mile at a Time)
It’s about time. As you note, Brazil has put up such barriers to tourism at a time it needs visitors most. During the run up to and end of the Olympics it was great not to have to go through the arduous procedure. When I last went to a consulate to get my 5-year visa, the wait was over an hour and the couple in front of me were being harangued by the clerk for not having a confirmed airline ticket. The applicant worked for AC/Jazz in an outstation (drove in from Kingston for the day to get their visas) and tried to explain they’d be flying on an employee pass on stand by. The clerk would not accept this explanation and refused to process the visa. In disgust the young man muttered, “F#*k this, we’ll go to Jamaica!” as they left the office. I was dreading going through the process again since I needed a new passport before my visa expired, so also a new Brazilian visa for next year’s South American trips.
What about the fees? The high reciprocity fee has been my barrier to entry.
Brazil charges the same fees other nations charge Brazilian passport holders for entry. So if the US charges a Brazilian passport holder $100USD for a visa, Brazil will charge $100USD.
I think it’s unfair to characterize reciprocal visa fees as cutting off one’s nose to spite their face. Obviously, Brazil benefits from US tourism more than vice versa, but requiring reciprocal fees isn’t something I feel is spiteful especially since their just a match of what the US imposes.
I do disagree, but it’s a very fair argument with a persuasive case to be made on both sides. I think visa-on-arrival with the reciprocal $160 fee is a lot smarter than a ridiculously prolonged pre-arrival visa process.
I think it’s fair because it shows that Brazil has no policy. If we charge them $400 then they charge us $400 is a silly policy. It means that they charge US, Canada, Japan and Australia different policies. And this policy only hurts Brazil. What they should focus on is trying to get the US to abolish the in-person interview at the embassy which Brazilians hate. They should just apply online or use a visa service, but as of right now they have to have an interview in person which is costly on account of so few US consulates in Brazil. And Brazil could have had a visa waiver under Obama. Obama really wanted Brazil in the visa waiver but Brazil wouldn’t cooperate fully with the info on passengers that the US wanted so it’s all Brazil’s fault. They could have had it.
Great news – better soon than never…..but I find strange what most people seem to think about these visas and fees. Although it’s called “reciprocity” and it gives the impression that the hassle for issuing a visa is the same both sides, you simply can’t compare it to what Brazilians need to go thru for a simple US tourist visa.
I fully understand we’re 3rd world folk and considered potential illegal immigrants, but there’s no justification for what most go thru in the US embassy or consultes: the amount of paperwork is absurd, a USD 160.00 (non refundable) fee and HOURS of queuing before the “interview”, where you gotta prove everything from having a job, a house, a family, to how much you got in your bank account! I seriously doubt ANY american would accept that in order to visit any place, let alone Brazil.
I agree. The U.S. visa process is shameful.