The Brazilian government will continue to allow visa-free travel by Americans, Canadians and Australians until at least April 2025, according to a decree signed April 9 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Brazil was originally scheduled to end its visa waiver for travelers from these countries in January 2024 but then extended the exemption to April 10, 2024. On the eve of reinstating the visa requirement, the government extended it again for another year, to April 10, 2025.
U.S. Travel to Brazil is Increasing
Embratur, Brazil’s official tourism agency, highlighted “the importance of the government’s decision to maintain growth in the arrival of foreign tourists from these international markets, notably the United States.” The U.S. is the second-largest source country for Brazil tourism, with 668,478 Americans visiting Brazil in 2023, representing 11.31 percent of all tourist entries, the agency noted.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Brazil, the tourist visa—if the requirement goes into effect as scheduled next year—will cost $80.90 and be good for 10 years. Qualified applicants would have the option of applying for an e-visa online.
“We applaud the government’s decision to delay the visa,” said Joao H. Rodrigues, the U.S. representative for Visit Rio, the Brazilian city’s convention and visitors bureau. “In the first two months of 2024, the arrival of Americans in Brazil was 11 percent higher than in the same period of the previous year. Without the visa requirement, we expect to maintain the growth in the arrival of foreign tourists from these international markets visiting Brazil, and especially Rio de Janeiro.”
Tensioned relations between governments and a lack of reciprocity—the U.S., Canada, and Australia all require visas for inbound Brazilian travelers—have contributed to Brazil’s stated intention to end the visa waiver for North Americans and Australians.
