Brazil bases its visa policies on a reciprocity policy. This means that American citizens need visas to enter Brazil since Brazilian citizens need visas to enter the United States. However, Brazil does not require visas from many European and Southern American nationals since those countries do not require visas from Brazilian nationals.
There are two types of Brazilian visas, tourist and business visas. Tourist visas are for those who want to sightsee, visit relatives, attend academic conferences or attend unpaid athletic events. Business visas are for reporters making media coverage or filming, for foreign instructors or professors, for students and professionals seeking further professional or academic training, for businesspersons, for foreign nationals authorized to work in Brazil and for paid athletic events.
To apply for a Brazilian visa, head to the website of the Brazilian Embassy, find the consulate general for your country or state and download all needed forms. In addition to a completed application, you will need your passport, driver's license, itinerary and an application fee, which was approximately $240 as of late 2009. Some consulate generals require higher application fees and more materials, such as vaccination records and passport-type photographs. Other consulate generals allow you to submit the documents by mail, while others require you to submit them in person.
If you have questions along the way, contact your consulate general. Below, in the Resources section, is a comprehensive list of the contact information of Brazilian consulate generals for most countries in the world. After finding your country, you will see the contact information. Once the Brazilian Consulate receives all your application materials, it will take approximately 10 business days to process them.
