From November 21, Australian tourists wishing to visit Brazil will be able to apply for an entry visa in the country through an electronic document issuance system. The visa must be issued within 72 hours after the request is made by the tourist. The benefit is also valid for business trips.
In January of 2018, the electronic system begins to apply also for Canadian, North American and Japanese tourists. Dates have already been defined for each country:
– Canada – January 8, 2018
– United States – January 15, 2018
– Japan – January 22, 2018
Before, tourists from these countries spent time and money to travel to Visa Centers and Brazilian consulates in their countries to apply for entry visas in Brazil.
The reduction of the visa bureaucracy is a way of attracting more tourists to Brazil. The measure is expected to increase the entry of foreigners in Brazil by up to 25%, per data from the World Tourism Organization.
Other agreements with strategic markets for Brazil, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, should eliminate the visa requirement between the two countries. China, which has the largest market of travelers in the world, has signed an agreement with Brazil for the issuance of tourism and business visas with a validity of 5 years. To meet the new demand of Chinese tourists, Brazil will expand from three to twelve new Visas Centers in China in early 2018.
