Brazil Visa

[khairyexpat]

My previous 5 years visa to Brazil just expired.
When I tried to get a new one they just told me that the requirements have changed.
Now they require a plane ticket purchased, a hotel reservation and a credit card.

Is there any chance that they could turn me down after I pay for all of this?
And if they do, what happens to all the money I spent?

Anyone with words of wisdom and experience on this?
Are my fears unfounded?

 

[citygirl]

My previous 5 years visa to Brazil just expired.
When I tried to get a new one they just told me that the requirements have changed.
Now they require a plane ticket purchased, a hotel reservation and a credit card.

Is there any chance that they could turn me down after I pay for all of this?
And if they do, what happens to all the money I spent?

Anyone with words of wisdom and experience on this?
Are my fears unfounded?

They've always required that AFAIK for a tourist visa - or at least my friends have always been asked for all that info when applying going back years. Are you from the US? I've had my share of the embassy employees giving me a hard time (and lots of others) b/c I was from the US but my n1 is I don't know anyone who has been turned down for a visa. Are you a resident of Arg? You'll still have to apply for visa but it will probably be a bit easier.

 

[khairyexpat]

They've always required that AFAIK for a tourist visa - or at least my friends have always been asked for all that info when applying going back years. Are you from the US? I've had my share of the embassy employees giving me a hard time (and lots of others) b/c I was from the US but my n1 is I don't know anyone who has been turned down for a visa. Are you a resident of Arg? You'll still have to apply for visa but it will probably be a bit easier.

I got my previous 5 years with no questions asked. Just paid the fee and nothing else. Next day I had it ready.

Am Canadian.
Permatourist 9 years before became Argentine legal temporary resident the last 3 years (have DNI). (total of 12 years).

Planning to go middle of May.

Is there any way despegar.com and my hotel (booked through despegar.com also) .... would consider refunding if disaster strikes?
Is there a better way to do this?
What to do ?

 

[joeschmoe1920]

Nationality? And when are you going? Citizens of the US, Canada, Japan and Australia can visit Brazil without a visa this year between June 1 and September 18 because of the Olympics. http://www.reuters.c...N0UD1C720151230

 

[EJLarson]

Is there any way despegar.com and my hotel (booked through despegar.com also) .... would consider refunding if disaster strikes?

Don't have any advice on your problem in general, but booked a hotel thru despegar once and won't do it again. We were unable to get to Iguazú because of an Aerolinea's pilot strike. Called despegar immediately - day before the flight - but that wasn't good enough for despegar so we were charged for the day's hotel that we missed, even though no planes flew that day. Our fault, apparently.

 

[thorsten]

EJLarson: That could happen with a lot of hotel reservation companies. You always need to check the cancellation policy for a room - the better the offer, the worse typically the cancellation procedure is. It can range from not cancelable at all (i.e., you pay the whole stay even if you never show up), to fully refund. Often, this is also managed by the hotel itself, so the reservation company cannot do anything about it.

 

[r2d2]

Here is an idea: You could get a full fare airline ticket in order to present it at the consulate for your visa application. Full fare tickets are usually expensive but fully refundable. Buy directly from the airline. Then return for a refund once you are done at the consulate.
Hotel reservations should be even easier. Hotels often offer rates on their own websites that you can cancel without any fees up until the day before your planned check-in (or even up until the day of your check-in). So get the hotel reservation. Print it. Go to the consulate. Then cancel the reservation online.

Once you have your visa in your hand and the full fare flight and hotel cancelled - you can shop around for the best fares and hotel rates on despegar.com or wherever you like without having to worry about not getting your Brazilian visa.

 

[camberiu]

My previous 5 years visa to Brazil just expired.
When I tried to get a new one they just told me that the requirements have changed.

Probably because the Canadian VISA requirements for Brazilians have changed. Brazil adopts a 100% mirrored reciprocity policy on VISAs.
Just buy a fully refundable ticket, get your VISA, and then cancel the ticket.

 

[Alicia karr]

I'm from the US and also permanent resident of ARG. I got the brazil visa (good for 10 years) in October and nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to figure out how to submit all the documentation on line FORMATTED as they required.,.
I was treated very very well by the lady helping me there but I had already resolved the tech problems with a friends IT guy from their work. And I had to make a cash deposit at a certain bank for the fee. Since you are very comfortable with the tech part you really shouldn't have any worries about getting the visa--if in fact you even need one! Viage em paz!

 

[EJLarson]

EJLarson: That could happen with a lot of hotel reservation companies. You always need to check the cancellation policy for a room - the better the offer, the worse typically the cancellation procedure is. It can range from not cancelable at all (i.e., you pay the whole stay even if you never show up), to fully refund. Often, this is also managed by the hotel itself, so the reservation company cannot do anything about it.

Actually, we did get some satisfaction from the hotel when we finally arrived. The despegar person my wife talked to was the problem - she was in Colombia and made it quite clear that she wasn't interested in our problems, just our money, and she had that, so is there anything else? A nasty experience that I don't intend to repeat.