Info on traveling to Brazil

[2GuysInPM]

Interesting - so you got a 5 year visa, I got a 5 year visa and I ran into a guy on the elevator who was telling me he also got a 5 year tourist visa.

Maybe 5 years is now the standard here?

It might be a new thing. Every year we've asked, and they said 90 days only. This year we asked again and they said we could get a 5 year visa.

Maybe the economic downturn is hurting their tourism industry and they are beign more generous now. We noticed this time around was a lot easier; they only took our passports, and did not take any of the printed bank statements, hotel reservations, or plane tickets.

 

[citygirl]

Just has to say - LOVE your link at the bottom of your post! I employ it frequently these days

 

[maracle]

Maybe the economic downturn is hurting their tourism industry and they are beign more generous now. We noticed this time around was a lot easier; they only took our passports, and did not take any of the printed bank statements, hotel reservations, or plane tickets.

I hope so! I want to go get a visa tomorrow, but tickets for travel are a problem...I will go by bus but don't want to book a ticket yet (since I need to coordinate it with my Colombian friend). And the rest of the documentation...well I don't have a printer and the hours of copy shops are a total mystery to me. They seem closed 90% of the time here. And the website you use to get the application form has been down all weekend.

I guess I'll show up tomorrow morning and just hope they accept me with just my passport.

By the way as a side note...as I was googling I found the Consulate of LA's website. There they will not accept applications by mail, they will not accept walkins, you can only get an appointment between 9am-noon, and you can only pick up visas between 2-3. And you have to prove residence in their district for the past 12 months (imagine if you just moved from Boston or something!). I get the visa reciprocity thing, but man they really seem to be making an effort to inflict pain!

 

[2GuysInPM]

... I guess I'll show up tomorrow morning and just hope they accept me with just my passport....

I hope so too. If this is the first time you get a visa at the consulate, they may still want you to have all papers in order. We noticed they asked for everything from the two guys in front of us (US and Australia), yet for us they did not care about the paperwork.

The only thing that may have been different is that they were first-timers and we have a bunch of visas from that consulate, so we may already be in their computer system (she looked up our passport numbers there).

Good luck!

 

[maracle]

Ok, well I think the first hurdle is this:

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Consulate General of Brazil in Buenos Aires as of Wednesday, February, 17th , will start issuing documents only through the Integrated Consular System: biometric passports and visas, notary and register acts in electronic format of high security.

TO REQUEST PASSPORTS AND VISAS, THE PROPER FORMS MUST BE ELECTRONICALLY FILLED AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS https://scedv.serpro.gov.br

That website hasn't worked this weekend, and from what I read on the websites of some Brazilian consulates in the US the site assigns you a case number you need to bring to the consulate when you bring your docs, etc. Hopefully they'll get it fixed first thing on Monday since it seems I can't use a paper form at the consulate. I suppose this may be why they're issuing 5 year visas now, since it seems everything is being routed through a central system.

My friend is going to Brazil next Saturday, the processing time is 3 days, and I can only do it right when they open at 9am and still make it to my classes next week at 10. Hopefully it'll happen... if the site isn't working first thing tomorrow I'll be able to get my documents printed and try again on Tuesday It will be close...

 

[citygirl]

Well - they told the American guys in front of me on Friday that they needed ALL their documentation (tickets, bank statements, etc). I don't think there is any chance they'll accept you with just a passport since the visa requirements very clearly states you need to provide proof of travel, passport, photos, bank statements, etc, etc.

FYI - as of last week, they were only open until 1 and they were only seeing 6 people a day for tourist visas. They also told the guys in front of me that they had to be there by 9 a.m. if they were hoping to be seen that day.

 

[maracle]

Well the site wasn't working until around 9:30 yesterday so I had time to get everything in order (EXCEPT my ticket for travel, since I didn't want to book my bus ticket in advance...my plan was to try to explain that I would stop at Iguazu on the Argentine side and could not get a ticket into brazil until I was there). I gathered my passport, photos, bank statement, and a hotel reservation.

I showed up at 9am today (right when they opened), and was way too late. They said they would only see 10 people for tourist visas. And even then it's possible that without a bus ticket I would have been out of luck. I'm glad I didn't buy the ticket since I couldn't even wait to speak to someone. 10 per day seems incredibly low. My friend told me that she went 2-3 weeks ago and there wasn't any limit (they wanted most of her documents, but not the hotel reservation). All I can think is that they either impose these limits to ensure they don't exceed some kind of quota for the month, or when they get too busy or something since it seems to vary by the day.

Anyway, they advised me to show up by 6am to get in line if I wanted one this week. I'll travel in the south of Argentina instead and try Brazil later this year. Que lastima.

 

[2GuysInPM]

Sorry to hear about that. Changes seem to be happening indeed. I'm glad we were able to obtain ours last week without miuch issue.

If you are indeed going to Iguazu, you might want to try the same day visa service at the Puerto Iguazu consulate. In the past they have not required all the paperwork (just payment, photo, and passport). Although you should call first because if they are doing these changes on all consulates, it may apply for them also.

Good luck!

 

[AnnaElizabeth]

I'm in Rio right now on a 5 year tourist visa I got 1.5 months ago without much fuss. Just to second/third/fourth whatever the statement that they are now giving out 5 year visas.. I think they are totally in their right to charge the reciprocity fee, but it sure hurts paying $130 bucks to get out of Argentina (to Brazil), then $130 bucks to get back in... (I was already in when they started the fee.)

Maybe instead of us Americans complaining about the reciprocity fee, we should complain to people on the U.S. side-- i.e., lower the U.S. visa fee, which would lower the Brazilian and Argentinian fees. $130 bucks is, after all, a much higher percentage of the average Brazilians income than the average Americans.

 

[legilber]

Ok, to bump up this thread again... I'm trying to figure out a few trips to Brazil. I'm a duel citizen Canada (first) and the US. I'm working around when friends/family are coming to visit and could use some help on the Brazilian visa thing. If I go to São Paulo in October and Rio in March, do I need to apply for two separate visas? Or can it all be included in the 90 day visa? Thanks so much!