Has Brazil been in your bucket checklist? If that’s the case, I hope you heeded our recurring recommendation the previous couple of years and already made the journey. An enormous South America visa change is simply turned official, the primary one in a few years. Brazil goes to begin charging you a major sum for the pleasure of spending your cash there—although it might have been worse…
When the previous president of Brazil noticed the tourism numbers spike in Argentina and Chile after they dropped their reciprocal visa price, he rightly assumed the identical factor would occur in Brazil in the event that they dropped their costly entry visa. It was solely in place for a 12 months earlier than the pandemic hit, nonetheless, so there was no time to essentially see an influence from this South America visa change, particularly since Brazil’s Covid-19 deaths numbers have been among the many highest on the planet per capita. No person wished to go to Brazil at the moment.
Finally Jair Bolsonaro acquired defeated on the poll field and tried to stage a coup to remain in workplace. He escaped the nation when it turned clear that wasn’t going to succeed. He was previously charged for his crimes in February of 2025 and Brazil’s Supreme Courtroom dominated he should stand trial.
The New Visa Cost to Go to Brazil
The brand new president Lulu wished to make his mark when coming into workplace and took motion to roll again this visa choice and return to the previous methods. Citing equity as the explanation, he introduced that vacationers coming to Brazil on trip would pay the identical quantity Brazilians pay to go the opposite path. (By no means thoughts that some Brazilians keep within the U.S. or Canada illegally however that just about by no means occurs in reverse.)
The measure acquired delayed a number of instances, nonetheless, with dialogue about whether or not potential vacationers must go to a consulate workplace in their very own nation or not. On the first announcement, the Brazil visa price was alleged to be a whopping $160 per individual for Individuals, or $640 shelled out earlier than arriving for a household of 4. “Household journey in Brazil” would in all probability grow to be an oxymoron.
Stress from the journey business, who feared an enormous drop-off in overseas guests from the affected nations, will need to have helped affect a compromise. The price will now be $81 per individual for Individuals, the identical as for Canadians and Australians. My guess is that this made the implementation simpler to not have three charges for 3 nations. All of them can use the identical sign-up website right here:
It seems like Australians acquired a uncooked deal out of this. As finest I can inform, it’s now going to value them extra to go to Brazil than they cost the Brazilians. The variety of Aussies making that lengthy flight is kind of low anyway although, so it in all probability gained’t have a lot influence.
This visa change was initially alleged to occur in October of 2023, however the authorities couldn’t get its act collectively in time (keep in mind the Rio Olympics?) and it was pushed again to January of, 2024. Then April, then a 12 months later. They’re apparently now prepared so that you can get your journey visa on-line and begin pumping up the federal government income.
What This Means for Your Brazil Trip
For many of the nations of South America, you’ll be able to simply present up on the airport with a ticket and passport and also you’ll sail by immigration with out opening your pockets. There could also be some taxes constructed into your airplane ticket, however you don’t see them or need to do something particular upfront.
There are just a few exceptions in Latin America, nonetheless, often nations which have political tiffs with the USA happening or they’re attempting desperately to get extra overseas forex. So Brazil is becoming a member of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Venezuela as nations the place it’s essential cough up more money on the airport so you’ll be able to go spend cash of their nation.
This visa is particularly galling for 2 teams of vacationers: households and cruise ship passengers. That’s as a result of no one is exempt from the $81 price: not somebody stepping off in Rio for at some point nor the two-year-old tagging together with you. For the latter you must present an authentic delivery certificates and a doc signed by the mother and father. See the onerous necessities right here.
The foundations for enterprise visa candidates are on there too and also you’ll have to provide you with much more paperwork for that.
The excellent news is, until Trump fully tanks the greenback together with his strikes which can be inflicting capital flight from the USA, Brazil ought to stay a very good worth for some time. Costs have come down fairly a bit in recent times because the Brazilian forex has declined in opposition to most others, placing it on par with Argentina the primary quarter of this 12 months, generally a greater worth for luxurious motels in Brazil.
Extra flight choices have opened up too from the USA, Canada, and Europe. Elevated competitors often results in higher airfares, so that you may be capable of snag a greater flight worth this 12 months than beforehand.
Verify flight costs out of your airport right here.
The place this visa change might make issues sophisticated and costlier is if you wish to go to each side of the biggest waterfalls within the Americas. For the previous 5 years that it was straightforward to go to Iguazu Falls on the Argentina aspect and Iguassu / Iguaçu Falls on the Brazilian aspect. There was no further cost past admission since each nations have been visa-free, however now it’s going to imply a really costly crossover. So I think about we’ll return to the state of affairs the place Argentina is getting 3X the variety of overseas guests on their aspect that Brazil is getting on theirs.
In the event you’re questioning whether or not that is the costliest South America visa, the reply is not any. Bolivia has a tit-for-tat reciprocal visa scheme, which is one motive why it will get solely a trickle of holiday makers in comparison with its neighbors. Plus Bolivia has even fewer preparations with different nations than Brazil does, so it’s extra than simply Individuals, Canadians, and Australians who pays to enter there.
Who Has the Most Beneficiant Visas in Latin America?
Whereas Brazil goes backwards on attracting extra American and Canadian vacationers, different nations in Latin America make it fairly straightforward. In most of them you’ll be able to keep three months upon arrival with a developed-country passport. In nations like Colombia and Ecuador you’ll be able to often prolong that in case you undergo the suitable course of.
Costa Rica introduced final 12 months that they’re extending the time that guests can keep of their nation with a vacationer visa obtained on arrival, from 90 days to 180 days. This is applicable to all “group one” nations that solely want a passport to enter Costa Rica. There are a whole lot of nations on this checklist together with the USA, Canada, most European nations, most South American nations, Japan, and South Africa.
That is particularly nice information for snowbirds who escape the chilly up north and are available right down to Costa Rica for the winter. Beforehand, in the event that they wished to remain greater than 90 days, they needed to do a border run to a neighboring nation and return with a brand new passport stamp. Now they will keep for practically six months.
That is additionally nice information for distant employees and nomads who need to discover Costa Rica in depth whereas nonetheless getting their work finished when wanted. And hey, that’s good for the planet too since Costa Rica will get most of its energy from renewable vitality. Final, it’s excellent news for many who need to put money into Costa Rica actual property and don’t need to rush the method.
Who else helps you to keep that lengthy? Mexico’s “permission to remain” visa on arrival is now digital as an alternative of being in paper kind and most guests get 180 days for the asking. If you really want that lengthy although, it might be sensible to have a return ticket and proof that you’ve got a spot to remain.
See the place to remain once you get there with our intensive evaluations of luxurious Mexico motels all through the nation.
Peru will allow you to keep for 180 days as effectively, although there’s a little bit of a twist. In the event you go away Tijuana, have lunch in San Diego, then return to Mexico, you’ll doubtless get one other half a 12 months in your passport. That’s not true for Peru: as soon as you allow the nation after that lengthy you’ll want to remain away for six months earlier than doing it over again.
Many nations widespread with expats, comparable to Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador, will allow you to keep for six months and even completely in case you undergo an software course of and meet the necessities. Generally by, assume you’re good for just a few months with out visiting immigration, together with in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
Beginning now although, plan forward if Brazil is excessive in your checklist.
