Frequent questions

1) What is a Visitor Visa (VIVIS)?

Visitors are limited to 90 days per entry in Brazil, 180 days per year altogether. You're a visitor when traveling for tourism**, business***, transit, sports activities, artistic performances, as a journalist or media professional, aircraft or ship crew member.

**TOURISM = sightseeing, informative trips, cultural trips, educational trips, leisure, family visit, conferences, seminars, congresses, meetings, volunteer work, religious activities, research, teaching and academic extension

***BUSINESS = business meetings, fairs, business events, visiting prospective clients, buyers or partners, signing contracts, auditing, consulting

2) What are the countries exempted of Visitor Visas?

These are the countries exempted of Visitor Visa:

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vicent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America (until September 30, 2023), Uruguay, Vatican and Venezuela.

If you are a national of countries not listed here, please check the requirements here.

3) What are the necessary documents for Visitor Visa?

STEPS TOWARD YOUR VISA: 

 * Attention: After following these steps, you must schedule an appointment with the Consulate of Brazil in Orlando through the e-Consular system.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE VIVIS VISA FOR TOURISM IN GENERAL

DISCLAIMER

Take your time to read this guide carefully. The Consulate is not responsible for mistakes in your visa application and for losses related to travel expenses to Orlando when applying for the visa or to your planned trip to Brazil in case your visa is refused, denied or not granted in time. Do not book rooms or tickets to Brazil before making sure you have the correct visa. Visa application fees are non-refundable by operation of law. Your application may be refused or denied if the requirements do not meet the specifications listed on this guide. The Consulate may request additional information if necessary. Click on each requirement to read details. You may print this guide and tick each item as you gather the requirements.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

 Passport

 Photo

 Money order from the United States Postal Service

 Electronic visa application form

 Proof of immigration status in the USA

 Letter of intent / other relevant documents

 Proof of income

If you’re not going to be present at interview

 Proof of residence

OPTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

None of the optional requirements serves as substitute for the mandatory ones.

 Tickets/reservations

 Letter of invitation from Brazil

For minors (those under 18 years of age)

All of the applicable previous requirements plus the following:

 Birth certificate

 Parents’ IDs

 Consent form

 Affidavit of support

PASSPORT

Validity

Your passport must be valid when applying for the visa. It does not need to be valid until the date when you intend to travel to Brazil, but it must be valid when we issue you the visa. We may issue you the visa even if your passport is about to expire, but before boarding a plane/ship or crossing a border towards Brazil, you must make sure you have a passport that is valid until your intended date of return (USA passports only) or valid for at least six months after the date you enter Brazil (passports of all other countries). If your valid visa is on a passport that has expired, you must then carry two passports: the expired one containing your valid visa and a new valid one.

Signature

Adults must sign their passports. Passports of minors do not need to be signed.

Very few countries have passports which do not require signature. Check your passport and make sure it is signed if there is a field for it.

Pages

Your passport must contain at least two blank pages, i.e. pages without any other visas or stamps. The pages for observations, annotations, etc. are reserved for your own country. We cannot use them. If your passport has run out of pages, you must obtain a new one before applying for a visa to Brazil.

Condition

Your passport must be in good condition in order to be accepted as a valid document. It must not be torn, wet, damp, stained, cut, punctured, excessively dirty etc.

PHOTO

One of the requirements for your visa application is the photo. It must match the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

The photo must preferably have a white or light-colored background. The size of passport pictures professionally taken at pharmacies in the United States normally meets the ICAO standards.

MONEY ORDER FROM THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (THE POST OFFICE)

The only form of payment of processing fees accepted by the Consulates of Brazil in the United States is the money order of the United States Postal Service (USPS). No other forms of payment are accepted, not even money orders from other institutions. You must obtain your money order at a Post Office (https://www.usps.com/shop/money-orders.htm) before bringing your visa application to the Consulate of Brazil.

Please remember to fill out the money order like the example above.

You must bring a different money order for each person’s application. Check the correct amount for the money order on the table below before going to the Post Office.

The processing fee is determined according to the nationality of the passport you hold. You must obtain a USPS money order of the amount corresponding to the country of your passport. Click here to check the visa fees.

ELECTRONIC VISA APPLICATION FORM

The application must be filled out completely online. There is no paper-base application form. You must access the following link:

https://formulario-mre.serpro.gov.br/sci/pages/web/pacomPasesWebInicial.jsf. At the end of the process, the system will generate an application receipt like the model shown on the side. You must print it, glue your photo onto it and sign in the appropriate field.

PROOF OF RESIDENCE

If you are not going to be present at the Consulate in Orlando to bring your application, you must provide a proof of residence within our jurisdiction: Florida, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands.

Examples of proof of residence: valid driver’s license containing your home address, valid ID containing your home address, a recent utility bill (electricity, telephone, cable TV, Internet, water etc. issued no longer than 3 months ago).

PROOF OF IMMIGRATION STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES

If you’re not an American citizen, you must present proof of your immigration status in the United States. For example, a valid green card, visa, temporary resident card or I-94 form.

If you’re an American citizen with double citizenship applying for a visa with a non-American passport, you must present proof of your American citizenship, for instance, your American passport or certificate of citizenship.

LETTER OF INTENT / OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

You must write a letter to the Consulate about your intended trip to Brazil. You must mention:

a) when you intend to arrive in Brazil;

b) the cities you plan to visit;

c) the activities you are going to be involved with in each city;

d) where you are staying in each city;

e) if you are going to visit anybody in Brazil, you must mention their full names, date of birth, address, phone number and email address;

f) when you intend to depart Brazil.

The letter must be written in one of the following languages: English, Spanish, French or Portuguese.

You may add other relevant documents to your application.

Examples:

If you’re married to a Brazilian citizen, a copy of your marriage certificate, a copy of your Brazilian spouse’s Brazilian passport, ID etc.

If you’re children or parents are Brazilian, a copy of their or your birth certificate proving the family relationship and a copy of their Brazilian passport or ID.

If you’ve been invited to a wedding, a copy of the invitation.

If you have a Brazilian friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancé, fiancée or domestic partner and have been invited to travel with them or to visit them, a letter of invitation from them.

PROOF OF INCOME

Brazilian law requires that tourists prove that they are financially capable of maintaining themselves during their intended stay in Brazil, possessing financial means compatible with those of an international tourist. All the information provided is confidential under law penalties and securely stored while your visa is processed. Brazilian law demands that you present proof of income of the last 90 days (“all last 3 months”, not “1 of the last 3 months”). You may choose from one of the options below:

1. OPTION 1: Pay stubs

They must contain your name, the company/institution you work for, and the amount you earn.

2. OPTION 2: Bank statements

 They must contain your name, initial and final balance and total of credit and debit. For US banks, the first page (summary) of each month usually contains the information we need (initial and final balance, total of credit and debit and your name), so you may avoid wasting paper by selecting only those pages. If you wish, you may use correcting tape or fluid to omit your account number.

3. OPTION 3: Bank statements for business owners

If you own a business and decide to use your business’s statements, you must provide proof that you own it, for example, by printing the results from sunbiz.org (for Florida-based companies only) showing your name as the owner.

4. OPTION 4: Credit card statements

 They must contain your name and the available credit. Credit card statements without credit limit must show the amount of expenses and payments made.

What if I don’t have any of those?

You may present  accompanied by:

1. Your sponsor’s ID (original if he or she comes to the interview with you, or a notarized copy, if they can’t come to the interview). The ID must contain a photo and signature. The signature on the affidavit of support must match the one on the ID presented.

2. Your sponsor’s proof of income (one of the options aforementioned). The affidavit of support must be notarized if your sponsor can’t be present at the visa interview. Your sponsor can’t be anyone in Brazil.

TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS

It’s not mandatory to have or present your flight/bus/voyage tickets or hotel reservations when applying for the visa. The Consulate actually recommends that you wait until you have your visa at hand before you buy your tickets. Presenting your tickets is not a guarantee that your visa will be processed faster. We will try to issue your visa as soon as possible but, depending on the demand for visas at the time you apply, we may not be able to issue your visa in time if you apply too close to the date you plan to travel.

Don’t take for granted past experiences of friends or relatives who might have had visas issued faster in the past. The demand for visas varies a lot throughout the year and is highly influenced by currency exchange rates, important events, flight or cruise ticket sales etc. Also, the safest source of information is the Consulate itself.

 LETTER OF INVITATION FROM BRAZIL

It’s not mandatory to present a letter of invitation from someone in Brazil or from a Brazilian friend traveling with you. However, if you have it, you may include it in your application. Make sure any Brazilian friends or citizens mention their full names (including middle names), dates of birth and contact information (telephone number, address and email address).

FOR MINORS (those under 18 years of age)

BIRTH CERTIFICATE The visa application of minors (persons under 18 years of age) must be accompanied by the original and one copy of the birth certificate. You must also upload a digital version into the electronic application form. The birth certificate must contain the parent(s)’s names, the child’s name, date of birth and place of birth.

BIRTH CERTIFICATES OF NON-AMERICANS

If your country is a member of the HCCH and has signed the Apostille Treaty, you must present an apostille issued by the competent authorities in your country along with the original document. More information at https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities.

WHAT IF THE COUNTRY WHERE I WAS BORN ISN’T A PARTY OF THE HAGUE CONFERENCE ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (HCCH)?

If the country is not a member of the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH) and has not signed the Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalization of Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Treaty), the birth certificate must be notarized (authenticated or legalized) at an Embassy or Consulate of Brazil responsible for the jurisdiction where the document was issued.

PARENTS’ IDs

The visa application of minors (all persons under 18 years of age) must be accompanied of IDs of each of the parents listed on the child’s birth certificate. The ID must contain photo and signature. A few examples of IDs: driver’s license, passport, green card, etc.

PARENTS NOT PRESENT AT INTERVIEW

If one or both parents cannot be present at the visa interview, then they must submit the original ID or a notarized copy of it.

PARENTS IN BRAZIL

If one or both parents are in Brazil, they must submit a notarized copy of their ID (cópia autenticada em cartório).

PARENTS IN A COUNTRY WHICH IS A MEMBER OF THE APOSTILLE TREATY

If one of both parents are in a country which is a member of the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH), they must obtain a notarized or certified copy of their ID in that country and obtain an apostille for that: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities.

PARENTS IN A COUNTRY WHICH IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE APOSTILLE TREATY

If one or both parents are in a country which is not a member of the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH), they must legalize the copy of their ID at a Brazilian Consulate or Embassy responsible for that jurisdiction.

CONSENT FORM

The minor’s parents must fill in and sign a Consent Form for the minor’s visa to Brazil.

The signature on the form must match the one on the ID provided by each parent. The Consulate may refuse the consent form if the signatures don’t match, even if the form is notarized. This may lead to the denying of your visa.

If parents are in different cities, each of them may fill in and sign a separate form.

PARENTS NOT PRESENT AT VISA INTERVIEW

If one or both parents are not going to be present at the Consulate for the visa interview, he or she or both must have their signature notarized (in the appropriate area of the form) before the application is brought to the Consulate. It’s not necessary to notarize the consent form for the parent who’s present at the visa interview. This also applies for Brazilian parents in our jurisdiction: Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

PARENTS IN BRAZIL (BRAZILIAN OR NON-BRAZILIAN PARENTS)

If one or both parents are in Brazil, they must submit a Consent Form with the signature notarized (firma reconhecida) at a Cartório.

BRAZILIAN PARENTS OUTSIDE BRAZIL

Brazilian parents outside Brazil and outside our jurisdiction in the USA (Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands) must have their signatures recognized (firma reconhecida) at a Consulate or Embassy of Brazil:

NON-BRAZILIAN PARENTS IN A COUNTRY WHICH IS A MEMBER OF THE APOSTILLE TREATY

If one of both parents are in a country which is a member of the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH), they must sign the Consent Form and have their signature notarized. After that, they must obtain an apostille in recognition of the notarial authority: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities.

NON-BRAZILIAN PARENTS IN A COUNTRY WHICH IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE APOSTILLE TREATY

If one or both parents are in a country which is not a member of the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH), they must sign the Consent Form, have their signature notarized and legalize the document at a Brazilian Consulate or Embassy responsible for that jurisdiction:

AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT

One of the parents or legal guardians of the minor must submit proof of income and an Affidavit of Support .The sponsor must fill out and sign the document. You must also present:

1. Your sponsor’s ID (original if he or she comes to the interview with you, or a notarized copy, if they can’t come to the interview). The ID must contain a photo and signature. The signature on the affidavit of support must match the one on the ID presented.

2. Your sponsor’s proof of income (one of the options aforementioned).

 If the sponsor can’t be present at the interview the affidavit of support must be notarized.

SUBMIT ALL REQUIREMENTS TO E-CONSULAR

All visa requests shall be initiated through the E-Consular platform. Fill out the information and upload all the documents in https://ec-orlando.itamaraty.gov.br/ . 

 INQUIRIES / HELP

consular.orlando@itamaraty.gov.br (Emails answered on the same or next business day). No phone assistance.