Americans traveling to Brazil this year must first share a month’s worth of bank statements with the South American country in exchange for a travel visa.
Starting today, January 10, U.S. citizens are required to fill out an online application and pay an $80 fee to receive their visa. However, once approved, the new visa will allow them entry into the country for up to 10 years, according to travel blog View From the Wing.
American visitors must also prove that they have at least $2,000 in their bank account and provide flight reservation details showing arrival and departure.
The Brazilian government warned in March that it would undo a travel waiver allowing visitors from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Japan to visit Brazil without a visa. The removal of this 2019-introduced waiver and the subsequent implementation of Brazil’s new travel requirements were originally scheduled to begin in October 2023 but have been pushed off until now.
In a press statement made in September, the Brazilian government said it would give thought to lifting the new requirements only if the U.S. scaled back its own intensive visa requirements for Brazilian citizens.
Brazil has already reached an agreement with Japan that allows Japanese citizens to continue visiting the country without a visa.
It remains to be seen how the new visa requirements might affect international tourism in Brazil. According to TravelPulse, the country saw a 74 percent rise in visitors between January and October 2023.
The U.S. State Department’s longstanding travel advisory for Brazil is still in place, urging American travelers to “exercise increased caution” due to crime.
Featured image from Unsplash.com. Credit: Raphael Nogueira.
