How long is my Brazil visa valid for?

Unless stated otherwise on your visa ALL VISAS ARE VALID FOR TEN YEARS from the date of issue.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi, I am a student from Nepal now living in United States. I am planning to visit Brazil in June 13 and applied for a Brazilian tourist visa. I have already received the visa but the visa doen't have all the information I need.  My visa  contains following information:

No. of entries: Multiplas
Type of Visa : Vitur
Duration of stay: 30 DIAS
Date of issue: 25 April 2013


Desptel: 00291 DE 22/04/2013
Valid for 30 days
Not valid for work or study.


Could you please suggest, if the visa is valid for 30 days from the visa issue date or from the date of entry to Brazil?  If latter is the case what is the time limitation for my first entry to Brazil? Within how many days should I enter Brazil. Please help. And when will my visa expire?

It should probably also say that your first entry should be within 90 days (primeira entrada em 90 dias).

Your visa unfortunately only allows a 30 day stay, but you should be able to apply for an extension once you're here. Check that with the Federal Police when you arrive.

Your visa will allow you to stay for 30 days from the date of arrival, your entry date will be stamped on your passport. You count the day of arrival and day of departure as full days in that thirty days.

Normally tourist visas are for 90 days, but some visa officers issue for shorter periods depending on the information they get from the applicant.

The validity period of the visa itself is ten years from the date of issue unless otherwise stated.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

It doesn't say anywhere that my first entry should be within 90 days (primeira entrada em 90 dias), that is the reason why I was so concerned. Do you think it would be safe to assume that I could enter Brazil in June 14 with the visa issued on April 25th? I am not worried about the length of stay since I'll be there just for 4 days.

Thank you.

Should be no problem at all. The date you plan to enter Brazil falls within the 90 days from issue which is normally included on visas. So you will be ok.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thank you.

I have Indian Passport and I got Brazil Business visa in July 2010 in USA. It is multiple entry visa for 5 years.
I never travelled to Brazil, but have a need to travel now. I want to find out, if I can still travel on this visa. Reason of asking this question as I saw some comments about if you have not travelled for 90 days, your visa becomes invalid.
Though, I do not see any explicit comment listed with this regards on my visa.

Hello vjon,

Look on the bottom of your visa, if you see something like "primeira entrada em 90 dias da data de concessão", then you must apply for a new visa. Generally you must make your first entry into the country within 90 days for your visa to become valid.

I think you will find that is written on your visa, in which case you're out of luck.

If it's not there I would strongly recommend you contact the Brazilian Consulate where you got the visa to make sure you can use it.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thank you for your note.
I tried to call the Brazil consulate in Newyork but did not get any response.
Hence I sent them email to check the status of visa for travel. I also sent them the scanned picture of the visa, which few minutes back they confirmed that Visa is good to travel.

Regards

vjon,

That's great news. Just remember to keep a hardcopy of the e-mail from the Consulate with you when you present your travel documents on arrival. The Policia Federal here in Brazil in most cases haven't a clue as to what they're doing and they act like the are more powerful than God himself when it comes to immigrations. In fact, they are only contracted agents for immigrations and have no authority to issue or deny visas.. they only do what they're told to do.

If you have any problems on entry with a Fed who doesn't like the look of your visa hand him the e-mail from the Consulate. That should be his/her wakeup call.

Cheers

Does anyone have any experience with maiden names on their visas? My Brazilian visa is issued in my old passport with my old name (McDevitt) and my new passport is correct. I called the Brazilian Consulate and they said I should renew - so that's probably what I'll do. Just curious if anyone has traveled on a visa with a prior name.

Also I'm not sure what kind of 'polio/vaccination' record to submit with my daughters visa application. (8 months old) has anyone done this?

Hi Emily,

Yes you will need to apply for a new visa, here in Brazil once married a woman (if she chooses to take on her husband's surname) is required by law to change all of her documents to reflect the new surname. This is because here the Marriage Certificate supercedes the Birth Certificate and from that point forward a woman must use her Marriage Certificate as proof of age.

Regarding vaccination records, any official record (such as school vaccination card) is sufficient. Failing that you should have your child(ren) re-vaccinated by your local Department of Health and request a Vaccination Certificate. Depending upon where in Brazil you are intending to go you should also consider vaccination for Yellow Fever which should be administered at least 10 days prior to arrival in Brazil and some kind of oral medication to help prevent Malaria.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hello,

I received a Vitem II visa when working with my previous employer. I may have upcoming travel to tradeshows in Brazil for my current employer. Is my visa still valid, since I have switched employers?

It was issued Jan 2011 and I entered and exited Brazil for the first time in March 2011 for 5 days when I attended a training course for my previous employer. It says that the visa is valid for 10 years after the date of issue, so it is still valid from that standpoint, but I'm wondering if the fact that I've switched employers since I last used the visa invalidates it.

Thanks!

Leo

Hi Leo,

You should contact the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that issued the visa in order to confirm its validity under the circumstances. I don't know if changing employers would have any bearing on the visa and in my opinion it would appear to continue valid. Certainly only the Consulate can confirm this with any degree of certainty.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi! I am an American academic preparing a post-doc budget for an Australian university. My research involves fieldwork in Brazil. I know I will need a Vitem I Visa, but I wanted to confirm a couple of things, and hope you can help:

1) Even though I will be a permanent resident in Australia during this post-doc, because I am a US citizen, I will need to get my Brazilian visa through US channels, right? Which means paying the high reciprocal fees?

2) The planned research will be 1-2 months a year for 3 years. Can I get a visa that covers all of that (with, of course, all of the other documentation, including the notarized letter from a Brazilian university) at once, and not have to pay for a new visa each year?

Thank you very much for your help.

Hi tflamson,

Regarding your first question.... where will you physically be when you are applying for the visa, in Australia or in the USA? As far as I know you can apply for the visa through any Brazilian Consulate, but you will have to meet all the requirements for your CITIZENSHIP. So if you're in Oz, check with them, you should be able to apply there as an American.

With regard to the single visa covering all the periods that is something you would need to have the Consulate advise you on. I don't know if it is possible or not.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

You are only allowed to stay 180 days each year. The visa allows you to enter for 10 years.

I have a similiar question regarding the VITUR visa

I am a canadian citizen and already possess this visa and have already used my visa once to travel.  I was supposed to travel to Brazil again today but the flight agents denied me boarding because they were unsure of its validity.  My visa is as follows:

VITUR
Multiple Entries
Valid for 30 days

at the bottom it reads:
visa valid for 30 days from date of first entry- not valid for work or study.

There is no indication of its expiry.

This is an emergency.  I will go to the embassy tomorrow morning to confirm but would like some guidance from here as well.

Thanks!

Would you scan your visa and send it to me via e-mail so I can see the Portuguese version of the text. It appears that it's a one-time-only visa but I'm not sure, since no Brazilian visa actually shows an expiry date. You may be confusing VALIDITY with "Prazo de Estada" which means Stay Duration. Normally VITUR visas are valid for 5 or 10 years depending on the citizenship of the bearer (reciprocal agreements between countries).

E-mail:   wm_james_woodward[at]hotmail.com

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

hello,,, i have read all comments and answer about vitem II brazil visa,,,, I hv same visa,,, i visited brazil and now in own country india.but I'm confused about days ,,, can stay over 180 days,,, i entered in brazil on 24 january,,, and left the country on 3 june.so let me know that when I'll be able to go brazil again? thanks

Hello Desraj Sani,

The 180 day limit per year is ONLY for tourist visas. Any other kind of visa is valid for the stay duration which is shown on the visa, this duration will vary depending on the individual case and can be up to two years as in the case of a VITEM-V.

  Cheers,
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hello,

I just got my new style (with photo) multiple entry tourist visa valid for 90 days. However, my question is if the validity of 90 days is from Date of Issue or Date of Entry?

Thanks!

hello...90 days will be start on the entry.

If the visa is stamped 'valid for 90 days' then, the 90 days is counted from the date of issue by the airlines.  After 90 days from issue date, it is considered expired and you will not be issued a boarding pass to Brazil.  This has been my experience with US airlines.  Not sure about other countries. I doubt that you will be admitted into Brazil with an expired visa.   

Regards
ReyRey

Hello desraj and rey rey,

You're both confusing the "prazo de estada" stay duration with validity. They are two completely separate issues, but the text on the visa itself leads to this confusion.

The first entry into Brazil must take place within 90 days of the visa being issued, failing that you need to apply for a new visa.

The "prazo de estada" is the length of time you are permitted to stay in Brazil on any given visit (without applying for an extension "prorrogação de estada"), which in your case is 90 days. With an extension you can stay up to a further 90 days, to a maximum of 180 days, including dates of arrival and dates of departure as full days, in any given "rolling" one year period.

The 90 days is counted from the date of entry into Brazil in all cases.

The government has mistakenly included "validity" on the visa, which is actually redundant since they're using it as "prazo de estada" a second time or indicating that it will remain valid for 90 days for the first entry. I don't know which, but in either case it's totally unnecessary.

The actual VALIDITY of a VITUR Tourist Visa is either 5 years or 10 years depending on how long a visa issued by your country to a Brazilian is valid. I have no way to know the validity of every nation in the world for Brazil visas.

  Cheers,
William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

sir,
i have visit to brazil on business visa.i know that my visa has finished now.it was multiple for 90 day.i was confused that i had tourist visa.but now l left the brazil.i really wanna to go again.please let me guide that what kind of visa i can get now? i have some contact there who would like to help me.my past visa was this.....
place of issue
mumbai
entry..
multiple
type of visa..
vitem II
duration of stay
90 dias
nationality
indiano(A)
visa valid for 90 days.
sir,i entered in brazil on 24 january and i extended my stay 90 more days by policia federal in são paulo.so i left brazil on 5 june.now what kind of visa i should apply? i though that my visa is tourist and there were no able to talk in english.everything happened by langues problem.
thanku,, sir

Hi desraj,

If you have already been in Brazil for 180 days in the year then you'll have to wait for at least 270 days from the date you left to come back for 90 days or 365 days for a visit that could be extended to a consecutive 180 days. There is no way around that.

The only type of visa that would get you back into Brazil now would be a VITEM-V Work Visa which you'd need a work contract with a Brazilian company to obtain; or a VIPER Permanent Visa and those are available under limited circumstances such as marriage to a Brazilian, having a Brazilian child, investing R$150 thousand or more in a Brazilian business.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

sir, thank you for showing me right way.i have to know one more.thing.which kind of document will needed for work permit?
thanks again,

Hi William,

I have been reading some of your replies and it sounds like you know everything about brazil. Here is my story:

I worked in fortaleza with my european company for 3 months on a tourist visa at the start of the year and met a brazilian girl. I am now back in europe. I found out recently that she is now pregnant. So instead of running away (like i thought about first!) I thought it would be good to go out to her for the birth and maybe a year or so to see how things go between us.

Obviously I need a job to fund this, I am a mechnical engineer and am very interested in renewable energy which i know is going well in fortaleza. I have a one-way flight booked for the middle of october and still no visa. If I don't find a job before I go over then what would be the best visa to apply for, so that I could look for work when I'm there? Also am I ok to enter the country without a return flight if I just go on a tourist visa?

Hi small,

Why is it that I'm not surprised that it's only us expats who step up and take responsibility, you are to be commended.

If you come to Brazil on a Tourist Visa, you aren't permitted to work so that's a bit of a drag. Nothing prevents you from looking for a job however and if you land one you can request transformation of the VITUR into a VITEM-V Work Visa without too much hassle.

The one drawback of the VITUR is that you must have either a return ticket to your origin or at the very minimum a ticket out of Brazil to some country you already have a visa to enter or don't require a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. Of course that must be for 90 days from entry. If you can enter another neighboring South American country it would certainly be far less expensive. If you were able to obtain a VITEM-V before coming to Brazil you wouldn't need a return ticket.

Once your child is born and the birth registered in the Cartório you can apply for a VIPER Permanent Visa based on having a Brazilian child and this automatically allows you both to remain in the country and even obtain a work permit once you've applied for the VIPER. Also as long as your child either lives with you, or you are supporting the child even though separated you cannot be expelled from Brazil. Only VIPER visas based on marriage or having a Brazilian child automatically confer the right to work and obtain a Carteira de Trabalho, other kinds of VIPER applications you actually have to wait until the visa is issued.

Hope this helps you in your decision making. What I would recommend doing is communicate with your girlfriend your intentions, come to Brazil on a VITUR shortly before the birth and then apply for the VIPER the moment you have the Birth Certificate in your hot little hands.

Any other doubts, don't hesitate to ask.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Dear wjwoodward:
I am a chinese,I have got my brazil visa on 2012 September 20th in Santiago,Chile,the visa type is VITUR,duration of 90 days,I came to brazil on 2012 October 07，and  left brazil on 2012 October 17.Recently I want to go to brazil again,I  need to get a new visa or just use the old one?
There are some items on the visa:
1.visa valid for 90 days
2.maximum:180 days per year
3.not valid for work or study
4.first entry within 90 days from the date of issue.
I don't know the validity of the visa,could you help me?Thanks in advance!

Hi evanzu,

Your visa will be valid for a period of either five years or ten years, depending on how long your country's visa is valid for a Brazilian citizen. I have no way of knowing what that is. You need to confirm that with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in your country or with the Policia Federal in Brazil.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Dear wjwoodward:
I NEED YOUR HELP I AM TANZANIAN CITIZEN AND I GOT BRAZIL VISA OF 30 DAIS(DAYS) FOR VOLUNTEERING BUT I DONT UNDERSTAND IT WELL CAUSE IT SHOW LIKE THIS
DATA DE fMtSS.iO/DATE Of ISSUE
10 JUl/JUL 2013

LE! . VISTO VAllOO PARAA JMJ RIO 2013. PRIMEIRA
ENTRADAATt 28/07/2013. VISTD IMPRORRDGAVEL.PROI8IOO
ATIVIDAOE REMUNERAOAOU ESrooo. /  VISA
VALID FOR WYDRIO 2013. FIRST ENTRY BY 28/07/2013. VISA
UNEXTENDABLE.II«>RKORSTUDYOR WORK I DIDNT ATTEND IT YET BECAUSE I WAS SICK I NEED TO ASK  28/07/2013 IS IT MY LAST DAY TO GO TO BRAZIL OR CAN I GO THERE UNTIL I FINISH 30 DAYS? CAUSE I WILL BE ADMIT AT THE HOSPITAL ON 26TH JULY 2013 AND I WANT TO GO THERE CAUSE I GOT OPEN TICKET READY WHAT SHOULD I DO

Hi babby,

Your visa should be used for the entry date shown, 28/07/2013. It cannot be extended, it permits a stay of only 30 days and does not permit any kind of paid work or studies of any kind.

In your case if you are or have been hospitalized you should contact the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that issued the visa and explain your situation and then follow their instructions.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thank you sir
But i just want to know that Am I not allowed to enter Brazil until 28 July 2013 or is the  date that am suppose to be out of Brazil ?,or is the right date for me to be there cause i have plan to be there for 5 days means 28th July 2013 UP TO 1st August 2013

It is the date BY which you must enter Brazil, you are not able to enter AFTER 28/07/2013 because your visa becomes invalid if not used to enter the country on or before that date.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thank you SO much for your response.  Though I didn't have a chance to get back to you, I read your response extremely early the morning I traveled and knew that I had to apply for a new visa.  I made it to the Consulate in Atlanta and they gave me a new visa FREE of charge (it was an emergency, and also they really felt bad for me...I was catching my flight to Brazil the same day so please don't get any ideas lol).

Upon leaving Brazil I verified with an immigration control officer if my current visa was still valid for another trip and he confirmed with his supervisor that it was.  It was nothing short of a miracle my situation.  Please be vigilant of these visa's...they are a bit tricky to understand.

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Hi thanks so much for helping out !
I'm an American I got a visa December 8 2008 and traveled to brasil within 90 days ,I got a new passport and the visa  is in my expired passport, I want to travel in October , do I need a new visa or I can use the old passport with the visa issued 2008?
Thanks in advance