Brazilian Tourist Visa Validity Inquiry

I have a question regarding Brazilian visa validity for American citizen.

I had a tourist Brazilian visa issued October 2010. However, because of change in travel plans, I have never used the visa and traveled to Brazil.

I now have plans to travel to Brazil (as tourist) in 3 months. Can I use the current visa in my passport? Is it still valid? I heard that if a Brazilian visa is not used within 90 days of the issue date, it is not valid.

The visa I have states good for 10 years, multiple entries, and 90 days duration of stay. It does not state at the bottom, must be first used within 90 days of issue.

I believe the visa is the "new" style with photo, barcode, etc.

Thanks for the help!

It always used to be stated on the bottom of all VITUR Tourist Visas "Primeira entrada em 90 dias / First entry within 90 days" and following that the visa was no longer valid if unused.

You had better check with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that issued the visa, because I really don't know if that requirement still exists or not. If they've done away with it, this was done without any notice to the public or fanfare of any kind.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Just wanted to chime back in when I contacted the Consulate. They requested a picture of the visa and then sent the following message. "The visa is valid for 10 years and there is no first entry rule, which means the visa is still valid even if you have not used it."

For what it's worth, I"ll keep a print out of the email chain with me, just in case.