Brazil Still Requires an e-Visa From American, Canadian and Australian Travellers

Brazil reinstated visa requirements for United States, Canadian and Australian nationals with effect from 10 April 2025. The requirement remains in force through 2026, despite a political challenge that has generated a good deal of confusion.

Has it been repealed? I read that the Senate voted it down.
Not repealed. Brazil's Senate did vote against the measure, but the requirement remains in effect pending a decision in the Chamber of Deputies.

Until that process concludes and something formally changes, the requirement stands. Travellers should plan on needing an electronic visa, not on the possibility that it might be removed before their trip.

This is the single most common misunderstanding on this topic, and it has caused people to travel without the document.

Can I get a visa on arrival instead?
No. There is no visa on arrival for these nationalities. Arriving in Brazil without a valid electronic visa is not a situation that can be resolved at the airport in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.

Airlines check for it before boarding, so in practice the trip ends at the departure airport rather than in Brazil.

How long does it take?
Processing is around five business days.

That is the planning figure. It excludes weekends and Brazilian public holidays, and it is a typical time rather than a guaranteed one. An application submitted a week before departure is cutting it close; two to three weeks is a more sensible margin.

How long is it valid?
Validity runs from five to ten years depending on nationality, which makes it a long-lived document once obtained.

How long can I stay?
Up to 90 days per entry, extendable to a maximum of 180 days in any 12-month period.

Note how that works. The 90 days is per entry; the 180 days is the annual ceiling across all entries. Travellers who visit Brazil repeatedly in a year need to track the cumulative total, not just each individual stay.

I visited Brazil before April 2025 without a visa. Does that help?
No. The previous visa-free arrangement ended, and prior visits confer nothing. Every traveller from the three affected nationalities needs the electronic visa for travel now.

Why did Brazil do this?
Reciprocity. Brazil's position has historically been to match the treatment its own nationals receive, and the three countries concerned require visas from Brazilian citizens.

That framing matters for predicting what happens next: the requirement is tied to a principle rather than to a temporary administrative concern, which makes a quiet reversal less likely than the Senate vote might suggest.

What should travellers do?
Apply well ahead: three weeks rather than one.

Check the validity of your existing document if you obtained one in 2025; the long validity means many travellers already hold one and have forgotten.

Track your cumulative days if you visit more than once a year.

And do not plan around the possibility of repeal. If the requirement is lifted, it will be lifted publicly and with notice. Until then it is the rule.

Verified against Brazilian government decree as reported in official US diplomatic mission guidance for Brazil.