Brazil visa requirements for tourists

At a glance

Who needs a visa for Brazil

Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) publishes a table of visa rules by nationality. The latest version we found is dated 8 April 2025. For tourists it reads like this:

If your country is not in this table, look it up on the website of the Brazilian embassy or consulate where you live.

United States, Canada and Australia

The U.S. State Department states that U.S. citizens need a visa for tourism from 10 April 2025 and that travellers who arrive without one are denied entry. The Government of Canada lists a tourist visa as required for Canadians, and Smartraveller says Australians need a visa and cannot get one at the airport or the border. The U.S. State Department names brazil.vfsevisa.com as the government-authorized site for the Brazil e-visa. Apply there well before your flight and keep the approval on your phone and on paper.

This was the only change to the rules we found in 2025 and 2026; for the other nationalities in the table, official sources show none up to the date of our check.

How long you can stay, and extensions

Under Brazil’s migration decree (Decreto 9.199/2017), a visitor can stay up to 90 days. The Federal Police (Polícia Federal) can extend this by up to 90 more days, as long as the total does not go over 180 days in a “migratory year”, which is 12 months counted from your first entry. The count stops whenever you leave Brazil and starts again when you return.

The decree and the Itamaraty table add some conditions:

• For France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria, the Itamaraty table sets a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days.
• The decree allows an extension only for nationals of countries that give Brazilians the same treatment.
• You request the extension from the Federal Police before your permitted stay ends.
• At entry, the Federal Police can grant fewer than 90 days.
• France Diplomatie tells French visitors that no extension is possible, so French travellers should plan on 90 days.

If you stay longer than allowed, the UK FCDO says a daily fine applies, paid when you leave or on your next visit.

Passport and ID card

Brazil does not publish a minimum passport validity that we could confirm. Foreign ministries give their own advice: the UK FCDO says your passport should be valid for at least six months after the date you arrive, and France Diplomatie also asks for six months. The Government of Canada asks for a passport valid for your whole stay, and the U.S. State Department sets its own rule for U.S. citizens. Six months of validity covers all of them.

Brazil stamps passports on entry and exit, and the U.S. State Department asks for a blank page for the stamp. The FCDO adds: make sure the officer stamps your passport, since without it you may be fined when you leave.

Citizens of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela can travel with their national identity card instead of a passport. If you hold Brazilian nationality as well, the FCDO, France Diplomatie and Smartraveller say you are expected to enter and leave on your Brazilian passport.

Arriving: documents to keep at hand

The Federal Police set your status at the border according to the purpose of the trip you declare, so say clearly that you are a tourist. Keep these ready in your hand luggage:

• passport or accepted ID card, and the e-visa approval if you need one
• return or onward ticket (France Diplomatie says it is required)
• address of your first hotel or apartment
• travel insurance details
• the e-DBV customs declaration, if you have goods or cash to declare

Our Rio airports guide covers arrival in Rio, and flights to Brazil covers routes from Europe and the Americas.

Health on entry

The U.S. State Department and the Government of Canada say a yellow fever certificate is not required to enter Brazil. Smartraveller tells Australians they may need one, so check your own government’s advice. Vaccination is still recommended for many areas, Rio de Janeiro included, and some neighbouring countries, among them Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay, may ask for proof after a stay in Brazil. Details are in our Brazil health tips.

Customs basics

The UK FCDO asks travellers to declare goods that may be prohibited or subject to tax. Cash above the Receita Federal limit must be declared online through the e-DBV, on entry and on exit. Since 27 July 2026, Receita Federal can register an air traveller’s e-DBV automatically after a risk check, so you go straight out; other travellers still pass customs control. More on cash and cards is in money in Brazil.

Children under 18

For children who need a visa, the decree says Brazil does not issue one to a minor travelling alone or without written authorization from the parents or guardians. For children from countries that do not need a visa, the U.S. State Department notes that Brazilian law does not clearly require parental authorization, but the Federal Police have sometimes delayed travel, and it recommends written consent from any parent who is not travelling. Brazilian children follow separate rules. If a child travels with one parent or without parents, ask the Brazilian consulate which documents to carry.

How we help

Vela Brasil does not issue visas or handle applications. Once your entry is clear, we plan the trip: private trips in Rio and across Brazil, airport pickup, drivers, guides and the program day by day. Send us your dates and nationality on the contact page and we will build the plan around your stay limit.

Entry rules change. The Brazilian consulate in your country is the authority on visas and documents; this page was checked against official sources on 28 October 2026.