On November 21, 2017, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations implemented a new Electronic Visitor Visa (e-Visa) program. As established by the new Brazilian Migration Law 13.445/2017, this new program is expected to facilitate business travel by streamlining the visa application process.

The new e-Visa system is initially being made available for use by Australian citizens, and it is expected that Japanese, Canadian, and U.S. citizens will be able to use the system starting in January 2018. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prioritized the e-Visa program eligibility for these countries because the Brazilian consular posts in Australia, Japan, Canada and the United States were responsible for more than half of the worldwide demand for Brazilian tourist and business visas. The e-Visa program availability is currently scheduled according to the following dates:

• Australian citizens: November 21, 2017
• Japanese citizens: January 11, 2018
• Canadian citizens: January 18, 2018
• U.S. citizens: January 25, 2018

The e-Visa may be granted for a maximum validity period of two years, authorizing a maximum of 90 days of stay in the country per year. It may be issued in five business days by the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Airlines are expected to request a printed or digital copy of the e-Visa if a traveler does not present a passport with a currently valid Brazilian visa stamp.

Brazilian consulates in Australia, Japan, Canada and United States will continue to issue tourist and business visas according to prior procedures, but it is expected that the e-Visa will help reduce consular adjudication timeframes. Individuals who plan to travel frequently to Brazil in the next few years may still prefer to obtain a visa from a Brazilian consulate in order to take advantage of the longer validity period of consular-issued visas (for example, 10 years for U.S. citizens).