Heading to Brazil? American? You Better Apply for a Visa!

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Going to Brazil? American?  You need a visa!If you decide to leave Argentina in search of (more) adventure, Brazil offers a vast array of great options just to the north. You can choose to head to the beaches and nightlife of Rio de Janeiro or Florianopolis, or the wonders of the Amazon rainforest, or the tons of other options in between. But, for the American citizen, heading to Brazil is not as easy as simply buying a plane or bus ticket.

In order to cross the border, Americans (and others) must first apply for a travel visa. This can be done by heading to the Brazilian Consulate. So if you are in Buenos Aires and have decided to add Brazil to your travel itinerary, here is a quick rundown on how to make the visa application process as painless as possible:

First, head to the Brazilian Consulate before 1pm on a weekday.

Brazilian Consulate in Buenos Aires
Carlos Pelligrini 1363, 5th floor
4515-6500

Make sure to bring your passport and passport sized photo. Once you have arrived, you will go to a computer station where you will fill out the visa application. Be sure to know the address where you are staying in Argentina as well as the address and phone number of your Brazilian destination, as well as the dates you will be in Brazil.

Once the form is filled out, you will head to drop off the form, your passport, and your photo at one of the windows in the consulate. You must have a valid Passport. If your travel visa to Argentina has expired, you will not be able to even apply for the Brazilian visa.

Once the consulate worker has deemed you “fit to apply” for the visa and collected your passport, form, and photo, they will hand you a receipt which also instructs you where you must go to pay the mandatory $331.25 peso application fee (in cash). This fee must be paid within 48 hours or the application will be rejected. My advice would be to head straight to the bank indicated on the receipt once you exit the consulate, since it is only a couple blocks away, close to the corner of Santa Fe and Suipacha.

After you have paid your fee and remembered to keep the bank receipt as well as your receipt from the consulate, you have three days to wait until you can pick up the visa. It is very important to remember that the consulate has your passport, so make sure you are not planning to head out of the Argentina in that three day time window.

Once three business days have passed, you can head back to the Brazilian consulate between 4pm and 6pm and (hopefully) grab your approved visa application with minimal hassle. Now go brush up on your Portuguese!

10 Comments

christopher j. lopez on May 3, 08

is it easy for an american to get a brazilian visa in buenos aires? have there been any changes in brazilian visa laws? would i be better off getting the visa in new york where i reside?

any info or help would be appreciated.

thank you,

cjl

Eric on June 18, 08

PLEASE READ THESE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. I went this morning and they gave us this ridiculous runaround and, after going to an internet kiosk several times to print out additional forms, we ran out of time and they closed on us.

One thing that is very unclear from the website is that you also need a bank statement that is current, i.e. they need a bank statement that shows activity up to the current date. For example, I went on June 17, 2008 with a statement from May 2008. They wanted the statement that showed activity in the last few days. The “reasoning” was that we could have taken all our money out of the account within the last 2 weeks and they would have no idea. Anyway, many Americans have been getting rejected for this, so please make sure you have that most recent statement.

Do this well in advance of your planned trip to Brazil. There’s all sorts of red tape and it could well take you a few tries to get it right.

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Chad DePue on October 22, 08

I have updated instructions on my blog at eitheror.com. The times for pickup have changed, as have the fees. Also the documentation requirements are slightly different if you are traveling on business.

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Joe Traveler on June 21, 09

Although not officially required according to the Brazilian embassy website, some of the Brazilian consulates will ask you for a copy of your credit card. They make gringos jump through hoops because the American government treats the Brazilians like criminals, finger printing and photographing them as they enter the USA. It sucks, I know, but you have to cater to them if you want to visit. Hopefully you will not get a consulate official who hates Americans and reject you for that.

meredith rae on December 5, 09

http://meraedith.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/how-to-get-a-brazilian-visa-in-buenos-aires/

I just got my Brazilian Visa in Buenos Aires fairly simple

cecilia on March 27, 10

I am Indian and I am traveling to Iguazu falls on the argentinian side, but I would like to see Brasilian side, do I need also the Brasilian visa?

lucy on March 29, 10

Yes Cecilia, you would need a visa for Brazil. The only countries entering Brazil that do not need visas are listed on this website:

http://www.passportvisasexpress.com/brazil_visa_need.xml

Good question!

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