Little question about 90 days period

My understanding is that Canadians are the same as Americans and can stay in Brazil up to a maximum of 180 days in a travel year.  Each visit can only be a maximum of 90 days unless you go to the PF for an extension.  Your travel year runs from May 17, 2023 to May 16, 2024 - and you are way below the 180 limit per travel year.  Where did you read that Canadians were limited only to 90 days per travel year?

Current Visa Exemption Period

Until April 10, 2024, U.S. citizens, along with their Canadian and Australian counterparts, can visit Brazil for up to 180 days per year without a visa, with an option to extend their stay by another 90 days. This visa exemption also extends to airplane crew members, facilitating their travel without the need for visas.

Hello Mike,

Yes it is 180 days after demanding the extension. Same as the US indeed. I was just wondering if the fact that I plan a trip that makes it to a total of 97 days in the past 365 days since last year May 17th may be a problem when I will get there, or will I have to ask the extension period of 90 days over there after my arrival or maybe not at all? On May 17th I'll get some extra days back from the 180 days period of the past 365 days.

That is what I was unsure of.

Thanks for your reply!

03/20/24 @Nap380.  If your question is about a planned arrival on June 6, then that's the key day.  Count the days you spent in Brazil during the 365 days prior to June 6, counting each arrival and departure day as a full day.

The number of days available to you on June 6 is 180 minus that number.  If the answer is a positive number you probably don't have a problem, although you may if the number is small.  Otherwise, you probably do, and may be denied admission.

If your previous 97 days were broken up into stays of fewer than 90 days each, you don't have to ask for an extension when you return.  Your 90 day "clock" just starts again at "1", for however many days you have left.  If that's more than 90, then you will only need to ask for an extension at the end of the first 90 days.

Actually my arrival day would be April the 8th and I would leave back on June the 6th.

So my stay would be a total of 60 days...

But with the 37 last year  (May 17th until June 7th and August 1st until August the 14th) that adds up to 97 days... But during my 60 days stay some days would get back to me from my first trip last year.

Would I be allow to enter Brazil at the airport on next April 8th knowing that?

  03/20/24  Actually my arrival day would be April the 8th and I would leave back on June the 6th.
So my stay would be a total of 60 days...
But with the 37 last year  (May 17th until June 7th and August 1st until August the 14th) that adds up to 97 days... But during my 60 days stay some days would get back to me from my first trip last year.
Would I be allow to enter Brazil at the airport on next April 8th knowing that?
   

    -@Nap380

I misunderstood your schedule:   April 8 would be the day to count back from, then.  Looks to me like you should be ok.  You'll get your May 2023 days back on June 1 so they won't do you much good leaving on June 6, but you'll still have them "in the bank".

So even if on April 8th with my nerw trip it makes it 97 days, their system will remove my days of May last year?

Thanks a lot @abthree!

So they wouldn't turn me around at the airport right?

The worst would be they reduce my allower stay?

I would it work at that level?

    03/20/24 So even if on April 8th with my nerw trip it makes it 97 days, their system will remove my days of May last year?
Thanks a lot @abthree!
   

    -@Nap380

You'll still be under 180 days during the year previous to your planned departure from Brazil, so you're in the clear.

For getting days back, my understanding is that the 365 days are measured as a rolling twelve months, so each time the calendar flips to a new month, the oldest of the preceding twelve months drops off your record, and you get back any days that you spent in Brazil during that month.

Thank you so so much! Trully appreciated!

@abthree covered it pretty well, but here is another way to understand the same thing which have been mentioned in other posts.  My favorite way of thinking about it is how it relates to being a tax resident.  If you stay in Brazil for more than 183 days in an "Ano Migratório", whether legally or illegally, you are considered a resident for tax purposes and are required to file a tax return. 

What is a "Ano Migratório"?  It is a period of 365 days (or 366 in a leap year) that starts from an entry into Brazil.  This means you can have multiple "Ano Migratórios" in a calendar year (January 1st - December 31st).

As mentioned for tax purposes you are allowed 183 days.  For tourist purposes, it is 180 days, with a limit of a maximum of 90 days for each entry.

I found a link that describes it in more detail:  https://koetz.digital/ano-migratorio-brasil/

03/20/24 @mikehunter.  You are correct.  Nevertheless, I try to stay away from the "Ano Migratório" in explanations, because while it exists in the law, it bears no relationship to the other metrics and regulations, and can cause more complications even than the one you mention involving taxation, which is absolutely a big concern.

If there's a place to make an appeal to anyone on the basis of the "Ano Migratório", I suggest that it's at the Federal Police office when a person is requesting an extension, before the visit has expired.  The absolute worst place to do it, IMHO, is when face to face with an Immigration Officer at a port of entry.

@abthree I just used the term because that was the term they used on the Lawyer Website I provided.  I figured if they used it, that was the correct term.  There are other sites that are using that term when relating to tourism: [link under review]

You're right, for an english speaking tourist it seems an odd choice of words, but that seems to be the one they are using.  I just figured, when in Rome.... ;-)  Seems the same as using "indeterminado" for a card that has no expiration date.

@abthree Just thought of another term that confused me, when my residency was approved by justice it said "DEFERIDO" which to me wasn't a good thing.  Then my Brazilian friend said, oh that's good news, it has been approved.  LOL.  Another reason I thought, when in Rome...

03/20/24   @abthree I just used the term because that was the term they used on the Lawyer Website I provided.  I figured if they used it, that was the correct term.  There are other sites that are using that term when relating to tourism: [link under review]
You're right, for an english speaking tourist it seems an odd choice of words, but that seems to be the one they are using.  I just figured, when in Rome.... ;-)  Seems the same as using "indeterminado" for a card that has no expiration date.
   

    -@mikehunter

It's a good term, and comes directly from the Lei da Migração, so conceptually it's on solid ground.  How relevant it is as a practical matter to the large number of visitors who space out their visits is another question.

03/20/24    @abthree Just thought of another term that confused me, when my residency was approved by justice it said "DEFERIDO" which to me wasn't a good thing.  Then my Brazilian friend said, oh that's good news, it has been approved.  LOL.  Another reason I thought, when in Rome...
   

    -@mikehunter

That was my reaction when I saw in the first time, too  -- panic!  And on my naturalization, no less. 😂

Hello everyone,

About my question of yesterday.

As I am preparing my flight in 2 weeks, I saw this message about travels to Brazil :

"Travellers need a visa to visit Brazil for Business or Tourism for more than 90 days. Travellers do not need visa if staying for 90 days or less".

Knowing that I would just go for about 60 days this time I know Ishould be fine but I am still a bit worry with the fact that when I will enter and they calculate the days of the 2 last trip that started in May 17th like I said and that would make it around 97 days...

I'm sorry to ask one last time (It's my first time travelling for this long) but will or will I not need a visa knowing this?

Thanks again, trully appreciated !

    As I am preparing my flight in 2 weeks, I saw this message about travels to Brazil :

    "Travellers need a visa to visit Brazil for Business or Tourism for more than 90 days. Travellers do not need visa if staying for 90 days or less".

    Knowing that I would just go for about 60 days this time I know Ishould be fine but I am still a bit worry with the fact that when I will enter and they calculate the days of the 2 last trip that started in May 17th like I said and that would make it around 97 days...

TLDR: You're fine.

As mentioned previously, as a Canadian tourist your limit during the "Ano Migratório" is 180 days.  97 days is less than 180 so no worries.   

The reason you would need a visa if you were staying more than 90 days is that as a tourist, each trip can only be for a maximum of 90 days.  If you want to stay for longer, that would require a trip to the PF. Since that would be after the new visa rules go into affect, you'd need a visa to get the extension.

@mikehunter

Thank you!

Ok that was the last time I stress with this!

Have a good one!

Just to clarify a couple of points: are we now advising that, due to anecdotal evidence, the way the immigration authorities interpret the tourist visa varies slightly according to the airport of arrival?

Accepting that they all grant 90+90 days per year (where applicable); it seems that Sao Paulo GRU airport state that the date that the year starts is the anniversary of your first ever arrival in Brazil, whereas other airports state that the year is a moving year, with a flexible start date.

This makes a big difference when approaching the end of the year: in SP everything would reset following the anniversary of your first visit, whereas elsewhere the count would continue past this date.

Am I missing something?

I am a little confuse now haha

And I am going to GRU actually

Will I still be ok now that you mention this?

So confusing already but the fact that you say it depends of the city of arrival! =O

03/21/24 This makes a big difference when approaching the end of the year: in SP everything would reset following the anniversary of your first visit, whereas elsewhere the count would continue past this date.
Am I missing something?   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

My advice continues to be, as it has been since 2018, to stick with the 180/365 day or 90/180 day rule depending on nationality, and to ignore the "Ano Migratório", except perhaps in the rare case where an actual overstay coincides with the "Ano Migratório's" anniversary date.  To do anything else inserts needless confusion into the whole question, as this thread amply demonstrates.

Nevertheless, the "Ano Migratório" does appear in the Lei da Migração -- although the QGRV ignores it -- so I won't deny that it's part of the law, and I am aware of one case of the type of overstay that I just described where the PF chose to apply it to the benefit of the traveler, the operative words being "chose" and "one".

@Nap380 Don't worry about it, you're fine.

@abthree Yeah, the terms can be confusing and as pointed out sometimes the words used don't translate well to english. LOL.  In most cases no one is going to go over their limit and it isn't going to be an issue.

However, when someone is in the weeds and counting days, then they need to understand the law.  Yes, it can be confusing, but if you get yourself into that situation, you need to understand it.  That is why I posted the links to the attorney websites that discussed the issue and quoted the law.  As far as the report regarding someone at GRU stating XYZ, I believe that is anecdotal.  The law is quite clear on how this works, so I tend to think that particular immigration officer didn't understand the question that was being asked. 

I don't believe the immigration officer is going to stand there counting the days.  If anything, it's going to be an alert that will pop up on their screen saying you have overstayed your limit.  In that case, the program is going to use the correct logic, which will agree to the law.  They aren't going to program it incorrectly. 

@Peter Itamaraca

Hey Peter, see my reply to @abthree, but I just find that difficult to believe that on something as important as length of stay that it's going to depend on where you entered to country and not be standardized.  I believe that the immigration officer is going to receive an alert on their screen if someone overstays their annual time limit. I don't believe they are going to stand there, going through your passport, or lines on their screen counting days.  When they program the system, they are going to use the formula prescribed by the law, they aren't going to make up something else. 

Sorry to jump in here but I am a big "why" person..... Why is it important to know the exact number of days within a certain period?

I understand that this count is necessary to determine tax residency for a legal resident but for a tourist who has multiple-entry and each entry allowing 90 days each.

Is this a method to detect that someone is trying to avoid tax residency by spending more time in Brazil than in other countries and avoiding paying taxes altogether?

What is the problem that the 90 days thing is trying to solve?

03/21/24  What is the problem that the 90 days thing is trying to solve?
   

    -@Pablo888

Two things: 

1 . Basic national sovereignty:  to maintain the distinction between visitors and residents, since the requirements to qualify for residency are stricter.  People aren't permitted to just move informally to Brazil, any more that they are to any other country, and

2 . To maintain some level of reciprocity between the ways Brazilian visitors are treated by any given country, and the way that that country's citizens are treated by Brazil.

Accidental tax residency is really just an added disincentive to stay, and a side issue.  Brazil would much rather have an overstay just leave than try to collect income taxes.

What is the problem that the 90 days thing is trying to solve?
   

    -@Pablo888

@abthree is exactly correct.

The rule for most people allows a maximum of 90+90 days (180 days) on a tourist visa in any 12 month period. You cannot exceed that number without paying a penalty for overstaying, or risk being refused admission if trying to enter having already passed this limit. Or you need to apply for a different visa, not a tourist one.

It only really applies to tourists who want to spend up to 6 months a year here...

@abhtree and @peter_itamaraca, thank you for the explanation.  Makes sense and it is part of the process of checks and balances.