How long is my Brazil visa valid for?

You can check with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that issued it, but as far as I'm aware all of the VITEM-II Business Visas (while they may be extended by the Federal Police while one is actually in the country) expire upon the end of the visit. Student visas and work visas are also the same way. If you've already worked or studied in Brazil and had a visa in the past, if you've left the country then you need to apply for a new visa to come back in order to work or study in the future. That's why they're called VITEM (Temporary Visa).

I've got a Brazilian visa on May 2, 2014 (date of issue) at the Ottawa consulate. The validity is 5 years from the date of issue. If I go to Brasil next year, do I need to return to the consulate to validate it again for 90 days?
Thank you for answering me.

Pierre Asselin

The VITEM-II visa is valid for a period of 90 days, but if you're here in Brazil you can apply to extend it at the Policia Federal Setor de Estrangeiros. They will probably extend it for a maximum of 90 day but no more than that. You would need to apply for a new visa the next time you want to come to Brazil on business. This is a "one-time-use-only" visa. Don't be confused by the MULTIPLE ENTRY on it, that just permits you to make short visits to the neighboring South American countries and re-enter Brazil during the 90 day validity of your visa.

The 5 year/10 year expiry you're thinking about is for the VITUR Tourist Visa. VITUR Visas, unless otherwise stated on the document itself, are valid for 5 years (Except for VITUR-TE (Temporário Especial) which is also a one use only visa.

I h a student visa of Brazil. If I change my address/home, then I would have to inform police. What is its process? I have just to show my new address written on the bill of electricity? Or a new fee would be charged for it? Thanks!!

You must go to the Setor de Estrangeiros, Superintendência Regional of the Federal Police (where you apply for visas / extensions) with 2 - 3X4 photos, a proof of the new address (utility bill, rental contract, etc.) and they will issue a protocolo to prove that you've updated your address. By law this must be done within 30 days of any change of address. There is no charge for change of address.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Ok, Thanks!

(pierre101)Dear sir tis is for you)
i request you to send me your e mail id and your vice contact info please:
&
its my
contacts info :e mail: malik.westernwoods@gmail.com
slype:malik.mohammaddeen
vibr+all other:+923234600439

thanks in advance

wjwoodward(DEAR SIR:
Dear sir
i request you to send me your e mail id and your vice contact info please:
&
its my
contacts info :e mail: malik.westernwoods[at]gmail.com
slype:malik.mohammaddeen
vibr+all other:+923234600439

thanks in advance

Dear sir
i request you to send me your e mail id and your vice contact info please:
&
its my
contacts info :e mail: malik.westernwoods[at]gmail.com
slype:malik.mohammaddeen
vibr+all other:+923234600439

thanks in advance

Hello Malkimohammeddeen,

For security reason please do not post personal information such as e-mail or other electronic addresses, phone numbers etc. on the open forums.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

ok
we can start  business  by seeking our own ideas in Brasil if we are on the multiple visa (i am from Pakistan)

You cannot work in Brazil or do business if you are on a VITUR Tourist Visa.

Hi,

I really need some help regarding my visa. I am an Indian citizen and applied for a Brazil tourist visa in the UK as I am currently living here. I plan to go in December 2014. I was told by the consulate that I could enter Brazil at any time and I was not too early to apply.
My tourist visa was issued on June 30, 2014. It is a multiple entry "vitur" visa .
It states the duration of stay (prazo de estada) is 90 days and that i can only stay a maximum of 180 days per year which I fully understand, however at the very bottom it says: Visa valid for 90 days. Does this mean the visa is valid for 90 days from the date of issue or the date of entry?

The visa generation code is 929312MI<2IND9005064F9912315 and is the new visa with the photo. Does this help at all?

Thanking you for your help!

Hello P. Balani,



Key
1  Visa Type
2  Number of Entries
3  Validity
4  Duration of Each Stay
5  Date of Entry
6  Date of Exit
7  Visa Remarks
8  Name *
9  Passport Number *
10  Date of Birth*
11  Photo Information*
12  Date of Issue
13  Place of Issue
* Dates can be formatted as DD/MM/YY or MM/DD/YY.

You VITUR visa will be indicated by No. 1 in the photo above (VITUR = Visto de Turista). If you look at the text at the bottom of the visa No. 3 If it starts out with the sentence "Visto valido por 90 dias / Valid for 90 days" then that is it... 90 days only (one time use). No. 4 indicates the maximum of a given stay in Brazil 90 days. No. 2 "Multiplas" just means that you could leave and re-enter Brazil until those 90 days are used up.

In the text at the bottom you will also find "Maximo: 180 dias por ano / Maximum: 180 days per years" this just means that you could possibly apply for an extension (prorrogação do prazo de estada) at the Policia Federal in Brazil, but remember this is purely discretionary on their part, and if granted you could stay an additional 90 days to a maximum of 180 days in a "rolling" one year period.

Have a close look at this text at the bottom because you will probably find that it also reads "Primeira entrada em 90 dias / First entry in 90 days" which means you MUST enter Brazil within 90 days of the visa being issued or it is no longer valid.

Unfortunately, Brazil rarely grants 5 or 10 year visas to citizens of India or Pakistan as they do with citizens of most other countries. Sounds unfair I know, but that's just the way it is and nothing can be done about it, every sovereign nation on earth makes their own visa rules. In fact most citizens from India and Pakistan rarely get 90 day visas, usually the visa issuing officer will only grant 30 or 60 day visas, sometimes even as little as 7 or 14 days. Generally speaking the will also only issue these "one time only" visas for first time applicants, but should your apply for a visa again at a later date following your return to India they're more likely to issue a visa valid for a longer period of time.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. Actually " Primeira entrada em 90 dias / First entry in 90 days" is not stated anywhere on my visa. It only says visa valid for 90 days, which is why I am so confused because I was told the visa would be valid for 90 days after my first entry into Brazil. However the visa I have received does not imply this.

If First Entry in 90 days does not appear on the visa itself then it is 90 days from the date you enter the country. It's quite probable that they don't include this on short-term visas like they do on 5 and 10 year visas.

Hi,

I have a question about this 'rolling' year. I am an American with a ten year visa, I was under the impression that staying 180 days a year meant I would leave the country for 180 days and then return and be able to stay another 180 (if granted the extension, of course). Last year I spent a little under 180 days and left the country on November 2nd 2013, I returned on May 27th 2014 prepared to renew my visa in August for another 90 days. Is this not possible? Will they count that I was in the country until November as part of the 12 months, or is it a calendar year? How long would I need to stay out? I'm suddenly quite confused.

Thank you so much for any insight!

The way the count is calculated (for those who hold a Consular Visa, not a Visa Waiver Program entry) is from the date of any given entry the Federal Police count back exactly one year from that date and count ALL DAY that one was previously in Brazil during that period. Those days are then subtracted from 180 to arrive at the total number of days you are entitled to be in Brazil. You must include dates of arrival and of departure as full days in this count.

Once you have exhausted that 180 days you must remain out of the country for 180 days just to get back to ZERO entitlement and from that point start building entitlement days. After 270 days from departure you would then be entitled to a full 90 day stay, after 1 full year you would be entitled to the full 180 days again.  Between 180 and 270 you are only entitled to the actual number of days over 180, and between 270 and 365 an initial stay of 90 which you can extend for the number of days over 270 you have been outside the country. That's how it works. Do not confuse this with a calendar year (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) that is NOT how they calculate, but rather on the "rolling" year - a mobile 1 year period of time.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Thank you for your response, Wjwoodward - but does that mean that I am already overstaying?? I think that by your calculations I only had about 20 days in the country if 180 got me only back to zero. This is a bit of a nightmare.

Brazil works with the reciprocity principle. If you did not get a 5 year visa it's because your country do not issue 5 years visa for Brazilians. i.e. brasilians get 5 years validity for USA visas so USA citizens get 5 years too. It sounds fair isn't it?

fredlavia wrote:

Brazil works with the reciprocity principle. If you did not get a 5 year visa it's because your country do not issue 5 years visa for Brazilians. i.e. brasilians get 5 years validity for USA visas so USA citizens get 5 years too. It sounds fair isn't it?

Actually US citizens get a VITUR Tourist Visa that is valid for 10 years from the date of issue.

Also, while reciprocity is one factor in visa validity it is NOT the only factor. Essentially the lenght of time that any visa is valid is solely up to the officer who conducts the interview and issues the visa. He/she can issue a visa valid for as little as a week and on a "one use only" basis if that is what he/she wishes to do. For example it is extremely rare that citizens from Pakistan, India and many African nations will obtain a VITUR Tourist Visa valid for 5 years and less likely still that they'll receive one that permits a stay of longer than 30 days on their first ever application. Generally speaking visa officers will only issue a limited 30 day visa that cannot be reused in such applications. The individual would probably be issued a 5 year / 90 day / multiple entry visa only on a subsequent application following a successful first visit and returning to their country of origin.

Another important point to remember is that even obtaining a visa is no guarantee of being allowed ENTRY to Brazil or any country for that matter. The ultimate decision to allow a person into the country always rests with the immigrations officer who deals with the passenger upon arrival in any country, in the case of Brazil that would be an agent of the Policia Federal.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

LC75 wrote:

Hi,

I have a question about this 'rolling' year. I am an American with a ten year visa, I was under the impression that staying 180 days a year meant I would leave the country for 180 days and then return and be able to stay another 180 (if granted the extension, of course).

No, you are completely misunderstanding the way the calculation works. First of all it is on a "rolling" one year time period. Essentially what they do is on the date of your arrival in Brazil they count backwards exactly one year from that date and count ALL the days you've already been in Brazil during that period to determine your permitted stay. The rule of thumb is that AT NO POINT IN YOUR CURRENT STAY IN BRAZIL ARE YOU PERMITTED TO HAVE BEEN IN THE COUNTRY FOR MORE THAN 180 DAYS ON THAT VERY DAY.

So they take the number of days of any previous visits and subtract from 180 to determine the length of your stay. If you have not yet exhausted your 180 day entitlement, and request an extension (prorrogação de estada) the same process is done again subtracting from 180 to determine exactly how many days of extension you are entitled to.

Once you've used up your annual 180 days then you must be out of Brazil for 180 days just to get back to ZERO entitlement at which point you start "earning" entitlement days. After 270 days from your date of departure you'd be entitled to an UNEXTENTABLE 90 day stay, Between 180 and 270 days you'd be entitled ONLY to the number of days over 180 that you've been out of Brazil. After one full year from your date of departure you are entitled to the full 180 days. Between 270 days and one year, you're entitled to the initial 90 day stay plus an extension for only the number of days over 180 again (this time counting back one year from the request for extension and now counting all the days in Brazil including your current visit).

Hope you now have a clearer understanding of the way it works. If you've been in Brazil for more than 180 days within the last year counting backwards from today, then yes you're in an overstay situation.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

fredlavia; I have a ten year visa. The question is not reciprocity or fairness, it is simply the terms of how stays inside the country are counted.

Dear Sir,

I want to marry with Brazilian girl in Brazil. She is unmarried please tell me what is the process
Sir , I want to live with her in brazil I am an Indian boy so tell me what documents required for marriage.
i am also single man.
can i go there on tourist visa and marry with her what is the easiest way i have to go brazil or she have to come India for marriage please give a solution and completed process information

Hello sanju,

Yes, you can get married here in Brazil on a VITUR Tourist Visa IF you get a visa that is valid for a 90 day visit and can be extended for a further 90 here. They are rarely given to citizens of India and Pakistan on their very first application. The Brazilian government makes it much more difficult for Indian and Pakistani citizens to obtain any kind of visas, they have much stricter and more extensive requirements than they do for most other nations. You actually may find it much easier to have your future bride come to India and marry there.

If you wish to try and obtain a visa and come here despite the difficulty the marriage process and subsequent VIPER Permanent Visa process are clearly described in the following topic thread:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280525

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Hi
My passport is valid till 30 December 2014. I want to extend my visa that is valid till 8 January 2015. Can federal police extend my visa? because my passport has validity less than 6 months. Or i have to renew my passport first?

You will have to renew your passport first, better to do it now before you leave for Brazil since they might even give you problems about entering the country with such a short time left on the passport. Make sure you bring the OLD cancelled passport with you too, if it has the original visa.

Hi,

I’m planning to visit Brazil in late December 2014 / early January 2015 and will arrive by cruise ship in Rio de Janeiro (which is the final destination of the cruise).

I hold an Australian passport and already have a business visa as I have travelled to Brazil for work previously (valid until 2017).

Will I still need to apply for a tourist visa since this is a holiday trip? Or will I be able to enter Brazil on my existing business visa when I arrive on the cruise?

Many thanks for your help with this question.

I'm sorry, I haven't experienced this particular kind of situation before so I really can't advise you.

If one of our other members isn't able to respond to your question I would suggest that you contact the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that issued your visa and enquire with them.

Hello and hope all is well?

OK I hope that you can help me with a quick and hope easy question.

Background: We (friend and I) both have a 5 year tourist visa that will expire on XX March 2015 (issued on XX March 2010) we plan on traveling to Curitiba Brazil next month on 20 February 2015 but just for a short birthday weekend getaway (4 or 5 days the most). Return travel back to states will be much prior to the last day of February.

Question: When we first used our visas almost 5 years ago we traveled to Sao Paulo and it was presented within the first 90 days after being issued, but we haven't used it nor been back to Brazil since. Will we be denied entry into the country because we waited this long to return to Brazil?

Thank you in advance for your prompt response.

No, you won't have any problem entering Brazil during the validity of the visa, so long as you have return tickets dated for prior to the expiry date in March.

You may be questioned about the reason for your short stay on arrival, but I'm sure that if you explain to the Federal Police officer who checks you through immigrations you will have no problems. just be completely honest and explain that it's a birthday getaway.

You need to remember that a visa itself DOES NOT guarantee entry into any country. The ultimate decision is made at the time of arrival by the immigrations officer (in this case the Federal Police officer), so be fully forthcoming. The more "natural" and relaxed you are, the more honest about your travel motive, the more likely is entry, here or anywhere else.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you so much for your help and for helping everyone here on this forum. Many blessings for you and your love ones in 2015.

hi guys
im reza from iran,i have a new type of brazilian visa with my picture on it,its a30days multiple visa which should be entered within 90 days, i have used 28 days and im going to peru,bolivia and other countries ,after i should come back to brazil for 1 day to take the flight to dubai, the imigration police told me that its ok, but im not sure about the validity of the visa for my country
thanks for answering

If you look at your visa and compare it to the sample visa above, look at the text written at the bottom of the visa. It will state there if the visa is valid for ten years, five years, or anything less. If there is no mention of validity in that block of text then the visa is valid for 5 years.

Do not be confused by the word "validade"  in the upper part of the visa, that really is wrong and misleading to most people. It refers to the maximum length of each individual stay, so it really should be "PRAZO", but that's Brazil for you.

If you've been in Brazil less than the 30 days, and you haven't been in Brazil in the previous year then you'll be fine to come back and catch your flight home.

Cheers,
James     Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi William and Anjuna 11,
I have the same tourist visa as you Anjuna.
I really hope you can answer my concern. Much much appreciated!

I'm Australian and I obtained my visa in Buenos Aires.
I have already 'used up' about 2 months of it.
At the bottom of my visa it says:
VISTO VALIDO POR 90 DIAS A PARTIR DA PRIMEIRA ENTRADA NO BRASIL/VISA VALID FOR 90 DAYS FROM THE FIRST ENTRY IN BRAZIL.
MAXIMO: 180 DIAS POR ANO/MAXIMUM: 180 DAYS PER YEAR.

It has my photo  (so a new system passport I assume) and no significant dates of how long it's valid for. My question is the same if William, you can answer it?
I was in Brazil in 2013 with this passport, and now I'd like to re-enter with it, and wondering if ALL  tourist VITUR  visas are valid for 10 years? (I know about the 90 days per 12 months).
I looked on the Australian website and absolutely nothing about how many years!

Some details about when I was in Brazil 2013. I went for 90 days (aussie passport/tourist visa VITUR), then applied for extension and was granted it. I stayed (the 90 days extension period) from 29/05/2013 until 30/6/2013.  (33 days). I assume that this means that I have 57 days left on this 'further 90 days extension' period?
ANd it's fine that were are in 2015? Though it says nothing of the 5-10 year validity...

It says under Tourist Visa for Australians going to Brazil:
"The duration of stay of a Tourist Visa is generally 90 consecutive days, with MULTIPLE ENTRIES within this period. Extension for a further 90 days may be requested to the Brazilian Federal Police in Brazil at least 30 days before the Visa expires and will be authorized or not at their discretion. Visitors can remain in Brazil for up to a maximum of 180 days in any twelve (12) month period counted from the day they first entered the country. Unless noted, the visa has no expiration date for the first entry."

How confusing...Can you make sense? No mention of years.
HOpefully I dont have to apply for a new one. I'm only going to stay for a week or two this April..

Thanks in advance!!!

Jenny

No, not all visas are valid for 10 years. I'm not sure whether the visa issued to Australians is 5 or 10, but to my knowledge unless yours states 10 then you can pretty much count on it being a 5 year visa. It really depends on how long a visa that Australia issues to Brazilian citizens is valid.

Visas issued to US Citizens are 10 year visas and it is clearly stated on their visa in the text at the bottom. Canadians are granted 5 year visas and there is nothing mentioned on theirs. Yes, clearly a whacky system, but that's Brazil for you.

You need to contact the Consulado that issued the visa and confirm how many years it is valid for, that's the ONLY way to be absolutely certain.

Citizens from some countries (Asian/African mostly) for example are issued a single use visa and may only get a stay of one week to one month in length. It's like a roulette wheel.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

I got tourist visa for Brazil on 10 sep 2014 from London with photo.  I am Bangladeshi. I didn't get Enough time to go Brazil.  Now I have a plan to go. My visa is valid or not.

Duration of stay: 90 days
Type of visa : vitur
No of entry's: Multiple

Hello Ramilalbenin,

In your case you actually will need to check with the Consulado-Geral do Brasil where you obtained the visa, because citizens of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are generally only given a visa (on their first visa application) that is only valid for one trip. They would not usually be granted a longer visa until they have made one visit to Brazil and returned home following it.

Also you should check the text at the bottom of the visa, which usually says "First entry within 90 day" (Primeira entrada em 90 dias de concessão). Since you applied for the visa in September of last year, if that is written on the bottom then the visa cannot be used now unless you've already been to Brazil since the time it was issued.

See the photo below:

At the bottom it says visa valid for 90 days And not valid for work or stydy

It is quite likely then that you have been given a single use only visa that is no longer valid. Usually in that text at the bottom it will state "Valid for 5 (or 10) years from date of issue" depending on the citizenship of the visa holder. If there is nothing like that there you should contact the Consulado-Geral do Brasil that issued the visa and ask them if it is still valid and if so, for how long.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team