Acquiring visas for Brazil travel will become faster and
easier with a new electronic visa program.
For Americans, the visa will also be much cheaper, dropping
to $40 from $160. (Brazilians also currently pay $160 for U.S. visas.)
The eVisa already is available for Australians and it will
launch in January for nationals of the United States, Canada, and Japan.
Tourists apply online with an estimated approval time of 72 hours. They will no longer have to visit a Brazilian consulate or
visa center.
Brazil expects the eVisa to increase inbound tourism by as
much as 25%.
"The facilitation of visas aims to reduce bureaucracy
and, above all, to boost the entry of foreign tourists into Brazil," said
Brazil’s tourism minister Marx Beltrao.