Brazil is ending the visa requirement for travel from 4 nations, including Canada.
As of June 17, 2019, Australian, Canadian, Japanese and American tourists will no longer need a visa. The end of the 4-nation visa requirements came about as part of a larger announcement from the new Brazilian government. It stated that in-bound visitors from any of the 4 nations that arrive with valid passports are able to visit without a visa for 90 days, extendable for another 90 days, so long as the intention of travel is either leisure or business travel.
Travel Pulse cited that “a new Kayak survey revealed searches for flights have shown double-digit increases. The highest increase was registered in Australia (36 percent), followed by the United States (31 percent), Canada (19 percent) and Japan (4 percent).”
If the intention of travel is artistic or athletic in nature, exceptional situations of national interest are able to visit without a visa for 90 days, extendable for another 90 days.
Travel Pulse adds “When the move to the electronic visa process was made last year, there was a similar push from these four countries, boosting arrivals to Brazil. In 2018, the country received more than 715,000 tourists from Australia, Japan, the U.S. and Canada, a number 15 percent higher than in 2017. Specifically, the U.S. sent more than 500,000 tourists to Brazil in 2018, an increase of 13 percent. More than 71,000 Canadians headed to the country, 45 percent more than in 2017. Australia recorded a growth of 25 percent, and Japan, 5 percent.”
Travelers need not wait to June as the announcement has already seen a softening of the process and visitors can skip the immigration office line-ups and apply for a visa online in the interim.