Published 09/12/2023 08:18 | Edited 09/12/2023 08:44
The federal government extended to January 10, 2024 the deadline for reestablishing the requirement for visas to enter Brazil for holders of common passports from Australia, Canada and the United States.
The decree was published last Wednesday (6) in the Official Gazette of the Union. With its publication, the visa requirement for October 1st was cancelled.
According to the government, the extension aims to allow the system implementation process to be completed, avoiding the start of the implementation of the visa requirement in a period close to the high end-of-year travel season.
The idea is to guarantee the reestablishment of visas safely, without affecting the tourism sector.
The resumption of visa requirements is based on the principle of reciprocity, which was once again adopted with the change in the Federal Government this year. According to this principle, Brazil only stops requiring a visa if there is an equal counterpart from the other country.
Last Wednesday (6), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, commented on the issue of visas.
“In the previous government, the requirement for Americans, Canadians, Australians and Japanese, who did not need visas to come to Brazil, was suspended. It was given for free. No reciprocity. Brazilians continued to need a visa,” he recalled.
In addition to these three countries, in 2019, then-president Jair Bolsonaro had also waived visas for the entry of Japanese tourists. But this impasse has already been resolved with the Brazil – Japan Agreement, which comes into effect from September 30th, valid for three years.
According to the agreement, Japanese citizens visiting Brazil for a stay of up to 90 days will not need a visa to enter the country. The same rules apply to Brazilians who wish to travel to Japan.
“At the beginning of the government, upon instructions from the president, we reinstated visas. We call countries to try to negotiate. Japan accepted and we negotiated. Others claimed that it was not possible under the legislation of each of them”, said Vieira.
The minister also stated that the Federal Government is willing to negotiate visa exemptions on the basis of reciprocity. “In other words, the country that accepts Brazilians to travel without a physical visa, we will give them the same advantage”, he explained.
Source: vermelho.org.br
