Entering Brazil: The Visa Requirement for American Travelers

Since April 2025, U.S. passport holders need an e-Visa to enter Brazil. Here's what it costs, how long it takes, and how to apply without friction.

If you're American and mapping out a week with us in Guajiru, there's one piece of paperwork to clear before you book flights. Brazil now requires a visa for U.S. citizens. This wasn't the case a few years ago, and if you've read otherwise, that information is out of date.

Here's what actually applies, and how to take care of it.

The short version

Since April 10, 2025, U.S. passport holders need an electronic visa — an e-Visa — to enter Brazil for tourism, business, or transit. It replaced the visa-free arrangement that had been in place since 2019, and it applies to every U.S. citizen, regardless of trip length or what a friend who traveled before the change might tell you.

The process is entirely online. No consulate visit, no interview.

At a glance:

• Fee: USD 80.90, paid during the application

• Validity: Up to 10 years, multiple entries

• Stay: Up to 90 days per visit — well beyond what a week or two in Guajiru requires

• Processing: Official guidance allows up to 10 business days

• Where: Only through the government-authorized portal, brazil.vfsevisa.com

  
  

How to apply

There's one legitimate portal: brazil.vfsevisa.com, confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Brasília as the government-authorized site. Other sites will offer to "process" the same application for a markup. Skip them — the official process doesn't need an intermediary, and the fee above is the only one you should be paying.

The application itself is straightforward:

1. Fill out the form with your passport and travel details.

2. Upload a passport-style photo and a color scan of your passport's bio page.

3. Pay the fee.

4. Wait for approval, then download and print the PDF.

Nothing gets stamped into your passport. The e-Visa arrives by email as a document you carry — print a copy, save one on your phone, and keep the confirmation email somewhere you can find it.

What you'll need

• A valid U.S. passport — plan for at least six months of remaining validity, the standard safe practice for international travel

• A recent passport-style photo, per the portal's specifications

• Proof of onward or return travel

• Evidence you can cover the trip — recent bank statements are the simplest route

Traveling with children adds a step: a birth certificate, and, if both parents aren't traveling together, a notarized authorization letter from the parent who isn't. Worth starting that part early if it applies to you.

Timing it with your dates

Our season runs mid-July through the end of October, and you choose your week inside it. Once you have dates in mind, that's the moment to start the visa application — not the week before your flight. Processing usually moves faster than the official ten-business-day window, but airlines won't issue a boarding pass without a confirmed e-Visa on file, so there's no advantage in waiting.

Official sources

• Brazil e-Visa — official portal

• U.S. Department of State — Brazil country information

• U.S. Embassy Brasília — visa requirement notice

Requirements shift. Worth a final check on these pages close to your travel date.

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None of this changes what the week itself looks like once you land. It's just the one piece of planning to clear early, so the only thing left is choosing your dates. If you're still working that out, the Kite Week page walks through how the seven days run. And if anything about the visa itself is unclear, send us a message — happy to help you think it through.

Last updated: August 2026.