So you’ve decided to head to Brazil? the land of Samba, Caipirinha’s, Carnivale, the Amazon and this bloke
Excellent Choice!
Let me show you how to apply for a tourist visa to enter Brazil as an Australian.
It must be done before entering and the process can seem quite daunting if you’ve never applied for a visa before.
I have applied for many and I still found it pretty full-on.
First things first go straight to the embassy website. We have two in Australia Sydney and Canberra. (Camberra.itamaraty.gov.br)
I opted to go for Canberra, it was the first one I clicked on and for some reason thought it wouldn’t be as busy as the Sydney embassy…..don’t ask where I get my logic!
The website is in Portuguese so find the button to translate to English otherwise you’re already in a world of pain!! Haha
Navigate your way to the Visa section and you’ll be presented with a laundry list of steps to apply for your tourist visa. Please make sure you read everything carefully.
I’m a fairly detailed oriented person so found it best to work methodically through the steps to ensure I hadn’t missed anything. Missing something makes the embassy sad which then makes you sad, because this creates delays and maybe even a declined visa, and nobody wants that!
Things to note: the visa is valid for 90 consecutive days from the day you first enter Brazil, no work allowed on the tourist visa, processing once at the embassy is 15 days (although I had it back within 4 days! More on that later) and you need to be fairly tech-savvy to get your photo and signature uploaded to their website….wow that was fun, said no-one ever!!
And yes you do have to send your passport to the embassy. Again this might feel scary sending such an important document in the mail but Pro Tip #1 – fork out the extra money for express and registered services both ways. This means they must sign for it and you must sign for it. If you work full time like me I certainly didn’t want my passport sitting in my letterbox, so it ends up at your local PO, nice and secure. Also, this method gives you tracking numbers on the Australia post website so additional security again.
All up approx $18 for peace of mind is money well spent.
Step by step:
– make sure your passport is valid and has 6 months of validity on it (don’t be like my friend Amy and arrive at the airport for a trip to Bali, only to be told by the lady at check-in that your passport has been expired for 8 weeks…facepalm!) you also need two blank spare pages
-1 recent (within the last 6 months) passport-sized photo. Pro Tip #2 go to the PO and tell them you are applying for your Brazilian visa. The photo has to be on a white background, no smiling, no teeth showing, no head tilts, perfectly centred, no shadows …….woah! It’s exhausting…It took at least 5 attempts before my cameraman was satisfied. Good lad!
And don’t be afraid to get them to keep taking photos until it meets the specific requirements.
For a full list please review the “ICAO standard photograph specifications” on the website
-have a copy of your itinerary printed with your name on it and when you will be entering and leaving Brazil clearly printed. It must be on the airline or travel agents letterhead
print your recent bank statement and/or credit card statement to show that you have ample funds to support yourself and your length of stay in Brazil (recommended by the embassy is $100 per day)
-it costs $216 AUD to apply for the visa so ensure you have visited your local bank and had a bank cheque drawn up to EMBASSY OF BRAZIL. Australian Post money order is also accepted.
-a, self-addressed prepaid envelope needs to be sent with everything else so they can get your passport and visa back to you. Refer to Pro Tip #1
-finally, complete the VISA REQUEST FORM online…it must be online as you’ll need to upload a copy of your passport photo, your signature electronically and your passport.
As you are working through the application, you can actually save and leave it. It will give you a unique code that will allow you to re-enter at the last saved position and continue the application….(awesome feature when you are getting so frustrated trying to upload your photo that you need to walk away because the alternative is your laptop through the back window!! what?!)
The specifications for uploading your photo and signature are a minimum of 431 x 531 pixels maximum of 300KB.
Once you have worked that out, or Pro Tip #3, got your tech-savvy friend to do it for you, (thanks Rob!) you can submit the entire application.
You will then need to print it, sign it and glue the photo in the specified area.
Now all your package of documents including your passport is ready to be sent.
Specific embassy address details can be found on the website.
I would strongly advise you to make your application well in advance of your departure date due to the 15-day turnaround and no express service at the embassy.
However in saying that, I triple checked, I had everything, my photo was perfect, the online application was completed and express registered mail in both directions and I had it approved and back to me in 4 working days.
Now you can go back to counting down the days until you are checking out epic views like this…
Happy wandering in Brazil
Xx