Help with Brazillian and Chinese Visas

We are booked on the Volendam for a cruise from Hong Kong to Vancouver, BC from 3/28/17 to 5/10/17. With all of the stops at ports in China, it appears we need to acquire Chinese visas which involve a visit to the embassy in SF which we are planning to do in early December after we return from our Australian cruise. The turn-around is apparently around 5 business days.

Another opportunity has presented itself to cruise on the Prinsendam (our favorite ship) from BA to Ft. Lauderdale departing on 2/8. This would require a Brazillian visa (we already have the Argentinian one) obtained from their SF embassy office.

What's the considered wisdom of whether there is sufficient time to get the Brazillian visa after we get the Chinese one? An appointment is required to apply for the Brazillian one, but I don't know how the logistics really work.

Does anyone have any insights into these processes?

Thanks in advance,

Would it be worth the extra cost of having a visa service get both visas for you at the same time?

We used CIBT to obtain visas. It is well worth the service fee and they have a terrific website. The web site is user friendly and walks you through step by step. Some forms are filled out on line. You receive specific instructions on what documents need to be sent. The process was fairy easy.

We made arrangements for the local Fed Ex or UPS vendor to sign for the return documents and hold them until we returned from a trip. They charged five bucks to sign for the packet.

Hi Tim! :)

For our Amazon Explorer cruise in Nov 2016 our US roll call members have reported anywhere from just under 2 weeks to a bit over 4 weeks for their Brazil visas to be processed. Most all of these have been through a visa processor. I don't think any of our roll call have had to use the SF consulate though so can't address their specific turn around time.

I think I would work first on the Brazil visa then the China visa based on your dates of travel.

Sounds like some nice cruises! :D

Have also used CIBT - Visa Central thru the HAL website for both of these visas with excellent service and results. It was easy as sent in both application packets with the passports and they handled everything. It was about 6-8 weeks when we got both visas back with passports.

I've applied for both of these visas in the past, and used a visa service. I recommend doing the same, especially for the China visa.

The China visa application is extremely complex, and the tiniest error (like using a lower case letter when they want a capital letter) can invalidate it. I had a friend who had gone through the process a year before lead me, and I still had to do it over again due to errors. There are several "what does this mean" fields to complete. The visa service will check those things before it's sent it and help you with the confusing questions.

The visa service will take care of both visas for you, in proper time frames. It's worth every penny.

You are contemplating a couple of very nice trips! Have a grand old time.

We used Travel Visa Pro and they were great. Well worth the nominal fee. They have a phone line for questions and were very helpful. I think they were a little less expensive than some of the others, but I highly recommend using a service. Our Brazil visa was estimated at 3 weeks, but came quicker. Can't you do both visas at the same time? That's what I'd want. m--

Although we often go through the hassles of directly obtaining our own visas, we agree that in your situation it would just be a lot easier (and somewhat more expensive) to use a decent Visa service who should be able to get all your Visas at one time. The Visa process for Brazil is a true pain in the %$&* and a visa service knows how to cut through the *&&^% and obtain the Visa :).

The last time we got our own Brazilian Visa (at the Consulate in Washington DC) it meant spending overnight in Washington...and getting into a verbal struggle with the Deputy Consul over a technicality. The lesson learned was let somebody else deal with the Brazilian authorities.

Hank

I would not call the visa services a "nominal" fee. Maybe more like a $1000 dollars for two, including visa, processing fees, shots and new visa photos.

We looked into just getting the Brazil visa recently ourselves with a two month lag time and gave up and canceled our Oct Prinsendam Amazon cruise - using the Los Angeles office.

Plus coordinating the confused protocol about Yellow Fever vaccinations "requirements". At least in the process I found my old Yellow Fever vaccination certificate from 1977 now that FDA says they are good for a life time.

I assume you already went to Brazil visa and China visa pages. We found the documentation requirements onerous.

Brazil gives you expected turn around times on their visa page for various consulates which varied widely. They were also getting ready for the Rio Olympics which may have overwhelmed them at the time too - allowing a visa free pass for that time period as a result.

Once getting our last China visa we had everything in order and went down for their one day expedited turn-around, only to be rebuffed at the desk because the clerk just could not understand we were coming to China on a cruise ship and did not have arrival and departure information she was used to seeing for plane tickets. This required coming back the next day with new documents from HAL.

Good luck. We decided we would give ourselves a lot more time if we try to undertake this again and not have the stress or costs added to this one country's unique demands. (Brazil).

OlsSalt, visa service is more like $50, I use a service here in Washington, although I can easily go to the various embassies myself but the servos more convenient, especially if you need more than one visa. Those other fees you mention that can rack up to around $1000 are fees that you will pay regardless of whether you use a service or not.

Here is the link for the Los Angeles Brazil visa office.

When one is in a time constraint, it might make sense to use extra visa procurement agencies "double check" services which adds significantly to the costs.

Plus there is notice at the Los Angeles consulate they are operating under some sort of employee strike.

http://losangeles.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/tourist_visa.xml

Really recommend the CIBT visa company that you access thru the HAL website as moderately priced and they know what they are doing and will help with accuracy of the applications. Interesting that when I asked my TA for a recommendation, way back when he recommended the same company that HAL recommends so never went elsewhere as they provided excellent service.

The current visas should cost you just a few hundred US$ each with processing charges as both countries have decreased their fees from what I paid a short while ago.

List of approved Brazil visa agencies they will accept:

http://losangeles.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/approved_visa_agencies.xml

Notice for the Los Angeles Brazil office:

Since August 22, 2016, PART OF THE PUBLIC SERVANTS OF THIS CONSULATE HAS BEEN ON STRIKE. For this reason, the processing capacity will be very limited until the end of the referred strike, affecting the average processing time of the services offered.

During this period, the Consulate WILL NOT PROCESS ANY APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY CITIZENS WHO LIVE OUT OF ITS JURISDICTION (Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and the following counties in California: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Also the following American islands in the Pacific: Johnston, Midway, Wake, Howland, Jarvis and Baker, Palmira and Kingman).

The Consulate apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

NB: does this mean those listed locations are inside, or outside their "jurisdiction"?

Travel Visa Pro charged us $29pp for their service for the Brazil visa a few years ago. It was well worth it. The Brazil visa then was about $220pp good for 10 years. The visa took up a full double page in the passport, so make sure you have enough pages.

We were not going up the Amazon, just visiting coastal ports so we didn't need a yellow fever vaccination. There are maps on the CDC website to check if your destination is one that requires or recommends that shot, but for those over 60 years old a waiver may be signed by your doctor due to higher probability of life-threatening complications for the older demographic. m--

I would not call the visa services a "nominal" fee. Maybe more like a $1000 dollars for two, including visa, processing fees, shots and new visa photos.

 

We looked into just getting the Brazil visa recently ourselves with a two month lag time and gave up and canceled our Oct Prinsendam Amazon cruise - using the Los Angeles office.

 

Plus coordinating the confused protocol about Yellow Fever vaccinations "requirements". At least in the process I found my old Yellow Fever vaccination certificate from 1977 now that FDA says they are good for a life time.

 

I assume you already went to Brazil visa and China visa pages. We found the documentation requirements onerous.

 

Brazil gives you expected turn around times on their visa page for various consulates which varied widely. They were also getting ready for the Rio Olympics which may have overwhelmed them at the time too - allowing a visa free pass for that time period as a result.

 

Once getting our last China visa we had everything in order and went down for their one day expedited turn-around, only to be rebuffed at the desk because the clerk just could not understand we were coming to China on a cruise ship and did not have arrival and departure information she was used to seeing for plane tickets. This required coming back the next day with new documents from HAL.

 

Good luck. We decided we would give ourselves a lot more time if we try to undertake this again and not have the stress or costs added to this one country's unique demands. (Brazil).

I believe the above poster has had some difficulties which we have never experienced. We always use a visa service and I believe their fee is indeed nominal. For example, this year we used "Passports And Visas.com." for 10 year Chinese visas. Their charge was $89 plus what the Chinese consulate charges (IIRC it was $180 per visa.) We presently have a total of two (10 year) Brazilian visas and five Chinese visas (until this year China would issue only six month visas. Also, I believe the requirement for an Argentinean permission slip has been discontinued.

Not sure if it still works this way, but when I applied for Brazilian visas at the consulate in Chicago a few years ago, I found out that each consulate has its own rules. There was no way listed on the Chicago website to get visas without roundtrip air tickets, and since we were planning to arrive and leave by taxi from the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, I got together everything listed on the D.C. consulate website. No go - the Chicago location had different requirements and would not issue us visas. So just a heads up if you are applying on your own.

I easily got a Chinese visa at the Chicago consulate last fall. Just had to go back after a few days to pick up the passport and visa.

I believe the above poster has had some difficulties which we have never experienced. We always use a visa service and I believe their fee is indeed nominal. For example, this year we used "Passports And Visas.com." for 10 year Chinese visas. Their charge was $89 plus what the Chinese consulate charges (IIRC it was $180 per visa.) We presently have a total of two (10 year) Brazilian visas and five Chinese visas (until this year China would issue only six month visas. Also, I believe the requirement for an Argentinean permission slip has been discontinued.

To clarify: I was talking about the whole package for two that was getting close to $1000: visa, services, double-check visa services due to time constraints, new photos, special trip to Los Angeles for the visa appointment, possible overnight in LA, doctors appointments, shots. Plus they were giving a terrible wait time in LA and now due to the "strike" there was no other alternative for us than LA.

Just seemed too overwhelming to us for our "last minute" decision to do the Amazon on the Prinsendam. Encouraging to hear you had a much easier process. We shall try again ....next year.

Not sure if it still works this way, but when I applied for Brazilian visas at the consulate in Chicago a few years ago, I found out that each consulate has its own rules. There was no way listed on the Chicago website to get visas without roundtrip air tickets, and since we were planning to arrive and leave by taxi from the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, I got together everything listed on the D.C. consulate website. No go - the Chicago location had different requirements and would not issue us visas. So just a heads up if you are applying on your own.

 

I easily got a Chinese visa at the Chicago consulate last fall. Just had to go back after a few days to pick up the passport and visa.

That was a similar issue to what happened to us at the DC Consulate. They demanded a round trip airline ticket...even though we were flying in and out of Buenos Aires and just visiting Brazil (for 3 nights) on a Celebrity ship which remained docked for 3 days of Carnival. The Deputy Consul looked at our cruise documents and said he could care less and wanted to see the airline tickets to and from Argentina. He admitted there was no reason for him to hassle us other then it was retaliatory because of the US Governments tough stance on giving Visas to Brazilians wanting to visit the USA. At the time we did not even have air tickets as this was being handled by Celebrity. We called Celebrity and put a supervisor on the phone with the Brazilian Deputy Consul and he actually started screaming at the cruise line employee. Eventually he did settle for a fax from the cruise line (this all took over 2 hours).

We did ultimately get the Visa and used it for several visits to Brazil. But given the attitude of the Brazilian authorities (on one of our visits they actually seized all the Fine Jewelry from the shop on the Azamara Journey) we have vowed to do our best to avoid ever returning to Brazil. Bottom line is that we have no desire to go a place where we are not wanted (although they are quick to accept our dollars).

Hank

I understand and agree with the previous poster on dealing with Brazilian government employees. I feel the same way about India and will avoid any cruise that stops there. However, we have traveled to China a few times and since you and I both live near Seattle, here is how we get our China visas. We go to the consulate website and download the forms and fill them out and go to Costco to have our pictures taken and copies made. Then we take the package to a travel agent in the International District (Chinatown) in Seattle and let them obtain our visas. If I remember right, the cost was about $20 to $30 each plus the cost of the visa and they will go over the applications to make sure they are correct. About two weeks later they will call us to come and pick up our passports with the new visas.

Last time we went to Brazil we used a visa agent in Miami.

Re: Brazil. Have they reinstated their stringent Visa criteria since the Olympics. They eased up on them considerably several months prior to the games. I have not read of them reinstated their old criteria yet - worth checking if you have not read about reinstatement.

We have found CBIT (as CBIT and through their prior name) to be literal "life savers" in terms of getting VISAs and well worth their charges. Once the got our Visas for China and Russia in less than two weeks through them. (9/11 forced major cruise change.) Another time they got our necessary 8 Visas for a cruise including 7 West African countries in 2 weeks. We could have done it had we flown to Washington DC and stayed there for a week or so, but regardless of their fees - they were far cheaper and quicker.

Please note that Brazil has NO vaccination requirements. travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/brazil.html

The yellow fever vaccination is required for the port stop in French Guinea (Devil's Island).

Please note that Brazil has NO vaccination requirements. travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/brazil.html

The yellow fever vaccination is required for the port stop in French Guinea (Devil's Island).

The confusion in our case were the CC reports HAL demanded Yellow Fever vaccination certificates less than 10 years old, and prevented some passengers from even boarding in the past if they did not have one.

And CC reports about YF waivers not being valid upon return to the US if one had visited a YF zone- there needs to be a lot more clarity about all of this upfront before undertaking this particular Amazon cruise with its YF zone port stops.

There were also CC reports those YF zone port stops did not even care to see any shot records or waivers.

The only good thing about all this confusion is I actually found my old 1977 YF certificate, which NIH now says is valid for a lifetime, but I believe the HAL website was still asking for those only under 10 years. Yet WHO says no one can deny you entrance if you have one older than 10 years.

Who's on first?

I am confirm plating a day trip from Argentine Iguazu to the Brazilian side. I know I would have to get the visa.

Does anyone know what the Los Angeles Brazil consulate requires as far as flight and cruise docs go? Do they have to be paid in full first, or just proof of the reservation? My final payment isn't due until December. My thought is I would book the day trip when I am there. I understand the hotel does offer day tours, and the HAL guide MIGHT.

I understand and agree with the previous poster on dealing with Brazilian government employees. I feel the same way about India and will avoid any cruise that stops there. However, we have traveled to China a few times and since you and I both live near Seattle, here is how we get our China visas. We go to the consulate website and download the forms and fill them out and go to Costco to have our pictures taken and copies made. Then we take the package to a travel agent in the International District (Chinatown) in Seattle and let them obtain our visas. If I remember right, the cost was about $20 to $30 each plus the cost of the visa and they will go over the applications to make sure they are correct. About two weeks later they will call us to come and pick up our passports with the new visas.

 

Last time we went to Brazil we used a visa agent in Miami.

Thanks for the nice tips for a Seattle person.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi there! Long time no see ---- since February in SA!!

I used VISA Central out of SF office for my Brazilian visa last year for my SA trip this past February, as I flew on to Brazil after departing the ship in BA, to visit family. Turnaround time was under 2 weeks. I also used them again just a few months ago to secure my China and India visas for my upcoming World Cruise in January. Again, turnaround time for both of those was under 2 weeks.

The Chinese visa application is a bit cumbersome and you have to be very careful in filling it out properly. I put in the dates that we are going to be in the various China ports and also included my INVOICE itinerary for the cruise as part of my attachments. I had no trouble at all with them balking at no airline tickets.

VISA Central is a tad more expensive than other visa service companies, but they were easy to use. You can "order" your multiple visa package online from their website and the emailed package to you will include forms for both Brazil and China. Easy peasy. They will first submit your papers to one consulate, secure that visa, then turn around and submit to the second country's consulate. When both visas are secured, they will mail everything back to you.

Yes, do make sure you have plenty of pages in your passport. My China visa took up an entire page, as did my Brazilian and Indian one. If you don't have enough pages, you'll have to renew your passport, even if it's not time yet. They ceased giving you extra pages as of 1/1/16.