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Coming Soon Brazilian E-Visas


Keith1010
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Just ran across this on CNT's web site this morning myself. Should make life WAY easier! Plus the cost ($160 US) vs what Oceania is asking to handle it for us ($335 US pp) is certainly way easier on the wallet. :p

 

Thanks for posting here.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We are travelling late February on Oceania and keeping a sharp eye on this. The application site run by VFS Global (for the Brazilian Government) is now up and running for Australian passport holders here:

 

http://www.vfsglobal.com/Brazil-eVisa/index.html

 

According to Brazlian government website the process is supposed to be available for Canada, U.S. and Japan in January:

 

http://www.brazilgovnews.gov.br/news/2017/09/brazil-to-begin-issuing-e-visas-for-australians-in-november

 

VFS confirmed to me a few days ago via online chat that Australia started on November 22 (as scheduled). I asked them to confirm the start time for Canadians and they confirmed the plan is to start very soon and they are awaiting confirmation from the "Ministry".

 

It is a huge change to the process: VISA fees are down to $40USD from $120CAD; it is all digital and you don't have to surrender your passport while they process it; and best of all the processing time is 5 days.

 

Wikipedia claims the start dates are scheduled as follows, but I could not find independent support for this (although whoever wrote it obviously got it from somewhere):

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Brazil#Electronic_visa

CountryAvailable from23px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.pngAustralia21 November 201723px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.pngCanada8 January 201823px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.pngUnited States15 January 201823px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.pngJapan22 January 2018So my dilemma is... do I start the consular process with all the wasted time, money and temporary loss of passport.... or do I wait for January 8 and hope they keep to schedule?

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Wow, this is about as annoying as it possibly could be. My 12-night Colors of Brazil sailing on HAL departs Buenos Aires on February 19. I already have my appointment at the Brazilian consulate scheduled for December 29, plus I've already purchased airline tickets. So, I guess I'm locked into the old scheme. Bummer.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I went to the New York City Consulate yesterday and secured a same day visa for myself and my husband who was not with me. The entire process took two hours and the personnel were super friendly. Probably would be too nervous to wait until January 15th.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Latest updated on the start dates for Brazilian e-visas is:

So... getting to nail biting time.... as a Canadian I am holding off until January 18. If they move the date again I'm giving up going to the Brazilian consulate in Toronto on January 19 to get one the old fashioned way....

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  • 2 weeks later...
Latest updated on the start dates for Brazilian e-visas is:

So... getting to nail biting time.... as a Canadian I am holding off until January 18. If they move the date again I'm giving up going to the Brazilian consulate in Toronto on January 19 to get one the old fashioned way....

 

Good news! The e-visas came online for Canadians today as promised. It took me about an hour to apply for both me and my wife. It was fairly straightforward, although your scanned photo and passport bio page have to in .jpeg format (it would not take .jpg or .pdf) and they have to be 300kb or less in size. Took a bit of fiddling but I sorted it out. Where I did get stuck was on my home address postal code: it wouldn't take a Canadian postal code, only 4-5 numerical digits like a US zip code. However, I went to the online chat page and they came on right away and we sorted it out. I imagine this is a minor glitch in their form that they will fix. But for now I was able to just use the 3 numbers from my postal code, and added 2 zeros.

 

So Americans...looks like you should be good as of January 25, 2018...

 

I will update on processing time once I get the visas....

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Great news! Thanks for sharing your experience....glad our cruise isn’t until 2019 so maybe all the bugs will be worked out by when we apply.

 

Also really appreciate you posting the start dates for other countries...saved me some time as I am from the USA.

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 2 weeks later...
Good news! The e-visas came online for Canadians today as promised. It took me about an hour to apply for both me and my wife. It was fairly straightforward, although your scanned photo and passport bio page have to in .jpeg format (it would not take .jpg or .pdf) and they have to be 300kb or less in size. Took a bit of fiddling but I sorted it out. Where I did get stuck was on my home address postal code: it wouldn't take a Canadian postal code, only 4-5 numerical digits like a US zip code. However, I went to the online chat page and they came on right away and we sorted it out. I imagine this is a minor glitch in their form that they will fix. But for now I was able to just use the 3 numbers from my postal code, and added 2 zeros.

 

So Americans...looks like you should be good as of January 25, 2018...

 

I will update on processing time once I get the visas....

 

Received e-visas today, 8 days after starting application. It was not quite as smooth and easy as I had hoped: our photos were rejected multiple times, as was the scan of our passports; considering that the maximum upload size is 300kb I found it a bit of a challenge to get things "just right" for them. A bit fiddly, but all in all worth the wait. Rio here we come! Looks like US e-visas are up and running now too!

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How did you scan your passports? Do you have a scanner?

 

 

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Yes - or at least I used a scanner. I tried taking a digital photo but it is extremely difficult to get the passport flat enough and avoid any reflection.

 

 

  • Tip from my experience: Make sure your entire scanned image is just the passport bio pages (ie. not a regular 8 1/2 x 11 page sized scan in which the passport only takes up about 2/3 of the image - I think this is why my first one was rejected).

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Yes - or at least I used a scanner. I tried taking a digital photo but it is extremely difficult to get the passport flat enough and avoid any reflection.

 

 

 

 

 


  •  
  • Tip from my experience: Make sure your entire scanned image is just the passport bio pages (ie. not a regular 8 1/2 x 11 page sized scan in which the passport only takes up about 2/3 of the image - I think this is why my first one was rejected).
     

 

 

 

Thanks. Good information.

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Any help on the process of getting the scans correct. I tried today and my scanner does it as a pdf and could not figure out how to change to jpeg. Also how do you make the scanned image not the whole page? And it was asking to crop the picture. I thought you scanned the picture separate from the passport. I don’t think I understand the directions. Thank you!

Yes - or at least I used a scanner. I tried taking a digital photo but it is extremely difficult to get the passport flat enough and avoid any reflection.

 

 

  • Tip from my experience: Make sure your entire scanned image is just the passport bio pages (ie. not a regular 8 1/2 x 11 page sized scan in which the passport only takes up about 2/3 of the image - I think this is why my first one was rejected).

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I am also having major problems. It won't accept my bio page. I have not even started on the photo of me. Been at it for several hours. I tried both scanning and using iPhoto. One problem is the white frame around the picture/scan is sort of gray. I can't get it to be pure white. I don't know if that is the problem or not.

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I ended up using a photo from my iPhone of my passport bio page. I made sure all the text on the page was extremely sharp in the photo and cropped it to the 500x352 pixel size. It took several tries but finally got a good one that was accepted.

 

 

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I have not been successful yet. When you scan the bio page of passport and then it asks you to crop just the picture. Is that what you did and then on the separate download you just did a photo alone? Thank you for any help.

I ended up using a photo from my iPhone of my passport bio page. I made sure all the text on the page was extremely sharp in the photo and cropped it to the 500x352 pixel size. It took several tries but finally got a good one that was accepted.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi,

 

Just wanted to report my experience with the Brazilian eVisa. I've got an upcoming cruise that starts in Rio De Janeiro, so I just submitted my application today.

 

I have to admit I was nervous when I first read about this - all the information I was seeing online made it sound like a much more cumbersome and expensive process, which would take months and cost about $160. But we emailed the Brazilian consulate and received the link directly from them, so I know it's not a "scam". And so far it appears to be super easy! And cheap - only $44.24!

 

As for the speed - I just got my application submitted today so I'm waiting for the approval. But it says it only takes up to five working days, so I'll report back as soon as I get it.

 

Here's the link: http://www.vfsglobal.com/Brazil-eVisa/

 

This page has all the info you need, including a detailed FAQ. The link to the online application form is on that page.

 

I had no problems uploading my passport data page or my photo. For my photo, I stood in front of a plain white background and my husband took it with my iPhone. We actually went to a Walgreens, where you can buy a passport photo -- but they won't give you the photos electronically. So we just used their background and took our own photo. Make sure your photo has no shadows, which is harder than you think...and why it worked out perfectly to do it at a place where they actually take passport photos. :)

 

As for my passport data page, I taped it down to a white piece of paper and took the photo with my iPhone. Again, be careful of shadows and glare - turn the overhead light off and do it in a room with natural light.

 

Don't worry about cropping. When you upload them, the site will force you to crop them into their template. It's really easy. Don't take too long doing this, though...if you take too much time, the whole thing times out and you have to start over.

 

On the application form, BE CAREFUL with dates! The date format is DD/MM/YYYY, not what we are used to in the US (MM/DD/YYYY).

 

You can pay with your VISA card. Note that it shows the Amex icon on the payment page, but it would not take my Amex card number. So apparently you need to use a VISA card.

 

I received an email immediately, with my application number. Now I'm just waiting for the approval.

 

Note that the eVisa is different from the Consular Visa, which previously was all that was available. The eVisa can only be used for tourism or business, whereas the Consular visa can be used for a variety of other purposes. Also, you will not get a passport stamp. You will get an email, which you have to print out to present upon boarding your flight to Brazil, or to immigration upon arriving to Brazil via cruise ship, and carry it with you the whole time you're in Brazil.

 

Also note that you have to use one of these browsers: Internet Explorer 10, Google Chrome 43, Firefox 38, Opera 29, Safari 9.

 

I'll report back once I get my eVisa approved.

 

Let me know if I can answer any questions. :)

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Well that was fast! I got my Brazilian visa already. It comes as a PDF, which you have to print out and carry with you at all times.

 

Super easy process!

 

I also utilized the e-Visa. Had some issues with creating the images of my passport. Company sent a link that helped size the images. Took 3 working days after submission to get our Visa's

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