Brazil e-Visa for U.S. Citizens: How to Apply in 2026

For six years, Americans could fly to Rio, walk up to passport control and get stamped in with nothing more than a passport. Brazil had waived visas for U.S. citizens in 2019. That window is closed. Since April 10, 2025, Brazil once again requires a visa from visitors with U.S., Canadian and Australian passports, and the airline will check for it before you board.

The good news is that for most trips the visa is now a short online form rather than a consulate visit. The less good news is that the process asks for more paperwork than many travelers expect, and the official site is easy to confuse with look-alike agencies. Here is how the Brazil e-Visa works for U.S. citizens, what it costs and where people get stuck.

Who Needs the Brazil e-Visa?

The rule applies to U.S. citizens traveling on a U.S. passport for a short stay of up to 90 days. According to Brazil's consulates in the United States, the e-Visa (officially a visitor visa, VIVIS) covers:

• tourism and visiting friends or family
• business trips such as meetings and conferences
• transit, sports and artistic activities without local pay

It also applies to cruise passengers whose ship calls at Brazilian ports. Brazil's embassy lists cruise travel as its own category on the application portal, so check with your cruise line well before departure.

If you plan to work, study or stay longer than 90 days, the e-Visa is the wrong product. Those trips need a temporary visa (VITEM) from the consulate that covers your state.

Dual citizens: If you are also a Brazilian citizen, the long-standing advice is to enter and leave on your Brazilian passport. Brazil's foreign ministry issued a new guideline on August 20, 2026 that allows dual nationals to apply for a visitor visa and travel on their foreign passport, but the consulates still recommend showing a Brazilian document (even an expired one) at the border.

What Does It Cost, and How Long Is It Valid?

The fee is paid by card inside the portal. There is no expedited service and no rush fee, so any website that offers a "fast track" Brazil visa for a higher price is a private agency, not the government.

The 10-year validity is the main reason the fee feels fair. One application covers years of trips, including a cruise next winter and Carnival a few years later, as long as you keep within the limit of 90 days per year. If your passport expires before the visa does, you can travel with the new passport plus the old one that holds the visa, according to the Brazilian consulate in Los Angeles.

Which Documents Do You Need?

This is the part that surprises people. The consulate in San Francisco lists the following for a tourist e-Visa:

1. A valid, signed passport with two blank visa pages, valid for the whole trip
2. The online application form, completed on the VFS portal
3. A digital passport photo (2 x 2 inches, white background, taken within the last 12 months)
4. The $80.90 fee
5. A flight reservation that shows your entry into and exit from Brazil
6. A bank statement showing transactions for the last 30 days and a balance of at least $2,000 available for travel

Note the wording on the flight: a reservation, not necessarily a paid ticket. Brazil's own consulates advise against buying nonrefundable flights before the visa is approved, so a refundable fare or a held booking is the safer choice.

Children need their own visa. VFS asks for extra documents for minors, such as a birth certificate and parental consent, so check the current list on the portal before you start.

How Do You Apply, Step by Step?

1. Go to brazil.vfsevisa.com and create an account. Double-check the address: many lookalike sites use "Brazil visa" in their names.
2. Choose the visitor visa for tourism (or business) and fill in the form exactly as your passport reads.
3. Upload the photo, passport page, flight reservation and bank statement as clear scans or PDFs.
4. Pay the $80.90 fee by credit or debit card.
5. Wait for the decision by email, then print the e-Visa or keep the PDF on your phone. Airlines may ask to see it at check-in.

How Long Does Approval Take?

There is no single official processing time. Brazil's consulate in San Francisco says applicants who meet the requirements usually receive the e-Visa "in a few days." The consulate in Los Angeles warns more broadly that a visa application can take up to 15 business days to review and 5 business days to issue, and longer in high season.

Our advice is simple: apply at least a month before you fly, and earlier if your trip falls around Christmas, New Year's or Carnival (Carnival Tuesday falls on February 9, 2027). Incomplete documents are a common cause of delays, especially a bank statement that does not cover the full 30 days.

What If You Are Only Connecting Through Brazil?

If you change planes in São Paulo or Rio without leaving the international transit area, you generally do not need a Brazilian visa. If you have to pass through immigration, for example to collect bags or change airports, you do. Confirm with your airline, because the answer depends on how your ticket is booked.

Before You Go: Three Other Things to Check

• Your passport: Brazil requires it to be valid for the whole stay. Many airlines prefer six months, so renew early if it is close.
• Health: Brazil does not require a yellow fever certificate from travelers arriving from the U.S., but the CDC recommends the vaccine for many parts of the country. Read our guide to the yellow fever vaccine certificate before you book a clinic appointment.
• Safety: Check the State Department's travel advisory for Brazil, which sets different levels for different regions. Our explainer on travel advisory levels shows how to read it.

Our Recommendation

Treat the e-Visa as part of booking, not a last-minute chore. Make a refundable flight reservation, download a full 30-day bank statement, take a fresh photo against a white wall and apply on the official VFS site the same week. For $80.90 you get a visa that can last a decade, which makes Brazil easier to return to than the paperwork first suggests. For more entry rules around the world, browse our Visas & Entry guides.