BRAZIL – Introduction of Electronic Visa Processing
On May 7th, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and the National Congress announced a change to the main Brazilian Immigration Law (# 6815/80). In its previous form, the law required that all individuals applying for business, tourist, or artist/athlete visas had to apply at consulates abroad prior to visiting Brazil. With the new law (# 12.968), the aforementioned foreigners may process their entry permits through an electronic visa processing system. This change should help improve processing times for temporary visas. It should be noted that this process will only be available to nationals of countries that enter into an agreement with Brazil or offer reciprocal treatment to Brazilian nationals. Although this new law is already effective, many details still have yet to be determined. New regulations are expected from the Brazilian authorities shortly.