Tourist Visa Stays in Brazil - 180 days per year maximum

I never got ID-ed, I also just asked my boyfriend how often the police checks upon people, and he told me only when you drive!! For example during the lei seca (alcohol prohibition check for drivers, usually around midnight), or during favela parties or trips a lot because a lot of drugs are involved, a lot of tourists usually buy drugs in favelas (the slums).

Thanks Katie! You were really helpfull! I really apreciate that you took the time to help out! I wish you a great trip back to Brasil!
Amy

Hi Amyamy,

Yes, the police here in Brazil routinely ask everybody to present their identification, especially it you happen to be in a place where they are investigating a crime. If you are the victim of a crime they will also ask for your ID first thing. If you're riding in a vehicle with someone and it is stopped they will ID everybody in the vehicle as well. You will constantly have to look over your shoulder. Trust me it is not worth the headaches.

Put yourself in this situation, you have to show a return ticket flight out of Brazil upon entry, so if you have a ticket you can't change you lose that amount of money. You're in Brazil, planning on staying a year and after 4 months you get asked to produce ID somewhere. The cops run your name through the Federal Police and find your visa is expired, they trot you off to the Feds right away. There they give you 8 days to leave voluntarily. Now unless you're lucky enough to have made some kind of prior arrangement with the airline you've already lost your original return fare you'd have to pay for another one-way fare (far more expensive) on short notice, pay a fine and leave. Also you have to have legal status in the country to do most things, rent apartments, arrange for telephone, water and electric services, get married (should that come up), have any dealing with the court system or Registry (Cartório).

Another problem is that you'd have to tippy-toe around for the whole time, hoping and praying that you don't get somebody peaved enough to turn you in to the Feds or do so in hopes that they would get some kind of reward (they don't by the way).

I'd strongly advise you to rethink your whole strategy before setting foot on Brazilian soil. Have you ever thought about arranging for some kind of a one-year course here and then applying for a student visa? No matter how much more hassle it will be to obtain a student visa you will be legal in the country for the duration of the course.

You may not plan on coming back to Brazil for a good long time, but you should also consider the fact that the problem could prevent or seriously complicate travel to other countries as well.

Some rules were made to be broken, I agree... but Immigrations rules are not among them, the consequences are too serious.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi Katie13,

Thanks for the update, it's good to know that the Federal Police will print off the GRU for people on the spot.

Are you coming back to stay in Rio? I get into Rio at least once a month and who knows maybe we'll have a chance to have a coffee together. Let me know.

Don't forget, if there's anything else you need I'm just as far away as a private message. Good luck, safe trip and welcome back to Brazil.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

I'm going to stay in Rio!! I probably will go through another mental challenge when I'm going apply for my permanent visa after completing my marriage

Let me know when you're in Rio! I'll pm you if I'll need anything, thank you for welcoming me back and of course all the other info. I won't be much out of rio, so it'll be easy to grab a coffee!

Dear Amyamy, please consider wjwoodward's reaction to your question about getting ID-ed much more important than mine!

I was living the whole time in a very touristic area (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon or Zona Sul as it's the collective name) so I haven't seen many criminal activities happen, haven't been even near to one. I've never entered a slum! Never drove a car in Rio, and I was always aware of the consequences, so I kept a veeerrryyyy low profile...

Never even knew all of the people in the car gets ID-ed! I'm learning new things here as well... Please do consider the consequences, out of the X number of people doing this, one or 2 always get caught, be careful!

Hi!

I'm back in Brazil! Just needed to pay my fine and I got 90 days!

xx Katie

Katie, William, or somebody...
If I land at 10.40 at GIG airport, you think I can make a flight at SDU at 12.55?
Thanks!

Katie,
i am happy ( and a little jelous) for you!
Enjoy your stay!

Thnx Amyamy! But from Galeao (GIG) to santos dumont is about 40 min driving WITHOUT TRAFFIC! around 11 it's still very busy on the roads, I wouldn't risk it!

Hi Amyamy,

At the best of times and even with an experienced (and honest) taxi driver you're looking at about 40 min. from Galeão International Airport to Santos Dumont. If your originating flight is at all delayed as they commonly are you would have great difficulty in making your connecting flight, not to mention the fact that you will have to pass through Customs & Immigration at Galeão (point of first entry). To be on the safe side I would allow about three or four hours between flights. It's far better to cool your heels waiting at Santos Dumont for a later flight than to go through all the hassles of trying to arrange an alternate flight because of a missed connection. I'd recommend checking with your travel agent to see if there's any chance of getting a connecting flight to your desired destination which departs from Galeão, that way you won't have to worry so much and even though you will have to collect your luggage before passing through Customs inspection you can immediately thereafter check it through to your final destination.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

William,
Bad news after bed news! Later tickets cost over700 USD instead of 200. I am thinking about taking the bus.
Still I am super excited to come to your wonderful country!

Hi Amyamy,

Sorry to hear about the jump in fares, but it's not at all surprising. The airfares have tripled here in the past six months.

What is your final destination in Brazil? Perhaps taking the bus will not only save you lots of money, but could be lots of fun too and a good way to see the country. If you're looking at a trip of less than 12 hours by bus you could take a night departure if available and sleep during the trip.

If you are looking at a long (multi-day) trip you can break it down into shorter manageable segments with stop-overs. That should have almost no effect whatever on the fares. Find an inexpensive hotel or pousada to spend a night or two in, see a bit of the city and continue your trip. If you need any help in planning that I could give you some ideas.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hello wjwoodward and others..

I have just recently joined the form after reading it with great interest.  I want to get your input (maybe a repeat of what you have said earlier on this topic but.. here it goes)

I am a turkish citizen who spent the last 17 years in the states and recently returned to Istanbul.  (i had various school and work visas for USA never got a greencard.  Now I have a 10 year tourist visa)

I was in Brazil exactly 90 days from octover to december.. I want to go back there again and stay longer.. I want to live there..

Q1- Is there a type of visa that i can apply to that would give me the freedom to stay there 6 months at a time or longer? (I looked in to the investment/invester visa option but, im not too sure)

Q2- How many times I can over stay my visa for brazil over and over and over again by paying the fine at the airport.  I dont care about entering any other country (if they deny or refuse me a visa because of the stamp/note that the federal officers in brazil put on my passport)  Can I be a habitual, a continious out-law if I keep on paying my fines? 

Or will there be a point where I will be denied entry to Brazil.

Thank you for your ideas, suggestions in advance.. Have a good one.

Hi OGordo,

Since you're a Turkish citizen your Brazilian Tourist Visa application would be handled as any other Turkish citizen's is, however you would be able to apply for it at a Brazilian Consulate in the USA. The requirements you will need to meet for obtaining a visa are based on your citizenship and not where you apply. Brazil requirements for many Asian and Middle-Eastern countries can be pretty stringent.

You can check the link below for the Consulate in Turkey

http://www.portalconsular.mre.gov.br/mu … m-istambul

The tourist visa is usually issued with a validity for anywhere from 30 to 90 days stay duration. I was of the impression that it was 90 days for everyone, however recently discovered that the individual visa officers at each consulate determine for themselves how long they will issue the visa for. (Like everything else in Brazil, they make up their own rules as they go along - why didn't I figure that out earlier).

If you are lucky to get one that's issued for 90 days then your initial stay is 90 days, you can extend that for a further 90 at the headquarters of the Federal Police nearest where you are staying in Brazil. This means you can stay for a total of 180 days in a "rolling" one year period. Following a 180 day stay you would need to be outside of Brazil for 270 days in order to qualify for another 90 days and a full year for  180 consecutive days. So you can see that under the system used here it IS NOT 6 months here and 6 months away, nothing here is ever that simple, sorry.

If you were to overstay your visa once, there is no problem regarding re-entry other than the fine. However if you were to do it a second time or more, I'm sure that the Federal Police would probably put you back on the plane you came to Brazil on. They're a pretty nasty bunch.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi William,

Great post helped me a lot

Regards
Partha

Hi Partha,

Glad to be of help.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Olá William,

Thanks for this post. I couldn't find anything that was explained so well like yours. Even though I read it and understood it, my fiancee and I need reassurance from you that I can in fact visit Brazil for 31 days this February 19th, 2013. We just want some kind of acceptance that I can visit Brazil instead of the answers we've been receiving. The consulate of Brazil in Chicago said I had to wait a whole year and the Federal Police in São Paulo have no clue how to calculate it. If you can confirm my calculation is correct and confirm I can travel to Brazil, this would help my fiancee and me out so much.

I was issued a Brazilian tourist visa on December 7th, 2011 and it is valid for 10 years. I took a flight out to São Paulo and arrived on Dec 28th, 2011. I then stayed in Brazil from that date until June 21, 2012. If I did the math correctly, I stayed in Brazil for a total of 177 days including the arrival and departure dates. I want to buy a ticket to Brazil on February 19th to March 22nd. If I did the calculation correctly I will be absent for 242 days from Brazil on February 18th, right before I leave to Brazil. That means I will accumulate give or take 62 days of stay in Brazil when I leave on Feb 19th? Which also means I will be able to travel to Brazil for 31 days?

I hope I explained it well enough but that is basically my question. If I can or cannot visit Brazil in my situation but according to your post, I should be able to with no problems.

Muito Obrigado William,

Seil

Hello seil,

I didn't do the math, but if your calculation of 177 days (incl. day of arrival and departure) is correct and you will have been outside of Brazil for 242 days on the day of your next arrival you should qualify for an initial stay of 90 days, and even a small extension with no problem.

Since you intend a stay of just one month I see no reason whatsoever you will have any problems. It will however, affect the calculation of any FUTURE visits, should you then return to Brazil at some later date.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Muito Obrigado William!

Wow this is really great news and has made my day. My fiancee and I really appreciate your help and quick response to my post. So I should have no problem and technically, I could even leave tomorrow for a month instead of waiting until February right?

Thanks again William.

Seil

As far as I can tell, yes. A month would be fine even now, but don't forget Feb. 12 is Carnaval, you wouldn't want to miss that.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi I was in Brazil form July 18, 2012 to Sep 15, 2012 left the country for a week and return Sep. 22, 2012 i request and extension of my staying and they allowed me to stay until January 8, 2013.

My question is i only was there for 173 days and i want to go back next month.

I will only have 7 days to stay there or since is 2013 i will have 173 days?

Thanks for your help

JC:)

Hi Carlos2016,

You will only have 7 days, and that is provided that the count you have made INCLUDES the day of entry and day of departure of any previous stays. If you didn't count them as full days then your visit will be less than 7 days.

The calculation of visa stays IS NOT BASED ON THE CALENDAR YEAR. It is based on a rolling year. (i.e. they go back one year from your date of entry and count the number of days you have already been in Brazil during that period. That number is subtracted from 180 to determine how many days you may stay in Brazil.)

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks for all the vital info! I am a US citizen and am considering staying for the whole 180 days, does that mean that I would have to be out of the country for 180 days before I can come back and stay for another 180 days? 
And as I apply for my visa should I buy a ticket for under 90 days or would a 6 month stay round-trip ticket raise some eyebrows? I am intending on extending, so it should not be a problem, right?

Thanks!

Hi The Yetzter,

No after 180 days outside the country you only get back to zero, you must be away for a year for another 180 days if you've used them all up on a previous visit. After 270 days away you can get 90 days here.

Regarding the airline ticket I'm not sure. I think you will need a return date for the 90 day stay since the extension is NOT guaranteed. I'd suggest a ticket you can modify the return date even if it has a charge.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Dears
Just to add 2 comments here:
1. you will never get exactly 180 days even consider the best situation with extension. It is requested to apply for the `renovação` at least 3 working days before your visa expired, and the maximum period you might stay = 180 - Period that you apply for `renovação` ahead of visa expiration. PS.I have no official regulation to show here for the 3 working days, it was told by the police when I applied this for my parents.
2. After visa expired, a fine is calculated per day, but with a maximum value about R$808--if there was no any change in the recent 1 year. Sorry I have no idea obout the exact value per day, because lots of my colleagues directly paid the maximum fine value for the long term illegal stay due to company reason, lol.

Hi Enzo,

You're right! I would even recommend going to the Federal Police well before that just in case there is some additional paperwork they want. Three days can be cutting it really close and it will also be harder for those who need to re-book flights on really short notice. A week or two before the expiry date is advisable.

Another thing it is also a good idea to take along somebody who is fluent in Portuguese if you are not. In many large cities you might find a Federal Police Agent who speaks English, but in smaller cities you really can't count on that.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi guys

Thanks for all the info. Invaluable. Mr woodward, hats off to you sir. Thanks for taking the time to do all the work. Was hoping for your thoughts.

Im a british passport holder (vwp) and my situation is the following

My first tourist visa stint in brazil was last year

07/02/12---17/04/12 (70days)

And then returned the following month and had no problems at customs and received a new 90 day stamp which gave me until 14/08/12 to leave. However, i overstayed for 107 days and got my paperwork on exit from policia federal (pay fine on return etc with black stamp in passport etc) and left brazil on 29/11/12

In summary

15/05/12--(14/08/12)---29/11/11(107 days overstay or, in other words,  i stayed for 198 day stint)

I have now Been out of brazil for 88 days.

I am trying to figure out when i would technically be allowed to step foot in the country again...

By my calculations, on a rolling basis i was in brazil for
48 days (from first stint)  + 198 days (second stint) = 246days.

I had heard many people talking about your 'illegal' days not counting to the equation and you just pay a financial fine and they dont add days to your 'stay'. After reading this thread, im not sure about that.

Any thoughts on when i could go back? And on whether they include the illegal days?

Thanks!

EN

Hi En3203,

Sorry to say that I'm not sure how they would calculate your stay either. I somehow get the feeling that they would simply have you pay the fine, count three months from the date of your departure to determine if you could come back into the country. However, I can't guarantee that. Your best bet would be to invest the money in a telephone call to the Federal Police, give them the dates and information and ask them to calculate the date on which you will be permitted to re-enter Brazil and how long you will be able to stay. Of course you will have to pay the fine if you have not already done so.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks. What is the number? Ill look back at the thread again.

I suppose there are a couple of interesting questions from my case.

1) how does the illegal overstay affect the tally system.

2) if you look at my dates again. I was in the country for 70 days the first time, left the country for a month, then came back and was given an extra 90 days no questions asked. And when i look at the form for my overstay fine, it say i 'overstayed' by 107 days, which means they cut me off at that 90 day period.

Which leads to another hypothetical Q - imagine if i had not overstayed and left on time mid august. With those numbers, when would i have been allowed in?

Would that be a correct way to see it?

EN

Hi en3203,

Yes, it appears what happened is that somebody stamped your passport for the 90 days in error, probably not checking the previous stay dates. VWP visits are restricted to three months in any six month period, essentially 3 months here, 3 away, 3 here and 3 away. Looks like when you left the country the agent ran your passport through the computer system which caught the mistake, calculated your visit and the resulting overstay. While it was their error and not yours IMHO you should never have been fined, but you don't argue with the Feds ever.

To answer your hypothetical question: If you had left in mid-August and not overstayed then you would have been allowed another 3 month entry starting in mid-November of the same year.

What it is going to do to your tally I really can't say, because the way the system is "supposed" to work for VWP passports is that the calculation is based on the date of your very first ever entry into Brazil as your start date, then it is broken up into three month blocks from that point on. So it's hard to say exactly how many days you are going to be allowed on your next visit, and I'm sure it will also depend on the exact date of your next entry.

The numbers for the Federal Police are as follows:

Superintendência Regional da Polícia Federal - São Paulo
55+11+3538-5000 (switchboard) so you'll need to ask for Setor de Estrangeiros.  fax: 55+11+3538-5930

Delegacia da Policia Federal - Aeroporto Int'l Cumbica - Guarulhos
55+11+2445-2212    fax: 55+11+2445-3476

It will be necessary to put your international (DDI) code in front of any of the above numbers and dial as they appear (without the "+" signs).

I would recommend contacting the Airport number since the employees at the Regional Superintendent's office are contracted workers and not police officers, they have almost no knowledge of what they're doing. At the airport number chances are you will actually be speaking to an Agent of the Federal Police. In any case I doubt you will get anyone who speaks much English so you'd best brush up on your Portuguese just in case.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

thanks for the number. so i ended up calling the policia federal at the airport and they informed me that the way it works is that i must count back one year from the day i arrive in brazil and, within that period, i am allowed a maximum of 180 days in the country, and the 'illegal' overstay days are NOT wiped clean simply by the payment of the fine. my clock starts ticking from the day i leave brazil irrespective of them being legal or illegal. hence, in my situation, if i, hypothetically, landed in brazil tomorrow, they would count back one year and see that i had been in the country for 247 days. so that means in 67 days my slate would be back to zero and i would start to get 1  day, 2 day so on. that is how i understood his explanation and that would reconcile with your explanations in the thread. however, i am unsure i understand your 3 month cycle thing. or 3 month in 3 month out stuff. if that makes sense? another Q - how aware are their systems to 1) a brand new passport (uk in my case) being presented to them with new number and no stamps? 2) if i have a passport from a different nation?. the latter seems like a way to 'double up' on tourist visas in any given country.

Hi En3203,

It would appear that the officer you spoke to was talking about the system used for non-VWP country passports, which is the 180 days in a "rolling" year rule. Either he was unclear on the passport you were intending to use or like many of the Federal Police simply not well informed about the rules.

Your UK passport (VWP) permits you to enter Brazil without a prior visa application. VWP and Schengen Area stay durations are 3 months in any given six month period, the count for which begins on the date of your very first entry to Brazil. There is no extension permitted for any given stay. Three months is the max, then you must be out of the country for 3 months.

From reports that I've received from other members about the overstay fines that get applied, it would appear that the system does indeed center around the passport number. I've heard many times that when someone re-entered Brazil on a new passport they were not made to pay an outstanding fine. Others have also related that they received a full stay duration on a new passport despite the fact that they had a previous visit and were not entitled to 180 days.

I can't say with any degree of certainty, but it really looks like you might be correct in your assumption that for individuals of dual citizenship and who hold two different passports this might indeed create a situation where they could get around some of the restrictions and take advantage of extra time in Brazil. Having said that, I wouldn't encourage anyone try doing so because the consequences if caught could be extremely serious. This falls outside the area of being an "administrative" infraction regarding immigration and becomes a kind of fraud involving official documents, "fraude processual" or "falsidade ideológico" which are criminal offenses. Risky business indeed.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks. I've emailed the brazilian consulate in london from various email addresses and they keep on sending me the link to the below regarding my queries:

cglondres.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/tourist_visa.xml

It seems that it is not under the VWP rule you describe? Odd.

When i spoke to the policia federal he asked where i was from and then gave me the answer and also checked with a colleague at one point...

Maybe i should check again?

So is going in with a new blank visa is a risky business?

Hi En3203,

New blank visa shouldn't be any problems, what I was saying was risky would be the two visa trick to outfox the Feds. That could land you in trouble.

The UK Consulate link you were given show under the Visa tab, a list showing UK is exempt from Tourist Visas. Here's a link to another Brazilian Consulate that actually shows the list of countries that DO NOT require Tourist Visas for Brazil, UK and Ireland are exempt. Cop was wrong, most of them are not up to speed on the rules. That's the big problem here in Brazil. If they don't actually put the passport through the computer system and get a calculation anything can happen.

http://www.cgbrasil.org/Templates/Insid … tingId=160

Cheers
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks. I guess i will call again today to get them to run my system through their system. But one query is that you said that vwp passports can no longer apply for an extra 90 days while in brazil? Correct? But the uk embassy section says you can. I suppose that was what i was trying to reconcile. If you are correct, then one could spend 3 months in then 3 months out on a recurringh basis ad infinitum? Is that correct in theory?

Yes, that's the way the system for VWP and Schengen Area countries works, just like the US for non-visa entries. Three months (no extensions) in the country, followed by three months out of the country,then the cycle repeats. Also, like the USA if you take a short hop out of Brazil during that 3 month period to some other neighboring country the clock still keeps running so your 3 months is still based on your original date of entry.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hello!
Thanks again wjwoodward for the info your sharing with us less experienced.
Is it deffinitiv that this possibility to extend My visa is gone or do a have a chanse in Rio where
I'm now to extend it at the federal police?

Regards
Henrik

Hello Henrik,

You can ask them, but I'm sure the answer will most likely be NO. At any rate all you have to loose by asking is your time.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team