What changed with Brazil's visa rules?
If Brazil is on your travel list, there is an important change to know about. As of April 2025, U.S. citizens once again need a visa to enter Brazil. For a stretch of recent years, Americans could visit Brazil without one; that arrangement has ended, and a visa is now required for entry.
This kind of change catches travelers off guard precisely because it reverses something. A friend who visited Brazil a couple of years ago may tell you, in complete good faith, that no visa is needed — and they would have been right then. They are not right now. When a country reinstates a visa requirement, the most dangerous source of information is a recent but outdated memory.
The encouraging part is that Brazil did not bring back an onerous, mail-your-passport-to-a-consulate process. The new requirement is met through an electronic visa — an eVisa — applied for entirely online. So the headline is: yes, you now need a visa for Brazil; and no, getting it does not mean a consulate visit.
How the Brazil eVisa works
The Brazil eVisa is obtained online, through Brazil's official electronic visa channel. The process follows the familiar eVisa pattern: you complete an online application, provide the required photo and passport information, pay the fee, and wait for the eVisa to be processed and issued to you electronically.
A few practical points matter. First, it takes processing time — this is something to handle in advance of your trip, with a comfortable cushion, not in the final days before departure. Second, the eVisa carries a validity period and entry conditions; confirm the current terms when you apply and make sure they cover your actual travel dates. Third, your passport needs to be in good order — valid well beyond your trip, consistent with the six-month habit, with blank pages.
And, as with every eVisa: use the official government channel. When a country introduces or reinstates an eVisa, lookalike third-party sites appear quickly in search results. The application should be made through Brazil's official eVisa system. When the eVisa is issued, keep a copy with your travel documents, and be sure the passport you carry is the one named on the application.
What to do before you book Brazil
If Brazil is in your plans for this year or next, here is the sensible order of operations.
First, simply absorb the change: a visa is now required, full stop. Build that into how you think about a Brazil trip, and gently correct anyone in your travel party who is working from a pre-2025 memory.
Second, check your passport before anything else. The eVisa application depends on your passport details, so a passport that needs renewing should be renewed first — applying for the eVisa and then renewing the passport creates a mismatch.
Third, build the eVisa into your timeline as a real step with real lead time. Apply well ahead of your trip, through the official channel, with a cushion for any correction.
Fourth, confirm the current details close to your trip. Because this requirement is newly reinstated, the specifics of the process can be refined, and the official source on the day you apply is what to trust.
Brazil is absolutely worth the trip — Rio, the beaches, the Amazon, the culture. The visa is simply a step that has come back, and a manageable one. If you would like help making sure the Brazil eVisa is done correctly, or your passport needs attention first, APVI has handled travel visas since 2003 and is registered with more than 90 foreign embassies. Call us at (800) 766-0452 and we will help you get to Brazil the right way.