Brazil Travel & Tourism News
RIO DE JANEIRO — Tourist travel visa requirements for Brazilian and U.S. citizens visiting each other’s countries may soon disappear. The U.S. ambassador in Brazil, Thomas Shannon, said in an interview with G1, “soon” Brazilians would no longer need a visa to enter the United States.
US/Brazil Visa Requirements
When that happens, under Brazil’s reciprocal travel policy, U.S. citizens would be able to enter Brazil visa free. Shannon spoke to G1 Thursday about the evolving relationship between Brazil and the United States.
“We’re working on it [doing away with visas for Brazilians]. This is obviously a goal for both the governments of Brazil and the United States. But it is a process, a series of agreements that we have to negotiate to get to this point,” said the ambassador.
Waiving the US/Brazil Visa Requirements is not simple. According to U.S. law, 97 percent of visa applications from a given country have to gain approval before the visa requirement could be waived. Last year, the Brazilian rate reached 96 percent.
Before US/Brazil Visa Requirements can be changed, the two governments have to negotiate a series of agreements that have to do with identity documents, integrity of these documents and the ability to exchange information about people who are traveling between the two countries.
“The relations between Brazil and the United States are excellent, but in the dynamic world that we work every day to strengthen relations and find new areas of coöperation and collaboration. I think that the great work of President Dilma Rousseff and President Obama is looking for these new areas of coöperation and collaboration,” the ambassador said.
