Brazil is joining the growing list of countries imposing a compulsory ‘e-visa’ on travellers, with Australians facing a $120 fee per person for arrivals from April 10, 2024.

The e-visa was previously due to be required for all arrivals from January 10, but the start has been pushed back by three months “to complete the process of implementing the requirement system E-Visa and prevent the change from interfering with the flow of tourists from these countries to Brazil during the high season."

And this isn’t something to leave until the last moment: although the processing time for applications is up to five working days, the Brazilian government “strongly recommends” you apply for your e-visa two months before your travel to Brazil.

Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism says the new e-visas will have a five-year validity for Australian passport holders, and can only be obtained through the new eVisa platform for Brazil, a joint venture between the Brazilian government and ‘visa outsourcing and technology services’ specialist VFS).

Applicants for the Brazil e-visa will require:

  • Passport (valid to the end of your Brazil trip, with two empty visa pages)
  • Visa application form (completed online)
  • Passport-style photo (2” x 2”, white background)
  • fee payment (US$ 80.90)
  • Confirmation of round-trip reservation (flight, ship, or bus reservation showing entrance by air, sea or land into Brazil and exit from Brazil)
  • Printed bank statement showing transactions for the last 30 days and at least US$2,000 for travel purposes (for families, a signed sponsorship letter and bank statement from the main applicant is required)

Business travellers must also provide an extensive list of supporting documentation detailing the nature of travel and local contacts, as well as job title and description, salary and more.

Yes, it’s all quite onerous. And if additional information is requested to support your e-visa application, it must be submitted within ten days or “your eVisa will be denied and you will have to start a new application.”

Brazil introduced visa-free travel on Australian passports – alongside the USA, Canada and Japan - in June 2019, before which a visa cost just $US44 ($A65) per person.

Nobody will welcome this twice-the-price visa, and as if the generally higher cost of airfares today don’t already sting enough, Australian passports will jump to almost $400 from mid-2024.