Are you currently in Brazil on a tourist visa? Were you stranded here when all the nearby countries shut their borders?
This is the article for you!
This also applies if you’ve previously extended your Brazilian tourist visa.
I (as a UK citizen) have spent the last 2 and a half years bouncing around South America. The normal Brazilian tourist visa lasts for 90 days with an option to extend for an additional concurrent 90 days. I’ve extended it twice and was going for a third next month.
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What happens to the Brazilian tourist visa system during quarantine?
They suspended it.
Can tourists still enter Brazil?
No. The Brazilian government introduced a 30-day ban on most foreign nationals entering Brazil by air from 30 March. The land borders closed a few days earlier. This could well be extended, depending on the spread of the virus.
What happens if you’re still in Brazil during the quarantine?
The official UK foreign travel advice states, “If you live in the UK and are currently travelling abroad, you are strongly advised to return now”
If, like me, that’s not really an option right now, what does it mean for your tourist visa?
While it’s normally tricky to get concrete information from the authorities, this quote below comes officially from the Federal Police:
Os prazos estão suspensos, sendo assim, atá a normalização os dias excedidos não serão penalizados.
Sendo assim, seu visto está prorrogado pelo prazo de suspensão do atendimento e não por mais 90 dias.
What does that mean?
As soon as the state of emergency was declared (in Rio this was March 16th 2020), the 90-day countdown stopped. As soon as the state of emergency is lifted then the countdown begins again.
For me, this definitely removed some stress. To extend your visa you have to go to the nearest Federal Office (in Rio it’s in SDU Airport) – for a full breakdown of how to extend your tourist visa check out my guide.
Considering how casually the Cariocas (locals from Rio) are taking the quarantine, I wouldn’t feel safe at the Federal Office.
If you want to see just how the locals are handling the lockdown, check out this video from Globo News. You don’t have to understand Portuguese to watch the video of thousands of people relaxing and socialising at the various beaches.
The statistic of people socially isolating, dropping from almost 70% down to 50% in the last few days is particularly worrying.
But that’s a discussion for a later day.
For now, if you’re here, you don’t need to worry about overstaying your 90-day tourist visa during the quarantine.
I hope you found that useful. As I said, it’s official information from the Federal Police.
Stay safe, safe healthy and I’ll see you on the road again soon.
Oiii! Apparently they suspended the freezing of the visas and begin counting again from 3.November.2020, even tho related to the pandemic nothing really changed! Found some information relating to it here
https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/portaria-n-18-direx/pf-de-19-de-outubro-de-2020-283995940
Do you have some more information about it or you still in contact with the policia federal?
Big greets and thanks for the blog! Tamos junto!
Is there any update on the the suspension of the 90 days requirement? Is this still the case? I entered Brasil in late March 2020,stayed 5 Months and left through SP Int Airport without any problem. I want to return now end of October and stay until January 2021. Has the counting of the 90 days been re-introduced? Thanks a lot for letting met know since the info is very hard to get if one is not familiar with the matter…
Any update whether this applies to everyone (even if arriving after March 16) or just those here before March 16? I’ve gotten a few different answers from the Federal Police but was not allowed to renew my visa when I tried as they said it is suspended, so I “assume” the counting of days is suspended for everyone?
Yep, suspended for one and all
Was anyone able to find out if this also applies to foreigners entering the country after March 16? I’ve called few times to the Federal Police and they “sort of” said yes, they don’t count the days for anyone entering the country until the public health emergency is over. I arrived at the beginning of August and had a month of health insurance, so they only issued me a 30 day visa in my passport. I have since extended my health insurance to stay longer…however when I tried to extend it at the Federal Police, they just told me the counting of the days is suspended. I don’t want any issues if I stay past the 30 days though…do you think I will have any issues?
Hello John,
I’ve now been here since February 4th on a 90-day visa. I’m checking in regularly with a contact at the Federal Police and all I’m getting back is “No-one’s counting so don’t worry about it.”
They tell me to check the government sites regularly, which I’m doing. It’s a little tricky now as they’re migrating sites, but there’s still no update. The state of calamity was initially pencilled in to last until December 31, and I don’t see it changing unless there are big developments with a Covid vaccine (which sadly there doesn’t seem to be).
The huge New Year party has been cancelled, and I really can’t see them scrambling to reopen and kick out tourists with that in mind.
I hope that helps.
Best regards,
Adam
Thanks Adam. I called many times as well, and tried to explain I was here after the borders opened, but mostly was told the counting of days is suspended for everyone and not to worry, so hopefully I won’t have issues leaving!
I’ve been told I’ll be able to extend my visa again once the counting starts again, so I don’t imagine you’ll have any issues at all.
I’ll keep checking and update the page when things change.
Stay safe,
Adam
You too, sounds good and thanks for the info!
I’m in basically the same situation; I have been in Brazil on a 90-day visa since March. I actually arrived the day before they stopped counting days, and since they started counting days again in November I assume my 90 will be up at the end of this month. If so, I may have to leave soon… but I still don’t feel safe traveling, so I’m hoping to hear that you were able to extend your visa, because I would like to do the same.
Hello Cody!
I’ve actually got a meeting with the Federal Police tomorrow morning.
I re-entered Brazil on February 2020 so we’ll see what they say. The messaging from the Feds is confusing at best, but I’ll get more concrete answers tomorrow.
I’ll update the post with as much detail as possible when I get back.
Thanks for the info! I wonder if still applies if you arrived after March 16th?
Hey Nick,
From what I was told, they’re not counting for anyone. I’d double-check that if you can, but that was what they told me.
Hey Adam,
Just FYI, I went to SDU today and spoke to the PF and they advised that it is still counting the days and when the pandemic / state of emergency ends there will be a grace period for people to leave or potentially renew. He said this grace period has not been determined yet and will be advised once the pandemic / state of emergency is over.
Hi Nick,
Classic Brazil! Completely contradictory information… how surprising ?.
The official Federal site (link below, last updated 17/04/20) is still showing the ‘suspended count’ information. We had this confirmed by a lawyer, so I’m fairly confident we can depend on it.
http://www.pf.gov.br/imprensa/noticias/2020/03-noticias-de-marco-de-2020/policia-federal-altera-o-atendimento-do-passaporte-e-aos-estrangeiros-em-virtude-da-pandemia
Thanks Adam,
Doesn’t surprise me at all.
I imagine the state of emergency could last a while though. Will interesting to see how it all transpires.
Absolutely.
I can’t wait to see how many weird and wonderful responses I get from the authorities as this develops. The latest round of decrees hasn’t made a jot of difference in Lapa, so we’ll see how it plays out.
For everyone’s reference, I found official documentation of this policy here:
http://www.pf.gov.br/imprensa/noticias/2020/03-noticias-de-marco-de-2020/policia-federal-esclarece-sobre-alteracoes-nos-atendimentos-e-atividades-de-policia-de-imigracao
And the Brazilian Embassy in Germany’s interpretation: http://berlim.itamaraty.gov.br/de/News.xml
Here’s that notice in Google Translate:
15/04/2020 –
The Brazilian Federal Police informs that since 16.03.2020 the calculation of the permitted length of stay for Brazil visitors has been temporarily suspended during the current exceptional situation in the public health sector, provided that the Brazil visitors had on the above-mentioned Date a legal residence status.
After the state of emergency in the public health sector has ended, the calculation of the permitted length of stay is resumed.
That’s awesome. Thanks for the extra info
Thanks for this! I was literally about to go extend my tourist visa today for the first time and you just saved me a trip!
Hey dude,
Glad I could help. It’s definitely a relief knowing it’s something less to worry about.
Stay safe