Impact – Hi
What was the change? The new law, announced last week, introduced an e-visa processing system for certain foreigners in certain visa categories.
What does the change mean? Foreigners traveling to Brazil on a business, tourist, or artist/athlete visa can process admissions via electronic application systems and avoid the need to visit Brazilian consulates overseas.
Implementation time frame: The law will take effect immediately, but future regulations will clarify eligibility criteria and application procedures. Visas/permissions affected: Temporary visas for business, tourism, artists/athletes. Affected: Applicants in the visa category above. It should be noted that the law states that this process is only available to citizens of the country that enter into an agreement with Brazil or grant the same treatment to Brazilian applicants. Processing Time Impact: Electronic Visa applications offer faster processing. Business Impact: Fastest electronic processing benefits the entertainment industry and businesses that need to send employees to Brazil on business trips. Next Step: Details of the process will be presented in regulations made publicly available by Brazilian authorities. Bal will update the client as soon as it becomes available.
Background: The new law (#12.968), issued on May 7th with Brazilian President Dilma Rusev and the National Congress, partially amends the major Brazilian immigration law (#6815/80). The law previously required that people applying for business, tourists, or artist/athlete visas had to apply for visas through overseas diplomatic missions before visiting Brazil. This new process will only be available in countries that enter international agreements with Brazil or allow mutual treatment of Brazilian citizens.
BAL Analysis: Amendments to Brazilian Immigration Law promote the entry of businesses and tourists, as well as foreign artists and athletes, who have previously relied on approval from the Ministry of Labor and specific visa categories engraved by Brazilian consulates. However, many details remain unknown until the government announces restrictions.
This alert is provided by the BAL Global Practice Group in Brazil. For more information, please contact brazil@bal.com.
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