In order to ensure a timely processing of all visa applications, the Consulate General of Brazil in San Francisco will receive 42 (forty two) visa applications per day from applicants who come in person to the Consulate, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon.
Additionally, the Consulate will receive an identical number of visa applications per day from visa and travel agencies.
Visa applicants must set up an appointment to deliver the visa applications previously filled out online. Each applicant must have an individual appointment.
On the webpage for the type of visa you intend to apply for, please read the instructions until the last paragraph in order to be directed to the appointment calendar. Appointments are scheduled online ONLY.
Please note that visa processing fees changed recently (as of June 7, 2010).
GENERAL VISA INSTRUCTIONS
Click on the last item for specific instructions on each of the several types of visas.
1. U.S. citizens traveling to Brazil are required to obtain a visa prior to entering Brazil. This requirement is in reciprocity to the U.S. government demand that all Brazilian citizens hold a visa in order to enter the United States.
2. Citizens of countries that do not demand visas from Brazilian nationals usually do not need visas to enter Brazil (most European and South American countries fall in this category). If you intend to enter Brazil with a non-U.S. passport, check here to verify if you need a tourist or business visa.
3. The type of visa and its terms of validity are decided by the Consulate, at its own and sole discretion. As a basic rule, both the type and the duration of a visa are results of an analysis made by the Consulate of the documentation presented by the applicant in support of his/her declared activities in Brazil.
4. All visa applications must be submitted in person, by the applicant, or by a duly authorized third party (for example: a family member, friend, co-worker, travel agency, visa service). Please note that this Consulate does NOT accept visa applications sent by mail. Specific instructions apply to each type of visa.
5. Notwithstanding the previous instruction, the applicant’s passport may be returned by mail if the applicant or his/her representative leaves a self-addressed pre-paid envelope from the U.S. Postal Service (Express Mail only) at the moment the application is delivered at the Consulate (we can return a maximum of four passports in one single envelope).
The Consulate does not receive and it will not send envelopes transported by FedEx, UPS, DHL and other private carriers. The nearest post office (Sutter Street Postal Store) is located three and a half blocks away from the Consulate, at 150 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94104. We are not responsible for documents lost in the mail.
6. Applicants who cannot come to the Consulate may wish to pay a private visa service/visa agency to help them process their visa applications. The Consulate has no commercial ties with any visa service/visa agency/travel agency and the Consulate’s employees are not allowed to recommend any of these companies in particular.
7. The visa section is open to receive applications between 9:00 AM and 12:00 noon, from Monday through Friday by appointments only. All U.S. national holidays are observed, as well Brazil’s Independence Day, on September 7.
8. After all documentation is received by the Consulate, visa applications take at least 5 (five) working days to be processed.
9. All fees must be paid with U.S. Postal Service money orders made out to Consulate General of Brazil (if you are applying for a family, one single money order for the total amount is fine). Checks and credit cards are not accepted. The Consulate has no provision for charging expedite services and therefore it does not charge rush fees. Please note that visa fees were updated on June 2010.
10. It is in the best interest of any foreign national to enter Brazil with a visa that allows for the legal performance of his/her intended activity in the country.
11. A visa shall be denied to any foreign national that, when submitting her/his application, behaves in an aggressive, insulting or disrespectful way towards the Consular Authority.
