The visa is the easy part.
US passports need an eVisa for Brazil. It is fully online, costs $80.90, and is good for 10 years. Most people finish the application in about 30 minutes. Here is the whole thing, step by step, with the one official site to use.
Confirm you actually need one.
Since April 10, 2025, US passport holders need a visa to enter Brazil, no matter the reason for the trip. Canada and Australia are in the same boat. Every traveler needs their own visa, kids included.
- Your passport just needs to be valid on the day you enter Brazil, with one blank page for the stamp.
- Traveling on a non-US passport? Many countries still enter visa-free. Check your country at the official portal before you assume.
Gather three things.
- A color photo of your passport bio page. Lay it flat, good light, no glare, no fingers in the shot. Your phone camera is fine.
- A passport-style photo. Color, white background, face straight on, no glasses or hat. A phone photo against a white wall works, or grab the photo file from your last passport renewal.
- Proof you can fund the trip. A bank statement from the last 30 days is the standard move. Recent pay stubs also work. Guides commonly cite about $2,000 as the comfortable bar.
- Passport bio page color scan, no glare, no fingers
- Passport-style photo white background, no glasses
- Bank statement last 30 days, or recent pay stubs
That is the entire document list for most travelers. No flight booking required to apply, though having your rough dates helps.
Apply at the official portal. Only there.
Watch out: search results are full of lookalike sites that file the same form and charge you $150 to $250 for it. If the site is not brazil.vfsevisa.com, you are paying a middleman. The real fee is $80.90, full stop.
The form takes 20 to 40 minutes. Two things people get wrong:
- Type your name exactly as it appears on your passport, middle names and all.
- Triple-check the passport number. The visa is linked to that exact passport, so a typo means starting over.
Pay the $80.90.
Credit or debit card, at the end of the application. That is $80 of consular fee plus a $0.90 service charge. You will get a confirmation email with your application number. Save it.
Give it about 5 business days.
Official processing runs about five business days. Sometimes it is faster, sometimes they ask for a cleaner photo or a better scan, which adds a round trip. Our rule: apply the same week you book flights, and never inside two weeks of departure.
When it is approved, you download the eVisa as a PDF from the portal. It is tied to your passport electronically.
Land in Rio. We take it from there.
- Print one copy of the eVisa and keep a digital copy on your phone. Airlines often ask at check-in.
- Each visit can run up to 90 days, with a max of 180 days inside any 12-month window.
- The visa is good for 10 years, so trip two, three, and four are already covered.
And from the moment you clear immigration, the BBE side begins: your Experience Concierge, the crew on the ground, and B.E Guardian free on your phone.
Thirty minutes of admin. A trip you brag about.
On your free 30-minute planning call we sanity-check your visa timeline against your dates, then build the actual trip: the rooms, the beach, the nights, the crew.
Rules change. This page was verified against the official portal and the US State Department in June 2026, and we keep it current. Always confirm at brazil.vfsevisa.com (opens in a new tab) before you fly. BBE is not a visa service or a law firm, just the people who have walked hundreds of travelers through this.