Brazil to Reinstate Visa Requirements for Citizens of US, Japan, Australia, Canada

According to two sources who spoke with Reuters on Wednesday, Brazil has decided to reinstate visa requirements for citizens of the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada.

This decision reverses the previous unilateral decision made by former President Jair Bolsonaro’s government to facilitate tourism in June 2019.

The Decision to Reinstate Visa Requirements

As per the sources, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, also known as Itamaraty, is set to announce the decision to the governments of the four countries on Thursday, with the Brazilian government later making the measure public.

The reason behind the decision is said to be Brazil’s weakened ability to negotiate with these countries, a diplomatic source claims. While Brazilian citizens still need visas to visit these four countries, according to government studies, the decision to lift visa requirements for citizens of these countries had little impact on tourism numbers.

Furthermore, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic may have limited a potential increase in tourism numbers, particularly from the United States, where tourist arrivals to Brazil were still lower in 2022 than in 2018.

At the same time, the number of Japanese tourists decreased by 4.5% in 2019, with only 17,000 Japanese visitors visiting Brazil in 2022.

Implications of the Decision

The reintroduction of visa requirements is expected to have an impact on tourism between these countries and Brazil, as visitors from the four countries will need a visa to enter the country. It could also harm Brazilian tourism, which is already suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision may also have ramifications for Brazil’s diplomatic relations with these countries. The reaction of the governments of the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada to the reintroduction of visa requirements remains to be seen.

Bottomline

Brazil’s reinstatement of visa requirements for citizens of the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada will have an impact on tourism and diplomatic relations between these countries. The decision follows a unilateral decision to lift visa requirements in June 2019, which government studies found had little impact on tourism numbers. It will be interesting to see how the affected countries react to this decision.