🇧🇷Brazil

How your entry route is decided

Brazil split its visitors into two groups in April 2025, and the split is now enforced at the boarding gate.

1. Visa-free, 90 days in any 180. EU and Schengen passports, including the United Kingdom, get an entry stamp on arrival with no pre-registration. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and most of Latin America are in the same group.
2. e-Visa required before departure: United States, Canada and Australia. The requirement took effect on 10 April 2025, and from early 2026 the e-Visa is wired into airline departure control - no valid e-Visa code, no boarding pass.
3. Visa-free, 30 days on a shorter allowance: Singapore, and since 11 May 2026 also China, under a reciprocal exemption. For Chinese passports that is 30 days a year, not per entry, and not extendable - two trips in a calendar year share the allowance. The arrangement is agreed only until 31 December 2026, so check it has been renewed before booking beyond that.
4. Consular visa for everyone else, from a Brazilian mission before travel. Indian nationals can use an electronic visa for business travel only; tourism still needs a consular application.

The e-Visa, in detail

• Apply only at brazil.vfsevisa.com. VFS Global runs the sole authorised portal. Everything else charging you for this is a reseller or a scam.
• Fee USD 80.90, paid online by card during the application.
• Processing takes 2 to 5 business days. Do not leave it to the airport.
• Validity: United States passports get 10 years, multiple entry; Canada and Australia get 5 years. Maximum 90 days per entry in all cases.
• It also covers airport transit for these nationalities, which catches out people merely changing planes in Sao Paulo.

Formalities that apply to everyone

• Passport: valid at least 6 months beyond arrival, with at least two blank pages.
• Proof of onward travel is enforced. The Policia Federal expects a confirmed booking leaving Brazil inside your permitted stay, and airlines check it at check-in.
• Yellow fever: no certificate is required to enter Brazil itself, but you will need one to travel onward to some neighbouring countries, and vaccination is recommended for the Amazon, the Pantanal and Iguacu.
• Minors: Brazil applies strict rules to children travelling without both parents, including notarised authorisation. If this is your situation, check the requirements before booking - people are turned back at the border over it.

The 90 days is per 180-day window, and the count is enforced. Overstaying brings a daily fine, payable before you can leave.

• Electronic cigarettes are prohibited. The health regulator's ban on import, sale and advertising was reaffirmed in 2024, and devices are seized at the airport.
• The traveller's allowance covers goods up to a set value arriving by air, with a lower figure by land or sea, plus a separate allowance for the airport duty-free shop on arrival.
• Cash of BRL 10,000 or the equivalent must be declared, in any currency, on entry and on exit.
• The electronic declaration is filed online before you land, and the receipt is what you show if you are stopped.
• Fresh food, plants and animal products are controlled, and the Amazon states add their own checks on wildlife products - anything made from feathers, skin or shell is a problem.

Do not drink the tap water. It is treated in the big cities but not to a standard visitors should rely on. Bottled, boiled or filtered only. Ice in established restaurants and hotels is made from purified water and is fine.

The real risk is mosquitoes, not water

• Dengue is endemic across the whole country and peaks in the rainy summer months, December to April. Repellent with DEET or icaridin is the single most useful health item you can pack.
• Chikungunya, Zika and Oropouche circulate in the tropical regions.
• Malaria is low risk in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro but moderate to high in the Amazon basin.

Vaccinations

• Yellow fever is recommended for the Amazon basin, Iguacu, the Pantanal and inland rural areas. No certificate is needed to enter Brazil, but you may need one to move on to a neighbouring country.
• Routine: hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus, and rabies for longer rural trips.

Hospitals

• Public emergency care through SUS is free to foreigners, including at UPA emergency units. It is also severely overcrowded, with long waits and little English.
• Private hospitals are world class - Hospital Albert Einstein and Hospital Sirio-Libanes in Sao Paulo, Copa Star in Rio de Janeiro - and they require proof of insurance or a financial guarantee before admission.
• Insurance is not legally required to enter, but cover of at least BRL 250,000 with evacuation is strongly advised.

Bringing your own medication

Under ANVISA resolution RDC 28/2011 you may bring personal medicines without a permit, in a quantity matching the length of your stay.

• Keep everything in original packaging with a prescription translated into English or Portuguese, showing the condition, dose and your name.
• Loose or unlabelled pills are prohibited and are what triggers a problem at the border.
• Controlled medicines - narcotics, psychotropics and amphetamine-based ADHD treatments - are inspected at the border and need the full paperwork.

Book Carnival and New Year months ahead or skip those dates. Rates in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador multiply during Carnival in February or March and over Reveillon, and minimum-stay rules appear.

• A physical passport is required at check-in. Federal law obliges every provider to complete the Ficha Nacional de Registro de Hospedes (FNRH).
• A taxa de turismo of BRL 5 to BRL 15 per room per night may appear on the bill. It is discretionary at many hotels and can be asked about at checkout.
• Platforms: Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia and Hostelworld.

Where to stay for a first visit

• Rio de Janeiro: Ipanema and Leblon are the safest beachfront choices, residential, well policed and on the metro. Copacabana between postos 4 and 6 has the most hotel choice and needs ordinary night-time care. Botafogo is the value option, good food and views of Pao de Acucar.
• Sao Paulo: Jardins for upmarket, walkable streets beside Avenida Paulista; Itaim Bibi and Vila Olimpia for modern business hotels; Pinheiros and Vila Madalena for galleries, bars and Metro line 4.
• Brasilia: the hotel sectors SHS and SHN along the Eixo Monumental - the city is designed around them and staying elsewhere means driving everywhere.

Where you sleep matters more in Brazil than in most places. The difference between neighbourhoods a kilometre apart is real, and a cheaper room in the wrong district is not a saving.

Whatever you do, do not buy the SIM in the arrivals hall.

• Airport kiosks at GRU, GIG and BSB charge BRL 100 to BRL 150 for a tourist starter kit. The same connection bought in a city store costs BRL 10 to BRL 15 for the chip plus BRL 20 to BRL 50 a month for 10 GB to 30 GB.
• Buy in a shopping centre instead: Shopping Leblon or Shopping Rio Sul in Rio de Janeiro, Shopping Ibirapuera or Conjunto Nacional in Sao Paulo. Official carrier stores there sell at normal domestic prices.

The networks

• Vivo has the largest national footprint and the best reception in small towns, coastal areas and national parks. This is the one to buy if you are leaving the big cities.
• Claro has the fastest urban speeds and wide 5G across the major centres.
• TIM is strong in cities and the cheapest, weaker in rural areas.

Registration

Every SIM must be registered to an identity. Brazilians use a CPF tax number; foreigners register with a passport at an official carrier branch, where staff scan the photo page. This means a corner shop cannot activate a line for you - it has to be a proper store.

eSIM

• Local eSIMs from Claro, Vivo and TIM exist, but converting a prepaid tourist line to eSIM still means going to a store in person with the passport.
• An international eSIM needs no CPF and no registration and switches on the moment you land. Saily sells data-only Brazil plans from USD 3.99 for 1 GB over 7 days, USD 13.99 for 5 GB over 30 days and USD 24.99 for 10 GB over 30 days. You install it by QR code before you fly, which is the whole point of paying more per gigabyte than a local chip costs.

Install WhatsApp before you arrive. In Brazil it is not a messaging app, it is the phone system - hotels, drivers, restaurants and tour operators all expect to reach you on it.

Sockets in Brazil are Type N and C at 60 Hz, and the voltage is either 127 V or 220 V depending on where in the country you are.

• The voltage genuinely changes between regions and sometimes between cities. Sao Paulo and Rio run mostly at 127 V, much of the northeast and Brasilia at 220 V. Hotel sockets are usually labelled; if they are not, ask.
• Type N is Brazil's own standard - three round pins almost in a line, the earth offset by only 3 mm. It was made compulsory in 2010, so old buildings still hold every kind of socket that came before it.
• A Europlug fits a Type N socket. That covers most chargers arriving from Europe.
• American and British plugs need an adapter, and American appliances also need to survive whichever voltage the room has.
• South Africa uses the same Type N, and nowhere else does in daily life.

• Power is the one to check. Sockets are Type N (three round pins in a triangle) and accept Type C Europlugs. Voltage varies by city: Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are mostly 127V, Brasilia and the northeast are 220V, both at 60 Hz. Dual-voltage devices just need an adapter; a single-voltage 110V appliance plugged into 220V is destroyed instantly.
• Time: UTC-3 in Sao Paulo, Rio and Brasilia. Brazil does not observe daylight saving, so the gap to Europe and North America shifts twice a year.
• Tap water: not for drinking.
• Language: Portuguese, and English proficiency is limited outside luxury hotels, airports and tourist businesses. Por favor, obrigado (obrigada if you are a woman) and com licenca go a long way. Spanish is not Portuguese and trying it is not appreciated as much as people expect.

Hours

• Shops Monday to Friday 09:00 to 19:00, Saturday 09:00 to 13:00.
• Shopping centres Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 22:00, Sunday 14:00 to 20:00.
• Banks Monday to Friday 10:00 to 16:00 only, closed weekends.
• Supermarkets daily 07:00 to 22:00.

Public holidays that close commerce: 1 January, Carnival (moveable, February or March), 21 April, 1 May, 7 September, 12 October, 2 November, 15 November, 20 November and 25 December.

Rules visitors break

• Toilet paper goes in the bin beside the toilet, not down it. Brazilian drainage pipes are narrow and flushing paper blocks them. Every bathroom has a lixeira for this.
• Beachwear belongs on the beach. Bikinis, trunks and bare chests are fine on the sand and at the pool, and unacceptable in shops, on public transport and in banks. Put a shirt on to cross the road.
• The OK hand sign - thumb and finger in a circle - is an obscene gesture in Brazil. Use a thumbs up, which is the universal local signal for yes, thanks, agreed and go ahead.

Money and paying for things

Brazil uses the Brazilian real (BRL, R$).

• Card acceptance is extraordinary. Contactless Visa and Mastercard work at beach kiosks, street food stalls, taxis and transit turnstiles. You need very little cash.
• Pix is how Brazil actually pays - the central bank's instant transfer system now carries most transactions - but it needs a Brazilian bank account and a CPF, so as a visitor you will be on cards.
• Use bank ATMs inside branch lobbies: Banco do Brasil, Itau, Bradesco and Santander. Being indoors matters here for safety, not just fees.
• Avoid standalone Banco24Horas kiosks at petrol stations and on street corners: BRL 20 to BRL 35 per withdrawal on a foreign card.
• Night limits are a security feature, not a fault. Between 22:00 and 06:00 Brazilian ATMs cap withdrawals at BRL 300 to BRL 500 specifically to reduce express kidnapping. Daytime limits are BRL 500 to BRL 1,500 per transaction. Withdraw what you need in daylight.
• Decline dynamic currency conversion and choose BRL; accepting the terminal's rate costs 6% to 12%.
• Airport cambio booths mark up 15% to 20%. Use a bank ATM or an exchange house in a commercial district instead.

Tipping

Restaurants add a 10% to 13% service charge to the bill automatically. Paying it is customary but legally optional. Taxi drivers do not expect a tip beyond rounding up. Hotel porters get BRL 5 to BRL 10 a bag.

What things cost

Use ride-hailing more than you would at home. In Brazilian cities door-to-door transport is both cheap and the standard safety recommendation after dark, and both apps take foreign cards.

• Uber operates in every major city and accepts foreign credit cards, Apple Pay and cash.
• 99 is the local competitor and often cheaper. 99Pop is private cars, 99Taxi puts you in a licensed metered taxi that may use bus lanes, and 99Moto is a motorbike pillion - fast, cheap and not for your first day.
• Metro and bus fares run BRL 4.40 to BRL 5.40. In Rio de Janeiro you can tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard straight on the turnstile; Jae and Giro MetroRio are the ticketing apps. In Sao Paulo the TOP app sells QR-code single rides for the Metro and CPTM.
• Moovit and Google Maps both handle transit routing well in Sao Paulo, Rio and Brasilia.

Between cities

There is almost no intercity passenger rail in Brazil. Long distance means a coach or a flight.

• Coaches leave from Terminal Rodoviario do Tiete in Sao Paulo and Rodoviaria Novo Rio in Rio. Ask for leito or semi-leito for the reclining overnight services.
• Operators: Viacao Cometa, Viacao 1001, Viacao Catarinense, Gontijo, Aguia Branca.
• Book through Busbud, ClickBus or QueroPassagem - all three take foreign cards and issue mobile tickets.
• Avoid driving highways at night between cities: poor lighting, road surface hazards and cargo theft.

Keep your phone out of sight on the street. Snatching from the hand by someone on a motorbike or bicycle is the single most common crime against visitors. Navigate before you set off, not while walking.

• WhatsApp - https://www.whatsapp.com/ - The default way Brazil communicates. Hotels, drivers, restaurants and guides all use it instead of phone calls or email. Set it up before you arrive.
• Uber - https://www.uber.com/br/ - Works everywhere, takes foreign cards.
• 99 - https://99app.com/ - The local rival, often cheaper, with taxi and motorbike tiers.
• iFood - https://www.ifood.com.br/ - Dominant food and grocery delivery. Some merchants ask for a CPF, which you will not have; most do not.
• TOP - https://www.viajemais.com/ - Digital tickets for the Sao Paulo Metro and CPTM.
• Jae - https://jae.com.br/ - Rio de Janeiro transit ticketing.
• Moovit - https://moovitapp.com/ - Bus and metro routing in the big cities.
• ClickBus - https://www.clickbus.com.br/ - Intercity coach tickets with foreign cards.
• Google Translate - Download the Portuguese pack for offline use; English proficiency drops sharply outside hotels and airports.

Zero alcohol under the Lei Seca, and frequent toll plazas on the concession highways.

• The dry law is absolute. Any measurable alcohol is an offence, roadside checkpoints are common in the cities at weekends, and refusing the test carries the same penalty as failing it.
• Toll plazas are frequent on the highways out of Sao Paulo and Rio; cards and cash are accepted and Sem Parar tags are common in hire cars.
• Avoid intercity driving at night, which is the standard local advice: unlit trucks, potholes and roadside robbery on some routes.
• Motorcycles filter between lanes constantly in every large city - check mirrors before any lane change.
• Fuel comes in two kinds. Ethanol is cheaper per litre than petrol but gives fewer kilometres; a flex-fuel hire car takes either.

If you are robbed, hand it over. Armed robbery is the main risk to visitors in Brazilian cities and resistance is what turns a theft into an injury. Carry a cheap phone and a small amount of cash if that helps you comply calmly.

What actually happens

• Phone snatching from your hand on the pavement, by someone on a motorbike or bicycle. Navigate before you walk, not while walking.
• Arrastao on the Rio beaches: a group runs through Copacabana or Ipanema grabbing bags, phones and jewellery. Take almost nothing to the beach.
• Express kidnapping (sequestro relampago): held for a few hours and driven between ATMs, or forced to make Pix transfers on your own phone. This is why night ATM limits exist.
• Drink spiking (boa noite, Cinderela) in nightlife districts - Lapa in Rio, Rua Augusta in Sao Paulo. Watch your drink being poured.

Where not to go

• Favelas - all of them, including on an organised tour. Rocinha, Vidigal, Complexo do Alemao and the rest are controlled by armed groups and wandering in accidentally is genuinely dangerous. Navigation apps will sometimes route you through one; do not follow that.
• Sao Paulo: Cracolandia around Estacao da Luz, and the historic centre - Praca da Se, Praca da Republica - after business hours.
• Rio de Janeiro: back streets of Lapa and Santa Teresa after dark, and the Corcovado walking trail, where muggings are common. Take the train or a van to Christ the Redeemer.
• Western Amazonas: the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to river corridors including the upper Amazon, the Itaquai, the Japura and the Rio Negro above Barcelos, because of drug trafficking and river piracy.

Everything else

• Traffic: motorbikes filter aggressively between lanes and pedestrians do not have right of way at crossings unless a signal has stopped the traffic. Do not step out expecting cars to yield.
• Advisories: the US State Department has Brazil at Level 2, the UK FCDO advises high vigilance with regional do-not-travel zones.
• Solo and female travellers: street comments are common; the standard advice is not to walk alone at night and to use Uber or 99 door to door.
• LGBTQ+: same-sex marriage has been legal since 2013 and discrimination is a federal crime. Big-city acceptance is high; outer suburbs and rural areas are more conservative.
• Drugs: the Supreme Court decriminalised possession of small amounts of cannabis in 2024 as an administrative matter, but trafficking carries 5 to 15 years and the line between the two is drawn by police at the scene.

Emergency numbers

• 190 - Policia Militar, the patrol police, for anything immediate
• 192 - SAMU ambulance
• 193 - Corpo de Bombeiros, fire and rescue
• 197 - Policia Civil, crime investigation and reports
• 194 - Policia Federal, immigration and border matters

Dispatchers on 190 speak Portuguese. If you need English and it is not life-threatening, go to a tourist police unit instead.

Tourist police

• Rio de Janeiro - DEAT: Av. Afranio de Melo Franco 159, Leblon. +55 21 2332-2924. Open 24 hours with bilingual officers.
• Sao Paulo - DEATUR: desks inside arrivals at GRU Terminals 2 and 3 and at Congonhas, plus a central station at Rua Cantareira 306, Centro.

If your passport is lost or stolen

1. Get a Boletim de Ocorrencia (B.O.) from DEAT, DEATUR or a Policia Civil station. Nothing proceeds without it.
2. Contact your consulate for an emergency travel document.
3. Go to the Policia Federal desk at the airport before departure with the new document and the police report, so your entry record can be reconciled. Skipping this step causes problems at the gate.

Missions

Embassies are in Brasilia, with consulates-general in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

• United States - Brasilia +55 61 3312-7000; Rio de Janeiro, Av. Presidente Wilson 147, +55 21 3823-2000; Sao Paulo, Rua Henri Dunant 500, +55 11 3250-5000
• United Kingdom - Brasilia +55 61 3329-2300; Rio de Janeiro, Praia do Flamengo 200, +55 21 2555-9600; Sao Paulo, Rua Ferreira de Araujo 741, +55 11 3094-2700