ACTUAL PROCESSING TIME
Tourist VISA - up to 10 business days
Business Visa and other Temporary Visas - up to 10 business days
Visa applications made by Visa Service Agencies - up to 12 business days
Diplomatic/Official/Courtesy Visas – 3 business days
Visa application submitted by mail - up to 15 business days
With the new Integrated Consular System, recently installed at the Consulate-General in Washington, DC, visas to citizens wishing to travel to Brazil are now digitally issued. It is highly recommended that the application forms to visas be now filled, at the internet, before arriving at the Consulate. The Visa Aplication Form, will direct the applicant to the SCEDV (Sistema de Emissão e Controle de Documentos de Viagem). The Visa Request will provide instructions on the filling of the Form and open the actual Form to be filled. At the end of the procedure, the filled form should be “Sent” and printed with the corresponding processing number. It must be brought to the Consulate with a photo and travel itinerary attached and the money order in the amount of the due fee.
Although the form may be filled at the Consulate's premises, it is advised to do it beforehand - with no hurry and no lines – at home or in any place with an internet web connection.
As the new ICP-Brasil channel is not yet automatically recognized by the browsers, the access to the site “SCEDV” (Sistema de Emissão e Controle de Documentos de Viagem) may be preceded by a warning on the safety and reliability of the site. One should proceed and enter the site with confidence on its safety and reliability.
A - Practical Information:
1) Jurisdiction: District of Columbia, States of Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North American bases, excepting Guam.
See other Brazilian Consular Offices in the USA and their Jurisdictions
2) Address and phone numbers:
Consulate General of Brazil
1030 15th Street, N.W.
Suite 280W
Washington, D.C. 20005
If you are coming to the Consulate, please note that the main entrance to the public is on L Street, between 15th and 16th Streets.
Phone: (202) 461-3000
Fax: (202) 461-3001
e-mail (general):
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3) WORKING HOURS:
Opening Hours:
_ 9am to 2pm from Monday through Friday, except holidays.
4) PAYMENT: The only method of payment for visas at this Consulate, requested in person, through Visa Services or by mail, is a U.S. Postal Money Order, in the exact amount, payable to the "Consulate General of Brazil."
5) VISA APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED BY VISA SERVICE AGENCIES:
The Consulate General of Brazil in Washington only processes visa applications submitted by visa service agencies for applicants who reside inside our consular jurisdiction (
Washington-DC,
Maryland,
Ohio,
Kentucky,
Virginia and
West Virginia). The applicant must attach to his/her paperwork a copy of proof of residence (any utility bill, or bank account statement, or driver’s license, applicant’s name printed on it). There are no exceptions to this rule.
6) MAIL APPLICATIONS:
Applications may be submitted by mail only by residents of the
District of Columbia,
Kentucky,
Ohio,
Maryland,
Virginia, and
West Virginia.
MAIL CARRIERS - The Consulate only accepts visa applications by mail if the applicants send them by Express Mail envelopes carried by the
U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The Consulate will return, without processing the visas, all envelopes (inclusive Express Mail envelopes) transported by other carriers.
RETURN ENVELOPES - Applications sent by mail must include a prepaid, self-addressed return envelope (
U.S. Postal Service Express Mail envelope only), for the return of the applicants’ passport and visa. Please do not use regular or Priority Mail envelopes.
Please note that the Consulate does not accept Federal Express envelopes (FEDEX).
The Consulate will not held responsible for delays, lost, stolen or missing documents or money sent or returned by mail.
7) RNE - Registro Nacional de Estrangeiros : The issue or renewal of the RNE card (Registro Nacional de Estrangeiros, the Brazilian ID issued to non-Brazilian citizens who hold a Brazilian Permanent Visa) is not a service provided by the Consulate General of Brazil in Washington. It can only be obtained or renewed at the Federal Police in Brazil ( http://www.dpf.gov.br ).
Foreign Citizens who have a Permanent Visa application’s register number should not leave Brazil until they receive their Permanent Visa and the RNE card. Those who leave Brazil before receiving the RNE and hold only the register number must apply for a Tourist Visa before traveling back to Brazil, because the register number is not valid for entrance in Brazil.
Although the US Department of Homeland Security accepts the RNE as a valid identity document, some airline companies do not accept it nor the register number as a valid travel document.
If you have applied for a Permanent Visa and for a Brazilian RNE and are traveling out of Brazil only with the register number, or if you hold an expired Brazilian RNE or an expired register number, or if you hold a Brazilian RNE but do not have a Brazilian Permanent Visa stamped on your passport, you must to apply for a Tourist Visa .
B - TYPES OF VISAS
Please note there are ten types of visas. For further information, enter the link in each one.
b1) Tourist Visa ( VITUR ):
- Tourism trip;
- visit to relatives and/or friends;
- scientists, professors or researchers attending cultural, technological or scientific conferences, seminars.
- participation in artistic or amateur sport competitions, whenever no monetary prize or paid admission is involved.
Tourist visa holders are not allowed to engage in any paid activity in Brazil.
b2) Temporary Visa I ( VITEM-I ):
- Scientists, professors, researchers, participants in cultural, technological or scientific missions. (services provided must not be paid for by a corporation or other legal entity based in Brazil, except for wages for services rendered, with the submission of a receipt);
- Scientists, technicians, researchers or volunteers under the umbrella of an international cooperation program;
- Interns and other unpaid trainees, bearers of scholarships receiving professional practice in Brazil;
- Exchange students;
- Technicians receiving training in the operation and maintenance of machinery or equipment produced in Brazil;
- Amateur athletes, under 21 year old, participating in training programs in Brazil;
- Provision of services to a religious or social assistance entity, without employment relationship with a corporation or other legal entity based in Brazil.
Temporary Visa I holders are not allowed to engage in any paid activity in Brazil.
b3) Temporary Visa II ( VITEM-II ):
- Travelers with business purposes, except when the trip involves the provision of services of any nature in Brazil (in which case a Vitem V is mandatory). Business visas are issued to business travelers who possess signed import/export contracts or who are traveling to visit companies, make commercial contacts or evaluate investment opportunities;
- Media coverage or filming;
- Flight/ship crew members not holding an international crew card. and
- Adoption of a Brazilian child.
b4) Temporary Visa III ( VITEM-III ):
- Paid participation in athletic or performing arts events.
b5) Temporary Visa IV ( VITEM-IV ):
- Pursuing graduate or post-graduate academic studies in Brazil.
b6) Temporary Visa V ( VITEM-V ):
- Provision of services to the Brazilian Government, arising from an international agreement, contract or undertaking to which Brazil is a party;
- Employment contract with a corporation or other legal entity based in Brazil;
- Technical assistance services arising from a contract, cooperation agreement, services agreement, or similar instrument signed with a foreign corporation or other legal entity;
- Professional training, without an employment relationship, immediately after the completion of vocational training or university education;
- Medical residency in an educational institution accredited by the Ministry of Education and Recreation;
- Employees of foreign companies admitted to work in Brazil as trainees or interns at a subsidiary or Brazilian branch of the foreign company, provided that they are paid exclusively outside of Brazil by that foreign company;
- Foreign instructors or professors who intend to travel to Brazil for a period of training in foreign language instruction;
- Crew members of foreign vessels traveling to Brazil to operate in waters under Brazilian jurisdiction, as required under a charter, services or risk contract entered into with a Brazilian company;
- Crew members of foreign fishing vessels leased by Brazilian companies;
- Crew members or other professionals who perform paid activities aboard cruise vessels along the Brazilian coast, in the Amazon River basin, or in other inland waters.
b7) Temporary Visa VI ( VITEM-VI ):
b8) Temporary Visa VII ( VITEM-VII ):
- Travel for religious/missionary purposes.
b9) Permanent Visas:
- Family reunion;
- Transfer of residence following retirement;
- Personal investment in Brazil - Permanent Visa applications for Personal Investment in Brazil must be submitted
directly at the Brazilian Ministry of Labour (www.mte.gov.br) ;
- Intra-company transferees to work as managers, directors, or executives;
- Job offer at a Brazilian research, scientific, or academic organization based on field of expertise;
- Manager or director of a religious or social assistance organization.
b10) Diplomatic and Official Visas:
- Diplomatic or Official mission.
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