Brazil is looking to boost its tourism industry and as part of that effort, it announced that it will waive visa requirements for visitors from the United States starting from June 17, 2019. The announcement came as Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is on a visit in Washington this week. This has been rumored since January of this year, but it is now official as it’s been published in the government’s official gazette.
The visa requirements will also be lifted for visitors from Canada, Australia and Japan. The U.S. government is not planning to reciprocate with a visa exemption for Brazilians, according to officials with knowledge of the matter, Reuters reports.
Brazil has had a somewhat difficult and expensive visa system for a while. Then last year they started issuing electronic visas and made it more affordable, just $40. This new change makes it even easier, getting rid of a visa requirement altogether.
