Brazilian visa

[BosoxI]

DW and I are taking the Pacific Princess Amazon cruise in December. I know a visa for Brazil is required, but can someone tell me what i can expect in terms of the time involved in getting it? My wife works for a major international airline and cannot surrender her passport for any great length of time. I intend to call the Brazilian Embassy in D.C. to inquire, but experience has taught me that embassy personnel frequently give rather rosey estimates on matters of this sort. As necessary, we can make the trip to Washington, if that would help. but we'll need to get the visa probably in early October and I suspect that might be a busy time.

[GeeDunk]

I have used Zierer Visa Service for Visas -- For Brazil, China and Egypt.

 

I believe that they have expidited service.

[nna]

I did a walk in visa process in san francisco...took 1 week. I felt I had control of the process. got my yellow fever shot, followed directions closely--you could also have the passport sent back via express mail.

[gooch47]

It would be nerve-wracking to have to do it on short notice. I used the same service and I believe they have one-day service ... for them. That doesn't do anything about the embassy holding onto it for an extended length of time. I understand that the embassy in Washington wasn't accepting appointments, but don't know if that has changed or if any other locations had the same rule/problem.

 

We had to do an on-line application with the Brazilian Embassy even though the service took care of the rest of it. I believe you have to do the on-line one before doing a walk-in, too.

[Kinkacruiser]

Perhaps if you explained the urgency of your situation and mailed express, you could have a faster turnaround...perhaps a week? We are off to Rio next year and have researched into visas. We have to send our passports and other documentation to Sydney. It's a pity that people couldn't organise visas at their local courthouses or government offices. There has to be an easier way.

When you consider you can get a passport via your local post office (in Australia), obtaining a visa (just to board a cruiseliner) can be problematic, as it is in your case.

Good luck.

Anna

[zogrand]

We had the same experience as nna - but at the Consulate in Boston. We got there early - they would only do 15 a day. But it took only about a week and they would express it back. The biggest problem is having a printout of your flight plans or a ticket. Since we were traveling with Princess travel, this info was not available to us when we applied for the visa. Our TA made flight reservations for us, printed out the itinerary and then canceled the flights.

[capriccio]

We took the Amazon cruise in January -- it was wonderful so don't let the visa hassle dissuade you! You didn't say which direction you are planning (or maybe you're lucky enough to do a B2B) but here is my experience getting a visa for the cruise that ended in Manaus (if fact I started a thread in October on this very topic).

 

Reading the South America board and some of the roll calls, it was evident that the complexity of applying for and receiving a visa differs from consulate to consulate. I spent almost 1 1/2 hours at the Washington, DC consulate dropping off my application about 2 1/2 months before the cruise: half an hour waiting for my number to be called; then 15 minutes discussing the 'lack' of a round trip ticket (see next paragraph); 15 minutes on the phone with Princess Customer Service; another wait of 5 or 10 minutes; finally another 15 minutes submitting all the paperwork.

 

The complication was that we were on a Princess air charter out of Manaus to Miami at the end of the cruise and the consulate staff couldn't determine what day and time that was from the Cruise Summary (just said Princess Air to Miami) and the itinerary (ended with the ship's arrival in Manaus). I explained that the details of the charter flight might not be available until a month before departure (it actually showed up on the cruise personalizer a few days later). She insisted that Princess send them an email with date and time. Customer Service at Princess was perplexed and gave me the same line I had given the consulate ('it might be December before we have specifics') but put me on hold while talking to flight operations (hence the 15 minute wait). She came back and said she would send an 'Air Notification' email to the consulate (and advised me not to count on the times not changing between now and then - but they didn't change). Thank goodness for email and a Customer Service Rep who was willing to track down a response - the consulate received it within seconds and that was sufficient.

 

I was told we wouldn't even get our passports back for 3 weeks -- she said not to even bother checking if it is done earlier. She also couldn't confirm whether it would be a 5 year visa or a 1 month visa!!! I asked how the determination was made and she replied that a vice consul makes it. I told her we planned to return to Brazil in the next 5 years but I don't know if that makes a difference. Three weeks and one day after submitting the application, I picked up our 5 year visas (that took about 15 minutes).

 

So, if you're on the Manaus to Miami Princess charter and the details haven't shown up in the cruise personalizer (you can't apply until you're within 90 days of entering Brazil), you may want to call customer service (or your TA) and ask for the 'Air Notification' before going to the Brazilian consulate or submitting your request via the mail.

 

In order to recoup the cost of the visas (you'll also need a yellow fever vaccination), we've already booked a cruise next February on the Star Princess - Valparaiso, Chile to Rio (where we'll spend a couple of days and go to Iguassu Falls).

 

It's definitely worth the hassle - just be prepared! :)

[BridgeMates]

We live in the Dallas area but the consulate offices are all in Houston. We used a local visa/passport office. It costs a little more but you can get Expedited service. I prefer dealing with someone in person rather than on the phone or on-line.

[coo359a2]

We were able to get our Visas at the Atlanta consulate. It was really very easy at least for mine. Made our appointment over the internet in Dec and was given a Feburary date to go to Atlanta. Had the internet application filled out, passport photos and money order ready to give to the processing person. I was through with the whole process in about 20 mintues. My DH was the problem - his photo wouldn't scan so had to go to a mall and have another one made. Couldn't get the new photo to scan and I was wondering if I was going cruising to the Amazon by myself. Finally, after about another 40 minutes of trying to scan the photo, they decided to issue him the "old" type visa - photo taped into his passport. We went back the next day and picked up our passports with the Visa. It was worth the hassle as our Amazon cruise -b2b - was great.

[BLS]

We've used Visa HQ with great success. (they are in Washington DC)

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Don't delay in getting the yellow fever shot! Here in Michigan there are very few places that can get this for you. We had to see a travel specialist and were lucky that we had one near where we live and could see us soon. Jan

[gooch47]

We live in the Dallas area but the consulate offices are all in Houston. We used a local visa/passport office. It costs a little more but you can get Expedited service. I prefer dealing with someone in person rather than on the phone or on-line.

 

As I said, nobody can "Expedite" what happens at the Brazilian consulate. Three weeks seems to be the norm. You might have better luck but no one can guarantee it.

[amberruka]

I also used the consulate general in Atlanta, though I emailed, phoned, and faxed for three weeks and still couldn't get an appointment. BUT...consulates have public hours, like 9am-1pm mon-friday, so I went in and just asked to be scheduled. Had my appt the following week (and the above posters are right, if you have all the paperwork/photos it takes 10-15 min) and picked up my visa 48 hours later...just two weeks before I went to Rio/Sao Paulo. Just saying if you can't get through, show up directly. My now-Brazilian "cruise companion" (OK OK, we're dating) has to do the same thing for our pricess cruise to Alaska this summer. happy travels!!!!!!!!!!:D

[Texas Tillie]

I got mine at the Houston consul in September. On the day I was there with my application, a flight attendant was there and I "over-heard" her conversation with the consular officer. He was giving her a little bit of a hard time, but ultimately he told her to come back in the morning and it would be ready. So, it "can" be done for airline employees. Be aware that each consulate sets their own rules and it seems that no two do everything "exactly" the same way!

[Randy H]

As noted by others, the process is a challenge, and varies by consulate.

 

I went in person to the San Francisco consulate. At the time they did not require appointments, two days later they started requiring appointments.

 

I got there before they opened and was still 18th in line... many of the people ahead of me had been there the day before and had been sent away in search of various documents...

 

We received our passports back in 12 days.

 

Thoughts, make sure you have sufficent pages in your passport, make sure you have filled out the paperwork on line and have the document number, and beg... while I was at the consulate, I witnessed a man ahead of me who had a flight to Rio that day, and had just found out a visa was required, plead stupidity and begged... He got a visa.

[amberruka]

this may be common knowledge, but Brazilian visas require you to have at least 6 months left on your passport. FYI.:p

[BosoxI]

Thanks to all of you for citing your experiences. We have tickets on a commercial flight for the return from Manaus, but 12 days or 3 weeks and 1 day simply will not do for my wife. As I intend to call the Washington embassy, I hope I can get accurate information, but I see even that might change in the interim. Nice. I guess the safest thing is to bring our airline ticket proof of purchase, our cruise contract, our shot records, passports, of course, and my wife's airline ID. We do have a very good Brazilian friend living in the area, so maybe it'll pay to drag her over to speak in Portugese! Classic! As much as we want to take this trip, if the visa becomes too big an issue, cancel we will. That's why we have cruise insurance. Thanks again and keep your inputs coming.

[Kempa]

Hi. I am Brazilian and my wife is American, so we are quite familiar with getting a Brazilian visa for her. We live near Washington, so we use the Washington consulate.

 

Our experience is that it never took more than 3 days to obtain a visa from the consulate in DC.

 

You must go through the consulate that has jurisdiction over where you live. Check the Brazilian Embassy website to see which one. It might not be the closest one to where you live.

[BosoxI]

Hi. I am Brazilian and my wife is American, so we are quite familiar with getting a Brazilian visa for her. We live near Washington, so we use the Washington consulate.

 

Our experience is that it never took more than 3 days to obtain a visa from the consulate in DC.

 

You must go through the consulate that has jurisdiction over where you live. Check the Brazilian Embassy website to see which one. It might not be the closest one to where you live.

 

Thanks for that information, Kempa. We now live about 3 hours from D.C. so driving up to the Embassy would not be a problem. Can you further enlighten me: can we make an appointment? a three day wait would not be a problem for my wife and would give a chance to visit old friens, but we don't want to prolong things unnecessarily. When we lived near Washington, I was able to get a Turkish visa in a matter of days, as was the case also with Japan and India. I sure hope Brazil continues as easy. Thanks again; I feel a lot less nervous.

[Kempa]

Bosox, you should call them and ask about your specific circumstances. The website now says it is 10 business days (ouch!). I believe that they could expedite if you explain that one of you is an airline employee and cannot be without your passport for that long.

 

The Washington, DC consulate's jurisdiction is District of Columbia, States of Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

 

The consulate's phone number is (202) 461-3000.