Extending your tourist visa in Brazil is a piece of cake for most English speaking countries. Once you already have your initial 90 days tourist visa, upon completion of this, an extension of 90 days cans be granted.
Unfortunately you can only extend your visa once per year. After you’ve run your 180 days, or you 90 visa with its 90 day extension, the system in Brazil requires you leave the country for six months before you can return again. So, you can’t cross a border to Uruguay and return the next day. You’re able to stay in Brazil for a maximum of 180 day per twelve months, provided you abide by the rules with extending your first tourist visa upon completion.
In the event where you do not extend your visa, but you stay in the country over your allowed initial 90 days, you’ll get a fee of eight reals per day for those days you’ve over stayed. This applies until a maximum of 800 reals has been accrued. Once 800 reals has been accrued you will not be charged extra for the days you stay. You’ll have the option to pay this on your way out of Brazil or when you chose to enter the next time.
In order to extend and keep things legal you’ll need to visit a Federal Police department. These can be found at international airports and in cities throughout Brazil.
For the visa extension you’ll need:
- Your passport
- Your proof of funds – around 45 dollars per day for the duration you plan to stay
- A credit card
- Your proof of exiting Brazil – return ticket out
- During your visit to the Federal Police building you’ll be given a form to complete. Once you complete this you’ll have to get to a Banco do Brazil (Bank of Brazil) to pay the extension fee – around 50 dollars. Excuse me if I’m out 10 dollars. I did mine the other day in Florianopolis and the price was near this.
The above necessities are not always required. If the federal police officer can see you’re organized, with a plastic folder full of the stuff, they’ll rarely ask for the documents. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to extend your visa if you turn up with all the requirements. Also don’t say anything silly when they ask why you need to extend your visa. ‘You love traveling and want to explore Brazil and its culture’ will cover you. They might ask you ‘what you do for work back in your country?’ Have an answer ready and keep in mind this will be on record for every other time you enter the country.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to shoot them my way.
Gaston.
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My plane ticket is my original date of 90 days from my arrival. Do I need to purchase a new plane ticket that is 90 more days out form my arrival to request and extension?
Hi Dustin,
It’s a good idea to turn up with the correct documents. This unfortunately means you’ll need to turn up with proof you’re going to one day leave Brazil. The Federal Police will not always check the documents you have in hand, but if you get one who’s had a bad day or didn’t like they way you carried yourself in, he may show you attitude. I do not recommend turning up without a return ticket home which isn’t from a date in the future (So, it will need to be after the original 90 days). To put my words clearly: yes, you will need to also extend your plane ticket in order to play it safe for a pedantic Fed.
Gaston.
Thank you for the response.
Any idea the chances of them turning me down? I don’t want to cancel one ticket and purchase another all just to lose out on some cash if they were to say no.
That’s an understandable concern; I’ve had the extension five times and I’m expecting I will do it again. If you look at it from the Federal Police officer’s concern, he’s concern is that you leave the country. If you show him / her all the evidence you can that you have every intention to leave the country – such as a planned future date (money invested) – I can’t see why he’d deny you the chance to invest more money into tourism for Brazil. Turn up with all of the appropriate documents and there will be not a reason for you to not get the extension. You did get the visa in the first place after all. If your only concern is the cost of changing the plane ticket then you have nothing to worry about. Go for the extension a couple of days early also. Don’t go on the day in case the officer asks for something you weren’t organized enough to take or in case they don’t have enough officers on to attend to you on that day. You don’t want to over stay your visa then request an extension.
Thanks again. And, I have experienced going and not getting. I went today actually, and I was turned away because they had already met their ‘quota’ or something. The lady told me to return first thing next week.
You said that you have received an extension 5 times. Does that mean that you have visited Brazil 5 separate occasions for 6 months and then you left for 6 months before returning?
Hi Dustin,
You’re welcome. Yes, that’s correct: I’ve spent 5 or 6 separate occasions in Brazil and left each time to return again 6 months later. I should say that the first extension was stamped in an old passport. The other occasions are in my latest passport.
Ok, so you were sent away and told the “quoted” was reached. That’s why I say to go earlier. Brazil is often unpredictable like this but you will get it when you return provided it’s before your current visa expires. I personally wouldn’t have stopped at that point when you were sent away. I suggest trying to track down Federal Police in another location if this happens again. You can often find an officer at an airport. This could be another option for you?
Good luck!
Gaston