If you’re on holidays in Brazil, you’ll recieve a tourist visa stamp when you enter the country, by land, sea, air, whatever. You’ll also need to fill in an entry form, detailing some information about your arrival, country of origin, etc. This gets stamped by the immigration officer at the same time as your passport.

You get 90 days in the country automatically, but you can extend this for an additional 90 days, if you want. I wanted, and I got. It’s pretty simple but we had a little confusion about where to go.

According to multiple pages online, the steps are supposed to be:

  1. Visit a Polícia Federal website and fill out a form.
  2. Print the document generated.
  3. Print the visa renewal form and fill it out.
  4. Go to any bank and pay the fee (R$110 / €27) listed on the document, and get a reciept.
  5. Go to the Polícia Federal office in any state capital, or some smaller cities, with:
    1. Your passport
    2. The form you filled out
    3. The payment receipt
    4. Evidence that you’re going to leave Brazil (plane ticket etc).
    5. Evidence you have enough money to last the next 90 days in Brazil, or a working credit card.
  6. Wait for the Polícia Federal to approve you.

However, my experience was slightly different…

  1. The Polícia Federal website was broken, so I couldn’t print the document.
  2. In Salvador, the Policia Federal office (near the port) told us to go to the airport instead, all visa renewals are now handled there. Lucky we had the car with us, since it was a 45 minute drive away. Parking at the airport is fine, but it’s a lot more after the first hour. (R$20 / €5 for 2 hours)
  3. When I arrived at the airport with no web document, they helpfully generated it for me.
  4. No questions were asked about money, or my intention to leave the country.
  5. After arriving in the airport the whole process took less than an hour, surprisingly efficient, even with a queue ahead of me, and a trip to the bank down the hall.
IMG_1083
All that work for a little stamp.

So, tourists in Salvador, beware! Go straight to the airport with your passport, but probably bring a bank statement, and your ticket home, just to be safe, in case you get asked any questions.

Good luck!

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