YOUR BRAZILIAN VISA
You can submit the application for your visa to Brazil within 90 days of your arrival date in Brazil, and we encourage you to start right away, as it can often take at least a few weeks to fully process your application. Please review the information for all volunteers who require a visa, and then select the country that your passport is issued from to learn how to apply for your visa.
For All Volunteers
There are several visa types available to volunteers traveling to Brazil. We strongly recommend that you apply for a tourist visa. While a volunteer visa is also available, this visa type can be very expensive and time-consuming, and even then it cannot be guaranteed. The Brazilian government interprets “volunteering” to be paid work abroad. Therefore, the Brazilian consultant has advised us that our programs fit more closely with the regulations for a tourist visa, and volunteers should apply for this type of visa.
The tourist visa application has several required fields, and we’ve highlighted the information for some of these below to guide you through a successful visa application.
Profession/Occupation: Please list your university or employer in this section – not Cross-Cultural Solutions, as you are likely not a staff member of our organization. Keep in mind that some specialized fields may cause some issues for your application – these typically include certain scientific disciplines (astrophysics, nuclear engineering or chemistry, petroleum geology); theory-based studies (pastors, priests); and media-related disciplines (filmmakers, journalists, writers, photographers). If your position falls into one of these categories, preferable responses for the profession/occupation field may include words like ‘consultant’ or ‘manager’ to help your visa application be processed smoothly.
Address: Please list your mailing address, not the address of Cross-Cultural Solutions. The address field is used to ensure that your application is directed to the correct regional authority.
Contact in Brazil: Do not list ‘Cross-Cultural Solutions’ as your contact in Brazil. Instead, please select a hotel in Salvador, Brazil – you can find a list of these at the end of this document. Listing ‘Cross-Cultural Solutions’ could confuse your visa application process – as we are an international volunteer organization, yet you are applying for a tourist, not a volunteer, visa. However, as was mentioned earlier in this document, a volunteer visa typically indicates a different type of paid volunteer work abroad, not short-term unpaid volunteer assignments.
Comments Section: If a comments section exists on your visa application, focus on activities that you will be participating in – commonly free-time activities, but not your volunteer work (for the same reasons as above). This also applies for any in-person meetings you have. Common free-time activities typically include visiting the beach and visiting tourist sites in the area.
Length of Stay: Most volunteers will be staying in Brazil for less than 90 days, which is fine for the Brazilian visa. If you are staying for more than 90 days, please list your length of stay as 90 days or less – you can extend your visa to cover your full stay once you are in Brazil.
Please follow the instructions below on how to apply for a visa for your specific country.
United States Passport Holders
We strongly advise that you use a visa expeditor when applying for your Brazilian visa. Expeditors are trained in reviewing applications to ensure they are submitted correctly, and for flagging any potential issue areas on your application. Due to geo-political issues between the relations of the United States and Brazil, we have had volunteers who have difficulties when applying for visas without an expeditor – so please consider this option seriously before moving forward.
Our expeditor of choice is A Briggs Passport and Visa Expeditors (www.abriggs.com). CCS volunteers receive a 15% discount on expediting services – currently, the expeditor fees are $46.75. Once you’re on the ABriggs website, click on “Log In” in the account field (on the top right), type “crosscultural” for the company name, and select the “Visas” tab and then “Brazil”. You will be prompted to select your visa type – which is “Brazil Tourist Visa” as well as your home state, and from there, ABriggs will guide you through the steps to complete and submit your application.
Please note, if you live in one of the following states, you should use ABriggs for any visits to the consulates and should not visit these yourself: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
You can always contact ABriggs with additional visa questions at 1-888-466-4147, or via email to Marc Gilland at .
Canada Passport Holders
The information to apply for your visa is available entirely online at http://toronto.itamaraty.gov.br. Before you begin your application, you will be prompted to verify your jurisdiction by clicking on the first “jurisdiction” link on the “Visas” page. This will lead you to the specific site with visa instructions, which includes the visa application and all necessary documents.
Australia Passport Holders
You can find information on applying for your Brazilian visa at http://sydney.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/. Please select “Consulate Services” from the left-hand toolbar, and select the link for “Visas”. You will be prompted to verify your jurisdiction, which will lead you to the correct website to apply for your specific visa. Once you have selected the consulate website appropriate to where you live in Australia, you will be provided with detailed instructions on how to apply. Remember to select “Tourist Visa” for the instructions specific to this visa type.
Hotels in Salvador
Please feel free to use any of the hotels in Salvador on this list as your contact information while in Brazil. Alternatively, you may choose to use a different hotel that you determine on your own in Salvador. It may be helpful to write this down and bring it with you to Brazil when filling out your customs card on the flight.
Pousada Azul
Rua Dra. Praguer Fróes, 102 – Barra
Salvador – BA, 40130-020, Brazil
Phone: +55 (71) 3264-9798, +55 (71) 3011-9798
http://www.pousadaazul.com.br/en/
Pousada Marcos
Av. Oceânica, 281 – Barra
Salvador – BA, 40140-130, Brazil
Phone: +55 (71) 3264-5117, +55 (71) 3264-3510
http://www.pousadamarcos.com.br/
Hotel Marazul
Av. 7 de Setembro, 3937 – Barra
Salvador – BA, 40140-110, Brazil
Phone: +55 (71) 3264-8200
http://www.marazulhotel.com.br/
Barra Turismo Hotel
Av. 7 de Setembro, 3691 – Porto da Barra
Salvador – BA, 40140-110, Brazil
Phone: +55 (71) 3264-7433
http://www.barraturismo.com.br/
Portobello Ondina Praia
Av. Oceânica, 2275 – Ondina
Salvador – BA, 40170-010, Brazil
Phone: +55 (71) 2203-6000
http://portobellohoteis.com.br/portugues-hotel-na-bahia/salvador/