Key Points
- Brazil is looking to re-introduce visa requirements for Australians.
- The visa requirements were removed in June 2019 to encourage more Australians to visit Brazil.
- DFAT advises Australians to exercise a high degree of caution due to the risk of violent protests.
Brazil has decided to resume entry visa requirements for citizens of the US, Japan, Australia and Canada, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The country's Foreign Ministry, known as Itamaraty, is set to announce the decision on Thursday local time to the governments of the four countries. Brazil's government will later publicly announce the measure.
The decision suspends a unilateral decision that former President Jair Bolsonaro's government made in June 2019 to facilitate tourism.
Brazilians still need visas to travel to the four countries.
A diplomatic source said the 2019 decision to lift visa requirements had weakened Brazil's ability to negotiate with those countries.
Brazilian government studies also showed the impact on tourism numbers was minimal, though the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic may have also limited a potential boost.
The number of tourist arrivals from the US - who represent a small fraction of tourists in Brazil - in 2022 was still below 2018 figures.
Meanwhile, the number of Japanese tourists fell in 2019 by 4.5 per cent and only 17,000 visited Brazil in 2022.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises Australians to exercise a due to the ongoing risk of violent protests.
