O Itamaraty forwarded to the embassies of Australia, Canada, United States and Japan information that it will resume the principle of diplomatic reciprocity. This means that, just as these countries require visas from Brazilian citizens in the entry process, citizens of these four nations will have to present the same document when arriving in Brazil.
The resumption of the requirement takes effect on October 1.
In March 2019, then-President Jair Bolsonaro formally waived visas for Australian, Canadian, North American and Japanese tourists.
The measure was taken after a meeting with Republican Donald Trump, who was at the head of the White House, in the United States.
At the time, the justification was to increase the presence of tourists in Brazil – raising the level of visits from 6.7 million to 12 million per year until last year. The expectation, obviously, did not take into account the covid-19 pandemic, which interrupted tourism for at least two years.
After the release of the recent measure in the press, Bolsonaro reacted on social media. “Less jobs and discouraging the hotel sector”, wrote the former president.
