Heading to Brazil?
(Please note: this post was written in November 2012. I am constantly updating and editing it as I hear of changes or new information – if you go through the process and something has changed from this information, please let me know in the comments or via email! Many thanks. -Brenna)
I am currently in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, gateway to the magnificent Iguazu Falls. I will spend the day exploring the Argentinian side tomorrow, and then I’m off to Foz do Iguacu in the evening, on the Brazilian side.
One thing almost stopped me, though – I don’t have a Brazilian visa. Correction: I didn’t have a Brazilian visa, not until a few hours ago.
No, I was never going to be one of those who risk going across illegally – I never gamble when it comes to international borders, as I don’t want to jeopardise any future travels. Besides, I’m flying out of Rio to Toronto in a few weeks, so the gig would have been up once I got to the airport. I could have been in serious trouble.
Much easier than trying to fool an entire country’s government, then, is to simply get a visa. While it’s easy enough in your own country – if you have the time and the exact dates of your holiday, that is – it is so ridiculously easy here in Iguazu that I felt the need to write a post about it, as I found very little online about the topic other than a few slightly outdated threads online.
Citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, USA, and “other countries” need a pre-approved visa in order to visit Brazil (check online to see if your country needs one – many of my European friends are just fine). If you know that you will be travelling for a while through South America, and will at some point end up in Brazil, my advice is to get the visa in Iguazu. It will save the time and hassle in your home country, and, depending on the day of your arrival, takes as little as two hours. Since this is a very common backpacker route (Buenos Aires to Rosario to Iguazu, for example), it seems logical to get the visa here. It is very, very easy to get a Brazilian visa in Iguazu.
You will need a few documents in order to obtain your Brazilian visa, which I have listed and then explained:
1. A passport that is valid for no less than 6 months, obviously.
2. A Brazilian visa application form, which can be filled out at https://scedv.serpro.gov.br.
Fill this out somewhere where you can print it, as you’ll need to bring the confirmation form to the consulate. The form asks for very basic information, including your passport details, address, address of your employer (I just put my last employer), and address of your contact in Brazil (I put a hostel in Foz do Iguacu, but I hadn’t even booked it yet. They didn’t ask for a confirmation). The form takes less than 10 minutes to fill out if you have all the information handy.
3. One passport photo, but it seemed as though the size didn’t really matter – my photo was too big but the man just cut it to fit and glued it on the form for me. It needs to be just like any other standard passport photo: light background, front viewing, nothing obscuring the face, no glare from glasses, etc. I always carry a few of these in my bag, so I had one already (I’m not sure if there is a place to get them in Iguazu itself, so I recommend either having one from home or getting one done in Buenos Aires or Rosario beforehand).
4. Proof of means of support during your stay in Brazil, which could be a recent bank or credit card statement. I just brought in a printed copy of my online bank statement as of yesterday (and yes, it’s looking grim, but apparently it’s enough to get me through a few weeks in Brazil).
5. A return ticket, or proof of onward travel. I brought in a copy of my e-ticket showing my flights from Rio to Toronto.
6. Payment of consular fees. I couldn’t find ANY information about how much Canadians pay online, so here is the list of fees they had posted at the consulate: Australia AR$175, Canada AR$325, Japan AR$125, Mexico AR$150, Nigeria AR$325, USA AR$800, “other countries” AR$100. You must have exact change, and it is payable in cash only (Argentinian pesos or Brazilian reals). The rough exchange rate at the moment is about AR$5 to USD$1, so Canadians pay about 65USD and Americans pay about 160USD. It’s pricey, but, at least for Canadians, I didn’t pay any other visa fees throughout all of Central and South America. Edit: A reader just informed me that as of now, November 2013, the prices have gone up. The new price list is: Australia AR$238, Canada AR$442, Japan AR$170, Mexico AR$ ?, Nigeria AR$442, USA AR$1088, Other AR$136.
To get to the consulate when exiting the bus terminal, cross the street and turn left. The office is about half a block down, and the man I dealt with there was SO friendly and helpful, and spoke a bit of English. The office is open from 8am to 2pm. Edit: a reader just informed me that passports are only accepted until 12pm, even though the office is open until 2pm. Edit again: a reader just informed me that she needed to hand in her passport before 10am, so best to get there as early as possible. Edit AGAIN: Just get there really early, guys.
The only way to get a visa in one day, as I did today, is to drop off your documents on a Friday. As they are closed over the weekend, they are nice enough to return your passport within a few hours on Fridays, instead of the usual 24 hour return. I decided to hang out by the pool and just relax today, but I could have easily dropped off my passport as I did at 9:30am, picked it up at 11:30am, explored the falls all afternoon and taken the bus into Brazil tonight. If, for example, you arrive on a Tuesday, you won’t be able to pick up your passport until Wednesday mid-day. I was given a 90-day, multiple-entry visa, even though I didn’t specify what I wanted.
I cannot stress enough how easy and painless this was. I was quite worried about it before I arrived – images of the office closed permanently or being denied a visa danced in my head – but, to all my fellow travellers thinking of doing the same thing: tranquilo. It’s a piece of dulce de leche cake.
See you in Brazil!
91 comments
Very easy and painless! Mine took almost 2 months to get by mail!!!
Great to know. I want to go to Brasil so badly. It’s been on my travel list for the last five years! I can’t wait to read about your adventures 🙂
Andi – Wow, what an absolute pain!!
Sojourner – Thank you so much! I hope you make it to Brazil soon!
excellent post!! this will be very useful whenever i finally get myself to brazil. it only makes sense to visit BA again on the way there, though, right? 😉 any reason is reason enough!
Kerri – Absolutely! I just may have to join you 😉
Hi Brenna!
I have a question. Once you were able to cross over to Brazil, how did you plan you trip to Rio from Iguazu? Did you take a but or plane? Any hotel/hostel you can recommend? I’m looking at possibly doing Buenos Aires -Iguazu Fall – Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires (where I will be staying for the next few months). I hear that getting a visa to Brazil from Buenos Aires is more lengthy and complicated than what you described in this post, so that’s why I would want to do this loop. Any information is greatly appreciated! 🙂
I think that getting the visa is indeed harder when you do it from Buenos Aires or another city in Argentina, so I recommend doing it in Iguazu. From there, after crossing into Brazil, I took a bus to Florianopolis; after spending a few days in that city, I flew to Rio. The plane ticket was actually cheaper than the bus ticket, go figure. I hope that helps!
By the way, I stayed in Marco Polo Inn on the Argentina side and Iguassu Guest House on the Brazil side. Both nice hostels.
thank you for this! i am headed down to chile, argentina and brazil in april and all the US west coast consulates are out of the nifty little stickers they need for the brazilian visa. iguazu was already our last stop before heading into brazil, you made my decision for me to just deal with it there.
Great, I’m glad I could be of help, Amy! Have an amazing holiday…
Thanks for the post, I just got to puerto iguazu and got my visa done in 1.5 hours.
Cheers
Awesome, I’m glad it worked out for you!
thanks for your post, leave for mexico in a month, and was starting to stress about the “minimum 20 working days” that it would take if i sent my passport to canberra. I assumed i could do something like this, but it is a huge weight off my mind to know it is possible and easy. Thank you for letting me get a good night’s sleep =)
Oh great, I’m glad that I could help! Good luck…
Thanks so much!!! We are Aussies and were going to try and get a Brazillian visa in Buenos Aires but we will definitely do it in Iguasu now we have heard this. Heading there anyway to see the Falls so this is perfect. Thanks so much! It has been so hard to find info about this.
Oh great! I’m glad that I could be of some help. Good luck and have an amazing holiday!
thank you so much for your post. I have been freaking out for the last 24 hours as I didn’t get a Brazilian visa in time for next week.
Was the line long? So coming at 9:30 was ok?
I have decided to risk it and come in via overnight bus that gets in Iguasu on next Friday at 7:25am (fingers crossed it isn’t too late). What do you think?
There was only one girl ahead of me when I was there, but of course it all depends on the day and the season. I would say you will have no trouble at all if you arrive early in the morning; I don’t even know if it will be open by 7:45. If it makes you feel better, my bus was two hours late and I still had no trouble. Best of luck and keep me updated!
oh nah…i meant I hope my bus that I want to book isn’t later than it says to arrive.
Did you catch a bus from buenos aires? Was it hard to find a bus? I’m trying to book online but i constantly get computer errors.
Thanks again
Yes, I know that’s what you meant – that’s why I wrote that my bus was two hours late and it still wasn’t a problem. I was supposed to arrive at 6:30 but didn’t get in until almost 9, but that didn’t affect my visa process.
I did catch a bus from BA, and there are lots of options, but it is expensive and you must book at least a few days in advance. I didn’t even try to book it online, as my hostel (Milhouse) could book it for me, but I booked it two days in advance and got the last seat available. Just a heads up! Good luck!
oh any chance you can give me tip on how to carry money in terms of what currency on a travel card. I’m not sure if I should exchange in US dollars, even though all the countries have different currencies. Should I just leave in Australian dollars on a travel card?
Clearly, I am not as organised as I should be. But all the help would be great 🙂
Sorry, I don’t think I’m the best person to give advice on that! I would ask your bank. Good luck!
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Thanks so much for this post. I followed your advice and I was able to get my Brazilian visa in Puerto Iguazú within 24 hours. One thing I must mention is that even though the consulate is open from 8AM-2PM, they only accept passports until 12PM. I got there at 1:30PM, and even though they were open and had no other persons there, they did not accept my passport. That was a bummer but rules are rules, I guess. As a national of the island of St. Lucia (in the Caribbean), I only paid 112 pesos for the visa, which is about US$22.
Oh, awesome! I’m so glad that the advice helped. I am going to edit the post right now to add that passports can’t be taken after 12pm, thank you for telling me about that! Enjoy Brazil!
well this is a relief. after just being informed that the brazilian embassy where i am wouldn’t be able to process my visa application in time for my departure, i can rest easy knowing that leg of my trip isn’t ruined. and it just so happens that my plans have me arriving to puerto iguazu on a friday!
thanks for the great tip 😉
Wonderful! Good luck with everything and have an amazing holiday.
Just thought I’d let everyone know, we just went through this process in Puerto Iguasu in July 2013. It was super easy, as long as you have all the documentation you need and a passport size photo. We handed everything in (it has to be before 10am on a week day), and then we got the visa the next day. Great advice! Thanks again.
Just thought I’d let everyone know, we just went through this process in Puerto Iguasu in July 2013. It was super easy, as long as you have all the documentation you need and a passport size photo. We handed everything in (it has to be before 10am on a week day), and then we got the visa the next day. Great advice! Thanks again.
Great! I am so glad that it worked out for you. I will update the article to include the 10am clause. Thank you for letting me know, enjoy Brazil!
I really appreciate the post as I am currently in a similar situation. We’re tentatively planning on being in Iguazu the 25th/26th of December, do you think the offices will be open during the holidays?
I have no idea, I’m sorry. I would try to contact the office directly, or perhaps even a hostel/information office in town. You can also get a visa in Buenos Aires, it just takes more time. Best of luck!
Hey there,
Thanks for the info. Any idea on how to provide proof of onward travel if you plan to cross by land? Thanks for any help!
Hmm, I’m not sure. Are you able to buy a bus ticket? You may not have a date you want to leave yet, but perhaps you can buy a refundable/flexible ticket. Good luck and please let me know what happens!
for others, i photoshopped a ticket from rio back to sydney and they accepted it
I am about to head toward Iguacu here in the next week from Cordoba and this article gave me some peace of mind. I feared that getting in would be a problem. However, I now know it is a breeze. Thank you very much. Did everyone else obtain a 90-day multiple entry as well? Because I do intend on going IN to Brasil. Not only Iguacu.
I can only speak for myself, but I was indeed granted that kind of visa. I think you can ask at the office, but I assume that’s the standard. I was able to travel around Brazil with absolutely no problem – I think most people who are getting visas are also travelling around the country, not just staying in Iguacu. There really wouldn’t be much point to go through the whole hassle of the visa if you are only crossing over for the day – the Argentinian side of the falls is much more impressive.
Thanks so much for putting this advice up! It was a great help. I was there today and as you said, they got my visa done in about 2.5 hours as it’s a Friday. I would advise people to make sure you’re there well before 10am – I got there at 9.35ish and he gave me a funny look before checking the clock and sighing when he realised that it was definitely before 10am!
The prices have gone up slightly since your original post, so I thought I would post up the current list they have in the office to help others planning on doing the same thing:
(all in argentinian pesos)
Australia: $AR 238
Canada: $AR 442
Japan: $AR 170
Nigeria: $AR 442
United States: $AR 1088
Other countries: $AR 136
Thank you so much for this! I will edit the prices accordingly. I’m so glad that it all worked out for you – I am always concerned that this post will go out of date.
Thanks again!
I arrived on a Saturday to Puerto Iguazu so I wasnt able to go to the embassy like everyone on a Friday. Went to the consulate on Monday which was yesterday but they were closed due to a national holiday. I had bought a plane ticket to Brasil in advanced for Tuesday (today). I arrived early just hoping that they could make this one exception for me but they would not. So now after having to get a refund for my plane ticket, in which I only get half of it back, I have to wait til tomorrow to receive my visa. Definitely would say for everyone to either arrive Friday to get the visa or allow yourself one day in which to get it. I allowed myself one day to get it but it turned out to be a national holiday, so be careful with your plans!
Yes, as I state in the article, the only way (as of now) to get it in less than one day is to arrive very early on a Friday. Otherwise you will have to wait a minimum of 24 hours. I’m sorry that you missed the flight – national holidays can really throw travel plans for a loop!
Thank you for your comment, hopefully others will take note…
Went to the Brazilian consulate this morning at around 11:30am and was able to submit my application.
I provided the application print out, my passport, a passport photo, flight itinerary out of Brazil and a bank statement.
Fee for Australians was AR$385, exact amount was required. There is a Shell gas station up the road that was willing to break down some notes for me.
Was told to go back tomorrow at 11am to pick up the visa.
Thanks for the tips!
Great, thank you so much for letting me know! I will update any necessary information. Glad that it worked out for you.
Thanks for sharing this.
Update from 2 Canadians as of Aug 18, 2014:
We had our pictures taken at a kodak place on ave Victoria Aguirre, called laboradorios Rolando Iguazu. Super friendly guy. 6 pictures for 50pesos. It was open until 8pm on a monday. Saved our life.
The visa fee for canadians is 715 pesos per person.
If you need to print something, the Marco Polo hostel on Av Cordoba can help.
The Mango tree hostel right next door to the bresilian consulate has been super nice and helpful in pointing us to Rolando and Marco Polo.
Thank you for the updated information! I’m glad it worked out for you.
Arrived Monday at 12:00 pm with all my papers in order. Was to told to wait from one of the staff members, he then went to his car to eat lunch. I watched him eat his lunch and listen to his radio for over an hour. When he came back in he told me to come in tomorrow morning…I was speechless, because the consulate is closed on the 25th and 26th, I might be stuck in Limbo in Iguazu. Going tomorrow morning to submit my paperwork…I´m hoping for the best, and I´ll keep you guys updated.
Yes – please do! Good luck…
thank you so much for this information, I’m taking a last minute trip to South America, and was very worried I wouldn’t be able to visit Brazil without coming back.
Good luck and have fun!
I am interesting in doing what is described here and I have two questions:
Is the visa valid for 10 years (but with 90 days at a time limit) like when you get the visa at other consulates?
Does anyone know where to find their schedule for when they are closed and open during the month of February? I imagine some days they might be closed during Carnival.
Hi Robert, thanks for your questions. As far as I can tell, the visa is valid only for the 90 days – meaning from the date that you enter Brazil until 90 days later. I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t count on it being valid for 10 years unless you speak to an immigration officer directly about this.
Unfortunately I do not know where to find a schedule of the consulate’s opening hours, but if you know that you will be staying in Iguazu on the Argentinian side it might be worth it to email your hotel or hostel to see if they know. Good luck!
Literally just back from the embassy.
We paid A$385 each as Aussies.
Submitted the cover pge form from the online visa submission
Recent Bank statement
Travel itinery showing transport in and out of brazil.
Opening hours were 8am we were the only other people trying to get tourist visas when we’re there. It’s a Tuesday here.
We’re told to come back at 12pm tomorrow
Process was relaxed and straightforward we had passport photos already with us that they cut to size and glued for us without resentment Etc
Great, thank you so much for sharing this information! I’m glad that the process is still relatively similar. Have an amazing time in Brazil!
Picked them up at 12.05pm like they suggested.
In and out no problems.
90 day visa granted.
Hi, first, THANK YOU for this blog thread. I was in a jam as I already had Carnaval tickets, hotel, and flight and would have missed it all if not for the tip to go to Puerto Iguazu Embassy.
Happy to report that I was able to get mine processed on the same day (was on a Friday). I had filled out a form I found on the internet but they do not accept that. They ONLY accept the online form mentioned above, and just print off the simple little page and take that with you. And have the other documentation mentioned as well (passport with blank pages, passport photo with white background and non-white clothing, printed bank statement).
For my proof of travel exit from Brazil, I simply went to the bus station and bought a round-trip bus ticket for 40 pesos from Puerto Iguazu to Foz do Iguacu. I presented this as my proof of my exit from Brazil as I didn’t have a flight out yet. They photocopied it and were happy to accept that. I had flights from Fog to Rio but they never asked anything else. 🙂
Good luck, and THANKS again for updating this info – it was a lifesaver!!
That’s great, I’m so glad it worked out for you! Thanks for posting that the information is still correct. Have fun in Brazil!
Hi,
Very helpful post! Thank you so much! Quick question for anybody that has done the crossing this year: If you paid in Argentine pesos, did they ask you for an Exchange house or bank certificate, authenticating the exchange rate? Did they make you exchange money there at their rate? The reason for my question is that I have quite a few pesos left from my last trip to Argentina, I’m in Santiago, Chile now, and I want to use them to pay for my Brazilian visa when I go through Mendoza. But I don’t have anyway of proving where the pesos came from or at what rate. Anybody see a problem with that?
Thanks so much and keep up the good work!
Sarah
I read on another forum (I think a slightly dated tripadvisor post) that someone got Brazilian reales in the US before their trip and used those to pay for the visa at a lower rate than they would have gotten from the US->AR peso rate (not sure if they said the official or the Blue but I think they said Blue), Does anyone have any experience doing that?
Laura
Just wanted to say thank you for the article. I got my passport yesterday with no trouble at all. It was really appreciated. Thank You.
P.S I am Australia and the prices have gone up.
Oh that’s great to hear! Unfortunately I don’t know the updated prices, but if someone provides them I will update the article. Have fun in Brazil!
Hello,
We flew all the way to Rio from Madrid and were rejected entry because we didn’t have a visa! Unfortunately they made us return all the back to Mardrid on the same plane… The sooner Australia + Canada can make better arrangements with Brazil in relation to visas the better, as I’m sure this happens to people quite often.
We were in a difficult situation as it was important for us to get back to Rio for a friends wedding. After searching the internet looking for our best option to get an urgent visa for Brazil we decided to go with the Iguazu option. We arrived at the Brazilian visa office in Iguazu Argentina on Monday morning at 11am and it was ready for pickup next day at 10am. We then proceed to cross the boarder via taxi to Iguazu Brazil with no problems.. Luckily it worked out!
I’m glad it worked out for you, Andrew! I guess this is a reminder that we should always research if we need visas before travelling. I once almost didn’t make it into Australia for the same reason…
Hi Brenda,
Two fellow Australian girls and I collected our passports from the Brazilian consulate in Puerto Iguazu this morning at 11am – we were issued with 90 day multiple entry visas. The process was straight forward. The previous morning at 8am we submitted our passports with the required documents, which were passport photo, recent bank statement, proof of travel out of Brazil (I had a ticket from Rio to Santiago, one of the girls had San Francisco to Melbourne which both were OK) and the printed visa application receipt.
Price was 455 Argentinian Pesos – the man demanded exact change, which I got from the neighbouring Mango Chill Hostel. Thank you so much for publishing this blog post Brenda, its been a wonderful help!
Glad to hear it worked out for you! Unfortunately I don’t have a list of the updated prices, but as I said in the post, you do need exact change. Have fun in Brazil!
-Brenna (not Brenda, though you’re not the first to make that mistake 😉 )
Hi
Off to Iguassu in 2 weeks with my wife who needs a visa for Brazil side what was the address of the visa office in Puerto Iguazu and hours of business.
Any other tips on getting the visa or the area airport transfers etc would be appreciated
Regards William Hood
Everything I personally know about this process is listed in the blog post. If I had any other tips or the information you’re asking for I would update the post for all to see. Good luck with the visa!
Hooray! Thank you so much for writing about this.
I am leaving on Dec. 9th by bicycle, and am planning on riding from Los Angeles, CA to Brazil. Very difficult to explain to the embassy here in the U.S.
I am so happy to have found your article. Thanks again. 🙂
Oh great, I’m glad it could help! I’m not sure of the current prices but everything else seems to be up to date. Good luck and have an absolutely fabulous time, it sounds like an amazing adventure!
[…] much more hardship and/or complications with visas for Russia, Mongolia, China, Myanmar, Brazil, India, Vietnam… the list goes on (each of these countries required that I physically go to […]
Thank you so much for this information. I only just got approval from my boss to go on holiday for the next 2 months. I went to my travel agent the next day and with a long list of places I wanted to see in Brazil only to be told it would take a month for the visa to process here in Australia. Needless to say I was very disappointed until I read your blog and now I have hope that I can get to Brazil which has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I will update you on how I go.
Cheers!
Oh that’s great news! I hope you have a fantastic holiday… keep me posted!
Currently had to pay $220 or 2880 pesos (when it should have been 2100 pesos) to have my tourist visa processed in Puerto Iguazu base on the bad exchange rate $1 to 18 pesos (the market exchange rate is $1 to 13 pesos at the time of this writing), because the pesos has been devalued a lot when the new president lifted controls over the currency.
But this blog has great information. The people who work at the brasil embassy/consulate in puerto iguazu are very thorough to the point of being OCD. everything has to match from your passport to your confirmation form. i have changed my signature since 7 years ago, so the signature i signed on the paper is a little different. but just make sure everything matches like i said.
Also, when you print out the form that you filled out online, the contact name and contact number is the name of the hotel you are currently staying at in Puerto Iguazu, not the hotel in brasil. I made that mistake, put the name of the hostel and number of the hostel in brasil, but they wanted a number from the argentinian side. it took me 15 minutes to look for the number online on my cellphone (thank god i had data plan).
But I’ll provide an update to this blog once they process my visa application. what this blog doesn’t tell you is that even though if you have the proper paperwork in hand and ready, there’s always the chance that there is a problem with your online visa application. often times the embassy will call the number on the contact information that you wrote down on the paper to verify some stuff.
i’m a little anxious at this time (because I’m nervous it might get rejected) as I wait to get my visa processed. i already paid for an expensive flight out of brasil to show the embassy as proof, but if they don’t approve it, i’m screwed, and i dont think there’s no refund.
So just a little update. I did receive my tourist visa, good for 10 years, but my passport will expire in a couple years or will run out of visa pages by then. still the whole process is a pain.
after getting your passport back with your travel visa, once you take the bus on to foz de iguacu or the brazilian side of the falls, and plan to travel onwards to other brazilian cities, make sure the bus also stops at the Brazilian side of immigration to get your entry stamp in your passport. the bus i took (rio uruguay, i highly suggest to avoid this bus company, they were always late, and always in a rush) did not stop in the brazilian side so i could get my entry stamp. (the entry stamp is not necessary for those daytrippers who plan to visit the brazil side of the falls and come back to argentina that same day. but it is mandatory for other travelers heading up brazil. instead of $1.50 bus fee to go to foz de iguacu, i ended up paying extra for a taxi $17 to take me to the brazil immigration at the border, and to my hostel in foz de iguacu ,all just because that bus did not stop at brazil immigration. it was a drag. i’d say the whole process was a pain when all is said and done.
so be warned readers
I’m sorry to hear that you had some trouble, Michael… but at least you got the visa and you were able to visit Brazil!
Can someone make one thing clear to me- is an appointment required or you just show up? It appears other consulates in Argentina require an appointment. Thank you!
When I went in 2012, I just walked right in without an appointment. As far as I know, the system works the same way today.
Just dropped off all my stuff to get processed.
People did not speak english, so bring your portuguese or spanish.
I arrived at 12, then went to a place close to print, got back at after 1pm but luckily they let me in.
This blog saved my trip! I originally was supposed to fly to brazil from toronto, only to find out at the airport that I needed a visa.
That’s so awesome to hear! Glad it helped.
Hi! I have a question for you about the brazil visa to get to Iguazu falls! So, when you say you got off the bus station, and went to the visa office. Where exactly did you get off in? I’m traveling from Paraguay and want to visit the Brazil side of the falls and am a little confused on how I get a visa for Brazil!
I mean the bus station in Iguazu Falls, Argentina.
Okay, thanks! Do you by chance know, how easy it would be to get a brazil visa, if I’m traveling from Paraguay?
No, I have no idea, I’m sorry.
Ok, so just an update here.
For US Citizens (as Michael accurately stated above), it is now 2880 ARS ($213 USD), which is a massive ripoff. They also list the price if paying in Brazilian currency as 160 reais, but the guy working there wouldn’t let me pay in Brazilian money even though it is a far better deal (like $40 USD). It should really cost $160 USD or closer to 2080 ARS.
Anyway, at this time, I would say skip getting your visa here in Puerto Iguazú unless you are desperate to leave this country – try Montevideo, Uruguay instead which is supposed to be very easy as well. Even though turnaround time is quick at 24 hours still in Pto. Iguazú, it’s a big ripoff. And this town kind of sucks and is quite a money pit for Arg standards.
Hi Rob, I’m sorry that you have that opinion, but I think the whole point of people visiting the town is to see the falls and/or to get a visa, so I doubt anyone is staying more than a night or two. I really enjoyed my stay there (the falls were a highlight of Argentina) and disagree with what you’ve said. And as much as the high price sucks, I think most people getting their visas there are indeed doing it because of the quick turnaround and/or because they weren’t able to arrange a visa elsewhere before their trip to Brazil. Not everyone has the time (or the money) to go to Uruguay on top of Argentina/Brazil.
Also, I deleted the last part of your comment because I don’t appreciate anyone saying anything derogatory about government officials on my personal site, which is, of course, directly linked to my name.
Just did this – thanks for writing about how to do this and all the comments on here – very helpful.
My experience:
As a US citizen, I filled out application online and did visa from US but did it incorrectly and was denied. This process took over 5 weeks from when I mailed in to when I was denied. I had reservations in Rio for carnival with friends and after reading this article and a lot more – this is the only place in the world that a US citizen can get a Visa into Brazil in under 1.5 weeks. I tried to reach out to embassy and expedited visa services – nothing would be less than 4 weeks.
So, I canceled my existing flight to Rio, flew to Buenos Aires. $160 for US citizen to get into Argentina and you must print out paper saying you paid to show customs. Then I flew to the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. Flight was about $150 USD for one way ticket. The town in very small and I stayed in a hostel for $18 a night for a private room. Turned in my paper work the next morning at 8am. The Brazilian embassy is about half a block down from the bus station. On the application I put only my middle initial and did not spell out my full name so I had to go online, fill out form again, then find a printer in town. I turned in application but they would not take US cash as someone said on here, or credit cards so went to bank to get $260USD worth of Argentina pesos. Turned in application which was done the next day at 11am. Then I jumped in cab and crossed boarder to Brazil side to get on plane to Rio. Cab was about $30 USD and takes about 30 minutes which includes going through customs. Note Brazil in one hour ahead of Argentina. One way ticket to Rio was about $160USD.
So while you can get a Visa into Brazil here, I wish I’d have just read the instructions more carefully when I tried to get Brazil visa online. This ended up costing me about 3 days and about a grand. Rio was epic and I’m really glad I did this but wow – there are easier ways.
Thanks for the information… I’m sorry that you went through the hassle but glad that you were able to get the visa in the end!
Thanks for the information. I’m heading to Puerto Iguazu and then to Rio in a couple of days without completing the Visa process for Brazil. It takes to much time and I can’t wait for the couples of weeks it takes to complete, so my only chance is to acquired a Visa thru Iguazu. I will noitfy any update on the info provide in your post. Hope it works!!, and thanks!
Thank you so much, and good luck! Yes, any updated information would be much appreciated 😀
Wow, this information is great! Did you have to prove that you had a Yellow Fever Vaccine? I’ll be in Ecuador before Brazil and read that the vaccine is required.
Thanks for all the advice on your site – had no problem getting a visa in Puerto Iguazu and it was a simple process, receiving it the next day. Just wanted to update you on the prices as of May 2017:
USA – 3200ARS
Austrailia – 2400ARS
Other (including Canadian) – 1600ARS
Thank you so much! I’m glad that the information is still correct – I will update the post for the new prices.
Hey, just wanted to let you know that we can now get the visas online for $45 USD. I’m in the process, but my friend said she’s had a few issues with them not accepting her photos.