BRAZIL BUSINESS VISA FOR FILM SHOOTS

If you are a producer or a production company planning on shooting your next film, video or photo project in Brazil, you may be asking yourself, “does my crew need a Visa to go and shoot a project in Brazil?”  That’s an important question since citizens of certain countries must indeed obtain a business visa to carry out their shoot in Brazil.

FIRST, A GOOD BRAZILIAN VISA UPDATE

As of June of 2019, citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan no longer need visas of any kind (tourist or business) to film in Brazil (we made a quick little video about this that you can watch below). Citizens of these countries are now legally allowed to carry out filmmaking activities in Brazil without a visa as long as they are being paid by companies in their countries of origin and as long as they arrange for their production to be properly registered with ANCINE.  For more information about the ANCINE Registration process, please click here.

Also, as a reminder, citizens from most European countries DO NOT need visas to travel to Brazil. That includes the UK, France, Germany, and other countries. Please check the Visa Waived list below to make sure your crew members are exempt from a tourist or business visa when travelling to Brazil for a shoot.

LIST OF COUNTRIES AND CURRENT STATUS IN REGARDS TO VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR BRAZIL FILM AND VIDEO SHOOTS

Below is a comprehensive list of all countries in the world and the current status of its citizens in regards to visa requirements to travel to Brazil (updated as of June 13, 2019 – please click here for official updated information or you can visit this comprehensive Wikipedia page for further information).

Visa Required: Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo,  Cook Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, The Gambia, Guinea, Iraq, Kiribati, North Korea, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Niger, Palau, Palestinian Authority, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu,  Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Visa Waived: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon,  Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia,  Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zambia.

If you or any members of your crew are citizens of a country in the Visa Waived list above, you are good to travel to Brazil and conduct your shoot there as long as you have a valid passport (restrictions as to how long you can stay in Brazil apply) and an ANCINE Registration.

Now, if you are from a country that is in the Visa Required list above, then you will need to get a business visa in order to legally conduct your shoot in Brazil and enter the country.  For business visa applications, you will need to partner up with Brazil Production Services so we can ask the government for the visa on your behalf. It will be important for you to start the process of applying for Brazilian business visas 6 weeks before your shoot at least because it can take upwards of a month for visas to be issued.  As soon as you know you need to go to Brazil for a shoot, contact us so that we can help you through the business visa process.

Contact us today if you have any questions and to give your first step towards a smooth shoot in Brazil!