Bloomberg Línea — The governments of Brazil and Japan have agreed on the reciprocal exemption of visitor visas for holders of regular passports traveling for a period of up to 90 days.
The exemption will come into effect on September 30, 2023 for an initial period of three yeas. The measure will allow Brazilian and Japanese tourists to visit either country without a visa.
This understanding is the result of an announcement made by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s visit to Japan last May. The agreement extends the visa exemption to Brazilian and Japanese citizens, and is “founded upon the principles of reciprocity and equal treatment between states”, according to the Brazilian foreign ministry.
“The exemption will contribute to strenghtening human ties and the relations between the two countries in the year marking the 115th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Brazil,” the ministry said.
In addition, and as of January 10, Brazil will reintroduce short-stay visa requirements for citizens of Australia, Canada and the United States.
In order for the agreements to take affect, adjustments were required in the bidding process to hire a company to provide electronic visa services to nationals of the those countries, and whch was carried out within the scope of the adoption of Decree No. 11,515.
The new short-term visa requirement for nationals of Australia, Canada and the United States will allow for a longer testing period of issuing visas before the requirement becomes effective.
To protect the interests of Brazilian citizens, the Brazilian government is open to negotiating visa exemption agreements with those countries, according to a government news bulletin.