Mexico’s Ministry of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) has determined that all Brazilian nationals who intend to travel to Mexico as visitors without permission to perform remunerated activities (tourism/business) must obtain stamped visas in their passports prior to their travel.
The determination was published on August 3, 2022, in Mexico’s Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación), and takes effect on August 18, 2022.
Effective August 18, 2022, the above-mentioned consular visitor visa must be processed and obtained at any Mexican consulate abroad. Brazilian nationals must schedule a consular appointment via the appointment system implemented by the Ministry of the Interior.
Prior to this new determination, Brazilian nationals—along with other nationals, such as those from Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine—who were traveling to Mexico via airplane were only required to obtain an electronic visa (processed online) to enter Mexico.
A Brazilian national may be exempted from the new visa requirement, if he or she:
- has a valid visa from Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, or any Schengen Area member country; or
- is a permanent resident of any of the above-mentioned countries, or of Chile, Colombia, or Peru; or
- has an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Card.
This new determination will have a special impact on the families of those Brazilian nationals who are already temporary/permanent residents in Mexico who intend to obtain their residency through economic dependency, since this will add an additional step to their procedures.
Appointments for consular visitor visas may be made at the Mexican Embassy in Brasília and at Mexico’s consulates in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Pietro Straulino-Rodríguez is the managing partner of the Mexico City office of Ogletree Deakins.
Patricio Morales Aguilar is a law clerk in the Mexico City office of Ogletree Deakins.
