Brazil moves work and digital nomad visas online from September 1: what it means for Russians

Since September 1, 2026, VITEM temporary visas for visa-exempt nationals are issued electronically, with no consulate visit. Who is covered, how to apply and what is not working yet.

Since September 1, 2026, Brazil has been issuing VITEM temporary visas electronically to nationals of countries that do not need a visa to visit Brazil as tourists. The change covers work visas, family reunion visas, the digital nomad visa and every other temporary category. Applications are filed online, the approved visa arrives by email, and in routine cases applicants no longer hand their passport to a consulate. Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the move on August 28. Here is what we know as of September 2, whether it covers Russians and where the process is still stuck.

What changed on September 1

Until now, a Brazilian temporary visa meant an online form, a trip to the consulate with originals, leaving your passport for the visa sticker and a second trip to collect it. Anyone living far from a consulate faced travel, mailing the passport and weeks without it.

From September 1, 2026, for visa-exempt nationals the consular stage moves online:

• the application and all supporting documents are uploaded to the Sistema Consular Integrado (SCI), the Foreign Ministry's Integrated Consular System;
• in routine cases there is no need to submit a passport just to have a visa affixed;
• once approved, the visa is emailed automatically to the address given in the form, as a PDF with a QR code;
• you print the electronic visa and carry it for entry and for registration with Brazil's Federal Police.

The legal basis is not new. Article 26 of Decree No. 9,199 of November 20, 2017, which implements Brazil's Migration Law, already allows electronic filing and a visa issued without a passport sticker. Now it becomes the standard procedure rather than an exception.

Based on the foreign ministry announcement, the new process is understood to apply to applications filed on or after September 1, 2026. How applications already in the pipeline will be handled has not been officially clarified.

Who is covered and who is not

There is a single test: citizenship of a country exempt from Brazil's visitor visa (VIVIS). These include EU countries, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea and several Latin American states.

Note the US, Canada and Australia: their citizens have needed a visa even for tourism since April 10, 2025, so they fall outside the new route.

Does it apply to Russian citizens?

Russia and Brazil have a visa waiver agreement, signed in Rio de Janeiro on November 26, 2008 and in force since June 7, 2010. It allows stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period without a visa. On the formal test, being a national of a country exempt from the visitor visa, Russian citizens therefore qualify for the electronic procedure.

The uncomfortable part: there is no direct confirmation for Russia, and as of publication we found no specific guidance from the Brazilian Embassy in Moscow. Its consular section sees visitors by appointment through its own e-consular system. How do you file through your consulate now? Ask an expert. Do not mail your passport unless the consulate expressly requires it.

Two more practical points:

• Consulate of residence. As a rule, VITEM applications go to the consulate whose district covers where the applicant lives. If you are a Russian national living in, say, Argentina or Serbia, you will most likely file through the Brazilian consulate there.
• Same documents. Police certificates, apostilles and translations are still required. Electronic filing does not simplify the paperwork itself, it only removes the consulate queue. Our translation and legalisation team can prepare the file.

How to apply for the electronic visa, step by step

1. Check eligibility. You need citizenship of a visa-exempt country and a clear basis: work (VITEM V), family reunion (VITEM XI), digital nomad (VITEM XIV), study or another category.
2. Gather the documents for your category. The lists are unchanged and published by each consulate. A work visa still requires a residence authorisation obtained first by the employer in Brazil.
3. Complete the SCI form. It lives at formulario-mre.serpro.gov.br, where you pick the visa type and the consulate and upload scanned documents.
4. Get the email address right. The approved visa is sent only there; there is no other delivery channel.
5. Respond to consular requests. Consular officers can still ask for originals or extra evidence, or call you for an interview. The intent is that these become case-specific exceptions rather than routine.
6. Print the visa and travel. Within 90 days of arrival you must register with the Federal Police and obtain the CRNM migration card (Carteira de Registro Nacional Migratório).

Brazil's Foreign Ministry has not published official processing times for electronic applications. Any promise of a visa within a week is, at this stage, a guess rather than a fact.

Digital nomad visa VITEM XIV: same requirements

For remote workers, the headline is that the nomad visa can now be obtained without visiting a consulate. The criteria themselves are unchanged and are set by CNIg Normative Resolution No. 45 of September 9, 2021.

One key restriction: the visa does not allow paid work for Brazilian companies or clients, so the income must come from abroad. More on the programme and how we prepare the file is on our Brazil digital nomad visa page, and a comparison with other countries is in our remote worker visas section. It pays to sort out an acceptable policy early; we covered how in our guide to health insurance when relocating.

There is also a second route: the same resolution allows applying for residence authorisation from inside Brazil. For Russians, who enter visa-free, this may be an alternative if their consulate still runs the old process. Does this route suit you? Ask an expert.

What the electronic visa does not change

• Requirements and fees. Document lists, legalisation rules and consular fees are the same. The channel changed, not the criteria.
• Work authorisation. For work visas, the prior residence authorisation process is unchanged.
• Registration on arrival. Federal Police registration, biometrics and the CRNM card are still done in person.
• Tax. A visa does not settle tax residence. Brazilian tax residents are taxed on worldwide income, so model the move first: see taxes in Brazil and our explainer on the 183-day rule.

For long-term status rather than a temporary visa, look at the whole route. Options are summarised on our residence permits page and under Brazil: all programmes. Investors have a separate path through residence via property purchase. Families planning a birth in the country usually look at Brazilian citizenship by birth, with details in our article on giving birth in Brazil.

Reality check: consulates have not caught up yet

As of September 2 the picture is uneven. Several Brazilian consulates still publish the old instructions requiring in-person filing or mailing the passport, including New York, Montreal, Paris, London, Barcelona, Geneva and Porto.

The practical takeaways:

• Murblz specialists check your consulate's procedure on the filing date;
• do not send your passport unless the consulate explicitly asks for it;
• build in extra time: there are no official processing times, and new systems rarely start smoothly;
• if your consulate still works the old way, adapting is faster than waiting.

If Brazil is one piece of a wider Latin American plan, compare it with its neighbours: Paraguay and Argentina have their own residence and naturalisation rules. See Paraguayan citizenship and Argentine citizenship.

Our services for Brazil

Electronic filing removes the consulate queue, not the mistakes in a file. These are the main areas we handle for Brazil.

Still choosing where to live? Our city guides to Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Florianopolis will help. Non-standard cases, such as a refusal or a request for extra documents, are handled by Murblz specialists.

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