2024 is shaping up to be the year of travel reprieves.
Hot on the heels of the European Union postponing (again) its much-mooted ETIAS program, which will require visitors from most non-EU countries to obtain pre-travel clearance, Brazil has pushed back the start of its new visa system for travelers from the US, Canada and Australia.
However, if 2024 is the year of the reprieve, 2025 is when everything will hit home. And for travelers from those three countries heading to Brazil, it’ll hit home, hit their bank balances – and require them to share their bank statements, too.
ETIAS is slated to start in 2025 and Brazil has now confirmed a start date for its visa program.
From April 10, 2025, citizens from Australia, Canada and the US will need a visa to enter the country. On the plus side, those traveling for tourism or cruise travel can apply for an evisa online, rather than visiting a consulate.
Meanwhile, this is just a normal day for travelers from developing countries trying to visit first world countries.
Except PITA for brazilians to go to the US, not only we need to pay to make it we also need to present a bunch of documents, fill a ton of online questionnaires, wait in long ass lines and then hand over our passport to a foreign government for like a month just to get a tourist visa, which doesn’t guarantee entry since the border agent can’t just say fuck you and make you fly back (happened to my cousin).