My Experience Getting a Brazil Tourist Visa in Houston

I am traveling to Brazil in July and since I am a US Citizen, I needed a visa to travel there. Here is the process and my experience getting a visa at the Consulate in Houston.

First fill out the online application. This is the only way to apply as you cannot apply in person. After you fill it out, you must print out the form, attach a passport picture of yourself, and sign the form.

Next I checked to see where the nearest Brazilian Consulate was which luckily enough is in my city of Houston. Check your jurisdiction for the state you live in.

Third, I went to this website to schedule an appointment with the Houston Consulate. The protocol number can be found on the form that you printed out on the first step.

Protocol number

Make sure that you schedule your appointment as soon as possible as the first availability could be a month or so away. I filled out my application in early May and the first available time was in early June. You can make your appointment up to 60 days in advance and they don’t accept walk-ins. Click here for step by step instructions of how to make an appointment.

What to bring to your appointment:
1) Visa application with photo attached
2) Passport valid for at least 6 months with 2 blank pages
3) Copy of your booked flight (I was able to show them on my phone but print it out to be safe)
4) Visa payment in the form of a Money Order from USPS only. Standard visa fee is $160. See this link for fees if you are a citizen of another country.

USPS money order

When I finally went to my appointment, I went up to the window and they took my documents to process. Unfortunately the computers were down temporarily so had to wait over an hour but usually the visas are issued within 20-30 minutes.
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I got my visa in my passport and now I am ready for Brazil!

2 Comments on "My Experience Getting a Brazil Tourist Visa in Houston"

  1. ArkansasTraveler | June 11, 2014 at 9:44 am | Reply

    While what you wrote is technically correct, the Brazilian consulate in Houston does take walk-ins as several were processed when I was there for an assortment of reasons (e.g. I thought I had an appointment, and I didn’t know I needed a visa and our trip is next week.) I saw several walk-ins have their applications processed within the two hours we were there waiting for I visa to be affixed to our passport. I think this is just to spread out the work flow as most people will go on the date of their appointment.

    • Giddy for Points | June 11, 2014 at 9:48 am | Reply

      Thanks for the clarification! I guess they just insist on an appointment but not strictly enforced

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