Resisting will increase your risk of injury. Carjackings and hold-ups can occur at any time of the day or night, especially at intersections and in tunnels. Some robberies involve individuals robbed at gunpoint and taken to make purchases or to withdraw as much money as possible from one or more ATMs. Crime on public transportation occurs. Registered taxis have red license plates and openly display company information and phone numbers. Credit card fraud and ATM scams are common in Brazil.
Work closely with your financial institutions to monitor accounts and keep your credit card in view while it is scanned at a point of sale. Avoid using ATMs in unfamiliar, secluded, or lightly protected areas. Be aware that criminals often target ATMs and businesses in the early hours of the morning when there are fewer witnesses and law enforcement response times may be delayed.
If you opt to use an ATM, select those that are located inside of secure facilities, such as an airport, hospital, bank, or government building. Avoid openly displaying your cell phone. When using a ride share service or taxi, wait for its arrival in a secure area. Avoid large groups or events where crowds have gathered. Public events of any nature, including concerts and sporting events, can unexpectedly turn violent.
Department of State approvals. Individuals with ties to illegal criminal networks operate along Brazilian borders. To reduce the chance of becoming the victim of a crime, in addition to the above recommendations, please review the below precautions:.
Limit the personal belongings you carry with you. Carry your money in your front pockets and limit the number of credit cards you carry. Make copies of all of your personal documents — including your credit cards, license, passport, etc. This will be helpful if you lose your documents. Do not carry or wear valuable items that will attract the attention of thieves. If you need to wear expensive jewelry or carry a camera, conceal it until you arrive at your destination.
Be aware of the street environment and avoid contact with those who may be looking for robbery targets. Seek a safer location. Go into a store, bank, or simply cross the street. Do not walk on beaches after dark. Assaults are common. Use increased caution when hiking in isolated areas, particularly near popular tourist locations in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Demonstrations and strikes are common in urban areas, may occur unexpectedly, disrupt transportation, and may escalate into violence. In most instances, you can report crimes to the tourist or civil police. Embassy or Consulate, but local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime. See our webpage on help for U. Victims of Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault: Contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate for assistance after contacting local authorities.
Tourism: The tourism industry is unevenly regulated, and safety inspections for equipment and facilities are inconsistent. Tourism industry staff may not be trained or certified either by the host government or by recognized authorities in the field. In the event of an injury, appropriate and timely medical treatment is consistently available only in or near major cities. First responders can face delays accessing areas outside of major cities to quickly provide urgent medical treatment.
See our webpage for more information on insurance providers for overseas coverage. Criminal Penalties: You are subject to local laws. If you violate local laws, even unknowingly, you may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. Individuals establishing a business or practicing a profession that requires additional permits or licensing should seek information from the competent local authorities, prior to practicing or operating a business.
Furthermore, some laws are also prosecutable in the United States, regardless of local law. For examples, see our website on crimes against minors abroad and the Department of Justice website. Arrest Notification: If you are arrested or detained, ask police or prison officials to notify the U.
Embassy or Consulate immediately. See our webpage for further information. Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Although counterfeit and pirated goods are prevalent in many countries, they may still be illegal according to local laws. You may also pay fines or have to give them up if you bring them back to the United States. See the U. Department of Justice website for more information.
Ocean currents and waves are unpredictable, even in popular beaches frequented by tourists. Shark attacks are reported in the waters of some beaches in northeastern Brazil, particularly near Recife.
Always observe posted warnings and never swim while under the influence of alcohol. Electricity Blackouts: Power failures in large urban centers are common and sometimes followed by increased crime.
Most tourist hotels are equipped with generators, minimizing the impact of a blackout, but you should remain cautious. Natural Disasters: Flooding and mudslides occur throughout the country and can be fatal. Monitor news and weather reports and adhere to municipal advisories before traveling to areas prone to flooding or landslides. Please also refer to our information on customs regulations.
Travelers Who Require Accessibility Assistance: Brazilian law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, education, and access to health care. However, accessibility to public transportation and the ability to accommodate the needs of physically disabled persons are limited in most areas.
Women Travelers: See our travel tips for Women Travelers. Ambulance services are not present throughout the country or are unreliable in most areas except in state capitals and other large cities.
We do not pay medical bills. Be aware that U. Most hospitals and doctors overseas do not accept U. Medical Insurance: Make sure your health insurance plan provides coverage overseas.
Most care providers overseas only accept cash payments. Visit the U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information on type of insurance you should consider before you travel overseas. If traveling with prescription medication, check with the Government of Brazil to ensure the medication is legal in Brazil. Vaccinations: Be up-to-date on all vaccinations recommended by the U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Though the yellow fever vaccine is not required to enter Brazil, travelers wishing to be vaccinated should consider receiving it prior to travel, as local supplies are limited. Please note that the yellow fever vaccine should be administered ten days prior to travel for it to be effective. Also note that, while yellow fever vaccine is not required to enter Brazil, some neighboring countries French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Bolivia, and Paraguay do require travelers with recent entries in Brazil to show proof of yellow fever vaccination.
All travelers to the country are advised to carry documentation, such as a vaccination card, that they have been appropriately vaccinated for yellow fever.
Yellow fever Measles Polio. If you plan to undergo surgery in Brazil, make sure that emergency medical facilities are available and professionals are accredited and qualified. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for information on Medical Tourism, the risks of medical tourism, and what you can do to prepare before traveling to Brazil.
Non-traditional Medicine: Several U. Ensure you have access to licensed emergency medical facilities if seeking such services. World Health Organization U. Public Transportation: Consider avoiding the use of public, municipal buses in Brazil at any time of day, and especially at night. Public buses are one of the main modes of inter-city road travel. Thus, efforts to increase competition are clearly a positive step.
Knowing you have to get a visa in one country, when another offers a visa waiver, can certainly be an obstacle. For this reason, Brazil has also been trying to streamline the visa application for US citizens. Just like with the US ESTA visa-waiver application, the whole application is done online, and can be completed in under twenty minutes.
The visa is equally valid to one acquired from an embassy or consulate, and acts as a huge facilitator for increasing tourism. Nevertheless, the USA has not yet implemented a similar measure, so there is no reciprocity in this case. Reciprocity is generally a key component for the longevity of such measures, however the Open Skies Agreement between the two nations may be a step in the right direction.
However, allowing Brazil to join the Visa Waiver Program is potentially a much more powerful proposal, and could be the next big step in boosting the tourist trade between both countries. Applicants simply fill out and submit an online form, and then receive an email within 24 hours informing them of their approval status.
This means they can visit the USA as many times as they like during this two-year period, provided they adhere to the conditions of the Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver application system serves as a highly preferable alternative to applying for a business or tourist visa via a US embassy or consulate, which traditionally involves high costs and lengthy waiting times.
Any citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program is eligible to apply for ESTA , which, in turn, has a very high approval rate. However, it is not so easy for countries to become members of the program, which is why Brazil is still not able to enjoy its benefits.
However, in its current efforts to make tourism easier, particularly in terms of US tourists, perhaps it is now paving the path towards eligibility. Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy. You may also use the US Government's internet site www. A full refund, including any and all government fees will occur if you are denied travel authorization through our service. It discusses the potential effects on national security and considers the likely economic effects on the U.
The report also reviews legislative proposals in the th Congress related to the expansion and implementation of the VWP, and legislation targeting U. The Secretary of State must formally make the nomination; DHS then conducts a final review and certifies that the aspiring participant meets all the requirements. To be eligible, a country 4 must comply with an extensive list of conditions specified in several different laws.
It must. Figure 1. One of the VWP criteria—the nonimmigrant, or temporary, visitor visa refusal rate—has been the subject of scrutiny by Congress.
This rate represents the proportion of individuals whose applications for tourist or business visas have been rejected by U. When the VWP was conceived, some legislators argued that the number of nonimmigrants who overstay the terms of their entry under the VWP would be a better standard for future program participation, as the nonimmigrant visitor visa refusal rate is not based on the actual behavior of nonimmigrants.
Some advocates have called for the return of the nonimmigrant visitor visa refusal rate waiver, which was available from October to July Figure 2 shows the most recently available nonimmigrant visitor visa refusal rates and the DHS-estimated overstay rates for selected aspiring VWP countries. Figure 2. Since the establishment of the VWP, the number of participating countries has been increased several times and two countries have been removed. The United Kingdom was the first country to be admitted, in July , followed by Japan in December of the same year see Figure 3.
Six countries were added in An additional 13 countries were admitted in , and another eight countries joined from to There was a gap until , when another eight countries were admitted. Adding countries to the VWP is done through bilateral negotiations, and membership is often perceived as evidence of close ties with the United States.
Argentina and Uruguay are the only two countries that have been removed from the program, in and , respectively. Figure 3.
VWP Participants. Source: U. Poland had been working with DHS for more than a decade to meet the program's criteria. The Polish government had been outspoken in expressing frustration over the failure to include the country in the VWP.
Reportedly, President Barack Obama said in December that he was going to make it a priority to get Poland into the program. President Donald Trump, in public remarks before a September meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, said in reference to Poland's designation into the VWP that his administration was "looking at that very strongly.
Many other countries would like to join the program to make it easier for their nationals to travel to the United States. In , the George W. Bush Administration began providing countries interested in joining the VWP with road maps to aid them in meeting the program's criteria. Of these, 10 have since been admitted.
Israel has also been vocal about wanting to enter the VWP, but it has faced challenges meeting certain criteria. For instance, Israel's Biometric Database Law prohibits sharing fingerprint data with foreign authorities, though reportedly the United States and Israel came to an agreement to share data for those with a criminal background.
Brazil is often included in reports about aspiring VWP countries. In June , Brazil introduced visa-free entry for U.
A country can be terminated from the program if the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines that a country's participation in the VWP undermines U. Argentina and Uruguay are former members of the VWP. Argentina joined in , but the United States removed it in after poor economic conditions in the country led to an increase in the number of Argentine nationals entering the United States without visas and remaining illegally past the day period of admission.
National security is a key goal of the VWP. Over the years, Congress has continued to add security criteria for VWP participation. In addition, several laws require VWP partner countries to share information with the United States and to set standards for travel documentation.
Nevertheless, debate remains as to whether the VWP sufficiently vets individual travelers prior to arrival at a U. ESTA alerts the foreign national whether he or she has been approved to travel. If not approved, the individual must obtain a visa prior to coming to the United States.
Under the current system, at the time a foreign national submits an ESTA application at least 72 hours before travel , he or she is screened against a number of security databases, including the Terrorist Screening Database; TECS not an acronym , a system used by U.
Appendix B offers an explanation of these systems and databases. An ESTA authorization is generally valid for multiple entries over a period of two years. Throughout this period, the ESTA system continually vets approved individuals' information against these databases. Notably, a determination under ESTA that a foreign national is eligible to travel to the United States does not constitute a determination that the individual is admissible. The foreign national may still be deemed inadmissible and denied entry by CBP inspectors upon arrival at a U.
Travel Promotion Efforts ". Although there tends to be agreement that the VWP benefits the U. The VWP contains provisions that affect national security at two levels: country-to-country security agreements and individual traveler security screening.
To participate in the VWP, countries must agree to share extensive information with the United States about lost passports, known and suspected terrorists, and serious criminals.
The VWP also sets standards for participating foreign countries' passports, visas, and border security. As previously mentioned, VWP countries must issue biometric e-passports and tamper-resistant, machine-readable visa documents. Moreover, foreign countries' participation in the VWP allows the United States to monitor their border operations.
Government to conduct such broad and consequential assessments of foreign partners' border security operations. The possibility of joining the VWP is an incentive for aspiring VWP countries to share such information and improve their border security. The vetting of VWP travelers contains some features absent from the traditional screening required to receive a nonimmigrant visitor visa for business and tourist travel. VWP travelers do not undergo the same screening required of travelers from most countries to receive a nonimmigrant visitor visa, which typically includes a personal interview with a U.
Another concern, following a number of high-profile terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years perpetrated mainly by European citizens, has been the possible threat posed by nationals from VWP countries who are aligned with the Islamic State. A focus had been on radicalized citizens of VWP countries who could have fought in the Middle East for the Islamic State or other terrorist groups.
Conceivably, these individuals may have been able to travel to the United States under the VWP if there was no derogatory information about them in U. These individuals can still apply for a visa to travel to the United States.
Another point of contention is whether the VWP threatens the United States' immigration enforcement interests. A principal objective of the VWP is to boost the U. The number of international visitors arriving in the United States totaled Because of the sharp decline in international travel in the wake of the COVID pandemic, many international flights have been cancelled and visitor volume is likely to fall sharply in In , the travel and tourism sectors accounted for 2.
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