PassportSouth Africa

Trip checklist: Brazil

For South African passport holders. Last checked 5 October 2026.

Visa requirement

South Africans don't need a visa for Brazil.

Permitted stay

You can stay up to 90 days per visit, and you can apply to extend.

Before you go

  • Purpose of visit

    The exemption covers visits (VIVIS: tourism, business, transit, artistic or sporting activities). Paid work needs a visa.

  • Passport validity

    FCDO advises at least 6 months' validity from arrival. Not confirmed on a Brazilian official page.

  • How to apply

    No visa needed. Present your passport at immigration.

  • Where South Africans apply

    Not needed for visits. For other visa types: the Embassy of Brazil in Pretoria (gov.br/mre/embaixada-pretoria) and Consulate-General in Cape Town. The gov.br pages sit behind a CAPTCHA and could not be read.

  • Vaccinations, including yellow fever on return to South Africa

    Brazil: no yellow fever certificate required on entry (WHO). WHO recommends vaccination for much of the country, including Amazonas and Distrito Federal. South Africa's own rule on return: South Africa requires a valid yellow fever certificate from all travellers over 1 year of age, South African citizens included, arriving from a yellow-fever-risk country or after more than 12 hours' airport transit in one; Brazil is on South Africa's risk list. Without it you can be refused entry or quarantined for up to 6 days. The certificate is valid for life and only counts 10 days after vaccination. This is the requirement South Africans most often miss.

  • Extending your stay and overstaying

    Extensions are handled by the Polícia Federal. FCDO: overstays are fined per day, payable on departure or on your next entry.

  • Transit

    Visa-free status covers transit.

  • Travelling with children

    FCDO advises children travelling without both parents to carry an original or notarised birth certificate and parental authorisation. Brazil applies strict rules to Brazilian (including dual-national) children. South Africa's own rules on minors apply on departure and return.

  • Confirm with the embassy

    Rules change. Check the official source before you book.

Where to apply

Research sources

  1. 1. Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty): Quadro Geral de Regime de Vistos, updated 8 April 2025 (hosted on the official COP30 government site) (Official, cop30.br) https://cop30.br/pt-br/servicos-da-cop30/visto/2025-04_quadrogeral-regime-de-vistos_pt.pdf/@@download/file
  2. 2. UK FCDO (Other government, gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/brazil/entry-requirements
  3. 3. DIRCO (South African High Commission, Canberra) (Other government, dirco.gov.za) https://dirco.gov.za/canberra/yellow-fever/
  4. 4. South African National Department of Health (Other government, health.gov.za) https://www.health.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DOH-Yellow-Fever-Pamphlet-1.pdf
  5. 5. World Health Organization, International Travel and Health country list (Other government, cdn.who.int) https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/emergencies/travel-advice/yellow-fever-country-list-ith-travel.pdf
  6. 6. Wikipedia (Reference, en.wikipedia.org) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_South_African_citizens
  7. 7. The GSA (SA visa service), Brazil guide (Commercial, thegsa.co.za) https://www.thegsa.co.za/visa-and-country-info/2768-brazil-country-guide

From doineedavisa.co.za/brazil. Always confirm with the embassy before you travel.