Brazil - Brazil Visa Question From a Worried, Young Traveler

Hello all. I am currently a student (from the US) studying abroad in Buenos Aires. I have my return ticket scheduled from Rio to Los Angeles on May 31st and I'm concerned about the Visa process. Originally I had planned on taking a long bus trip from Argentina to Brazil in order to catch my flight. However, in order to apply for the visa the Brazilian consulate wants super detailed entry information, which I don't have at this time.

In order to skip this whole process I've thought about forgoing my time in Brazil and using it as a layover instead. So I figured that I could buy a plane ticket from Chile (where I plan on traveling to after classes end) to Brazil and just staying in the airport, thus skipping the whole visa process. I know there are other threads that discuss this, but I'm neurotic and seek new information.

One concern that I have is that I'd have to find my luggage once in Brazil, and then I'd have to check it in again for my next flight. Because my new flight would probably be with a cheaper Latina American airline, and not American Airlines, I'm concerned that this might be logistically impossible. Can anybody help? Is it possible to have the Latin American airline (maybe LAN) send my luggage to my American Airlines flight? Or can I just do this myself without problems? Please, any advice that you have would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks.

If you need to collect luggage at GIG then you would need a visa for Brasil. So you have 2 problems you need to find out about: 1. is there an international transit area at GIG? There is one at GRU but I am not sure that GIG has it. 2. can bags be interlined to your AA flight? Normally LAN does interline to AA but might not on separate tickets in Brazil.

My opinion is that it is easier to obtain the visa for Brasil than to find a non-visa arrangement, unless you are able to cancel your AA flight GIG-LAX and rebook EZE-MIA-LAX for example. Good luck.

likeriddles, welcome to FlyerTalk. I'll move this discussion to the Travel->Brazil forum for discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

1. is there an international transit area at GIG? There is one at GRU but I am not sure that GIG has it.

Yes, there is one, but you cannot connect between terminals, so if you're flying SCL-GIG, it must be either LA or G3. You cannot fly JJ, since the airline is located in Terminal 2, while AA in Terminal 1.

2. can bags be interlined to your AA flight? Normally LAN does interline to AA but might not on separate tickets in Brazil.

That's the only question that he has to sort out.

As long as you have connecting flight information, do not stay more than 24 hours, and do not leave the airport, you do NOT need a Visa to transit through Brasil.

I'm from the US and am in Brasil now. I remember reading about this when I applied for my Brasil visa.

To verify, I also looked here: http://www.klm.com/travel/ch_en/prepare_for_travel/travel_planning/travel_clinic/timatic.htm


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Visa required, except for Those not staying overnight, and continuing their journey from the same airport, within 24 hours, provided the connecting flight is confirmed on passenger's ticket. Leaving the airport transit lounge is not allowed.

Additional Information:

- All visitors must hold sufficient funds for their stay in Brazil as well as return or onward ticket and other documents required for their next destination.

Warning:
- Passengers arriving with incorrect documentation will be deported back to the country of origin at carrier's expense. Moreover the carrier will have to pay the detention costs and a fine of USD 2,000.- which will be multiplied in case of recurrence.
******************

Bottom line: You should be fine.

-Chris

If I was the OP and would then print everything out. The departing airline in Chile may not let you board if it is not part of a continuing ticket to the US. Therefore, if Brasil allows transiting through GIG I would confirm this and print out any confirmation. I am a bit confused as far as I know there is no sterile International transiting area at GIG as there is at GRU.

I am a bit confused as far as I know there is no sterile International transiting area at GIG as there is at GRU.

Yes, there is, one in every terminal, but they are not interconnectable. AFAIK, every international airport in Brazil has a sterile area. In countries with both immigration and emigration passport controls, it's almost impossible not to have one.

Yes, there is, one in every terminal, but they are not interconnectable. AFAIK, every international airport in Brazil has a sterile area. In countries with both immigration and emigration passport controls, it's almost impossible not to have one.

Absolutely, phone the airlines involved NOW. As in many countries, in Brazil you don't collect bags from a flight until after you've gone through Immigration, and before you go through Customs. When disembarking from an international flight in Brazil you'll see signs or hear airport/airline reps directing people to international connections. But that's before Immigraton. Are there cases where, for example, two international airlines don't have an interline agreement for transfer of bags and people transferring internationally still have to get their bags? I don't know.

If you're connecting in Brazil, you should not have to get your bags, as long as they are tagged for your U.S. destination. You need to make sure that the first airline, which you board in Chile, will, upon you presenting both of your e-tickets (itineraries) tag your luggage for the U.S. and that you won't have to get your bags in Brazil. You need to sort out the situation of your luggage beforehand. If your bags are just tagged for Brazil, I don't see a way to get your bags whle in the "sterile" area. Hopefully the airline you take from Chile to Brazil will agree to let you board, and tag your bags for the U.S., even if you have two separate itineraries. What airline are you booked on from GIG to the U.S.? Staying on just one airlne may reduce complications, though not necessarily reduce costs.

If all else fails, you may need to pay the cost of changing your ticket to fly directly from Chile. When I had to find a one-way ticket from SCL to LAX, Avianca was cheapest (less than $600, as I recall), though that was about 3 years ago. Better start contacting the airlines. And, if still in doubt, contact the Brazilian Embassy in Santiago.

I have my return ticket scheduled from Rio to Los Angeles on May 31st and I'm concerned about the Visa process. Originally I had planned on taking a long bus trip from Argentina to Brazil in order to catch my flight. However, in order to apply for the visa the Brazilian consulate wants super detailed entry information, which I don't have at this time.

In order to skip this whole process I've thought about forgoing my time in Brazil and using it as a layover instead. Please, any advice that you have would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks.


My advice would be to go with your original plan and travel overland to Brasil. Get a bus from Buenos Aires to Iguazu, on arrival stop by the Brasilian consulate and drop your passport in, go off to the Falls for the day and that afternoon or next morning pick up your passport with Brasilian visa and cross over for a day viewing the falls from the Brasilian side. Then get on a bus or plane to Rio.