Transit Visa Required for GRU
 

I searched this topic but didn't find the exact situation so I was hoping someone could shed some light on the matter. I have a Delta/Continental award ticket with routing EWR-SCL, GRU-EWR and was going to purchase a seperate one-way ticket from EZE to GRU. I am planning to travel in Chile and Argentina and was only going to be in Brazil in transit from EZE. Will I need a visa for a 2 hr layover in GRU and will I need to go through the finger printing at GRU. Its my understanding that the Varig flight (EZE-GRU) and Continental flight (GRU-EWR) both arrive and depart in terminal 2 in San Paulo.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

I just went through GRU and remember seeing personnel at the jetway exit directing arriving transit passengers in one direction (I would guess to stay airside) and everybody else towards immigration. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that you do not need a transit visa if you are staying airside. Hopefully somebody that has done an international connection can confirm for you.

Incidentally I was not fingerprinted or photographed at Brazilian immigration but they did carefully check my visa before stamping me into the country.

I did NOT need a transit visa for this trips:

MIA-GRU on TAM, stopover 2+ hours and then GRU-EZE again on TAM
and back again EZE - GRU - EZE also on TAM.

There is a transit area at GRU; airside...

You should check, if you can check the baggage through (EZE-(GRU)-EWR) with Varig, CO...

GRU vs EZE
 

You do not need a visa to transfer in GRU however you usually do in EZE--I have been denied entrance into the country (Brazil) because I was told I needed a visa and when I went through GRU it was not stamped and then a year later when I went to Rio my visa was not valid because it was not stamped within the required 90 day time!

Usually your airline (CO) will know the requirements but in my case they did not.

Just make sure that you show your EZE/GRU airline your onward ticket @ check-in, otherwise they could be fined for flying you to GRU without a visa if you weren't travelling onward.

Just make sure you never get to immigration (signage is so so, but there seem to be agents of some sort near every passageway - I kept asking each one re: connection). Just note that you will need to be cleared through security (which may involve waiting at the gate for awhile) before you enter your lounge. Hopefully things have improved since my last transit through there.

On an American passport, I've gone JFK-GRU-EZE (with a change of carrier at GRU) without any Brazilian visa.

On another matter, what globecircler went through is a separate matter and relates to having to use a Brazilian visa within a certain period of time (say 90 days) or it goes stale and can no longer be used. Americans can transit EZE without a visa or with a free visa on arrival.

I did the above international connection several times without a Brazilian visa and that works because one can stay airside (as transit passengers are conducted separately).

As a follow-up question - can you transit if your bags are not checked thru - and are there any airlines (e.g. Pluna or AR that don't interline with AA)?

Also, is the aiport hotel airside?

There is no on-site hotel at GRU. There are a couple of nearby hotels that have shuttle service to the airport -- obviously they are not airside.

This ones for GUWonder:

I think you have done a transit in GRU mulliple times so can you tell me whether you can check bags thru in GRU. I'm flying AA JFK-GRU and onwards to EZE/MVD (last leg + carrier not yet decided). Also, what is the minimum connection time in GRU?

many thanks.

I don't know what the MCT at GRU is, but if you are on one ticketed itinerary your bags can definitely be through checked JFK-GRU-EZE without doing immigration & baggage claim+customs at GRU. (Last I did this, Varig was still around and I had done JFK-GRU-EZE with the GRU-EZE segment on Varig.)

If you are on two tickets, make sure that AA manually checks in your bags through to the final destination (and that the tag shows EZE), otherwise there'll be issues.

Thanks! That's a fast turnaround...

One condition I failed to mention earlier for this to work: the airlines must have an interline agreement for baggage. In my situations, the carriers have had interline agreements and I suspect that most of the major carriers that partner with the global alliances and/or with the US carriers have them. (The dangers of a "fast turnaround" is leaving out an important item. :o )

I think AA suspended the interline with Varig in mid-06 (they are flying again though). I'll check on that again.

One last question - can you transfer from terminal 1 to 2 w/o going thru immigration? (Arrive AA - leave TAM)