The deputies from the Committee on Tourism and Sports are discussing a collective amendment to the various bills about the entry visas for foreign tourists into Brazil. All of them have the objective of reducing bureaucracy for visitors.

One of the proposals, the PL 3059/08, by deputy Carlos Eduardo Cadoca (PSC-PE), foresees that the visa will be requested via internet, with either concession or refusal upon arriving on Brazilian soil.

Another bill, PL 178/07, by deputy Otávio Leite (PSDB-RJ), foresees that the tourist visa will be granted upon the moment of entry for citizens from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The proposal still predicts that the Executive Branch can extend this facility to visitors from other countries with the objective of increasing the flow of foreign tourists to Brazil.

2014 World Cup
The present of the Committee on Tourism, deputy Afonso Hamm (PP-RS), highlights the importance of debating this issue now as Brazil prepares itself to host the 2014 World Cup.

“We are interested in broadening conditions of access to all tourists, and preferentially, to the biggest number of countries possible. This will bring resources and strengthen the job market in the tourism sector. This market already offers more than three million jobs today. With an ever increasing flow of tourists,
the economy will consequentially develop.”Afonso Hamm’s intention is to vote on a proposal by the second semester this year.

The PL 4010/08, of deputy Cândido Vaccarezza (PT-SP) is also being analyzed the committee, which allows foreigners to not possess a tourist visa if they enter into the country for reasons of recreation.

Vaccarezza points out data from the second Annual Embratur Statitistics (Brazilian Institute of Tourism) that shows an increase in the average number of foreign entries into Brazil from 1.5 million in the 1990s to 4 million entries from 2000 on. “After making concessions so that tourists can do without tourists visas we will have a much bigger quantity of foreign entries into the Country, which will make it possible for tourism to be a transformation agent in the country, bringing sources of economic wealth and social development.”

For the deputy, the measure will also provide to the betterment of tourism and promotional infra-structure while expanding the commercialization of Brazilian tourism to the international scene.

Reciprocity
The Minister of Tourism, Luiz Barreto, said in the House on Tuesday (4) that doing without tourist visas to some countries will encounter resistance due to the constitutional demand of reciprocity. Currently, in accordance with the Foreigner’s Statute, Brazil must apply the same principle of reciprocity and demand visas from those countries that demand visas from Brazilians.

Upon participating in the public hearing in the Commission on Tourism at the end of last year, the director of the Department of Immigration and Legal Issues of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Mitzi Gurgel Valente da Costa, said that Itamaraty is against the end of reciprocity criteria for emission of visas and that Brazil does not have the necessary structure to emit visas in its airports.

Procedure
The three projects are concluded.

Reporting - Marise Lugullo/ Rádio Câmara
Edition - Regina Céli Assumpção
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Patrick Richard Swan