The Brazilian authorities published a new note (or “ordinance”) in the country’s official gazette on November 27, 2021, updating the travel restrictions for foreign nationals arriving in Brazil.1 Due to the detection of the “omicron” variant of the SARS-CoV-2 (“coronavirus”) in southern Africa, a travel ban list has been imposed by the Brazilian government.
Scheduled flights from the southern African nations of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are now suspended until further notice.
Furthermore, the ordinance establishes that a 14-day quarantine period must be observed by all individuals who recently arrived from or transited through the aforementioned southern African countries.
WHY THIS MATTERS
It is important for foreign individuals who are in the listed southern African nations to re-evaluate the necessity of their international trips to Brazil at this time in light of the evolving travel restrictions and risks to public health.
Moreover, companies worldwide with assignees and business travelers with plans to come to Brazil may feel the impact of the new travel restrictions, taking account of the updates to Brazil’s travel ban list. If such travel is not essential, it may be prudent to reconsider for the time being traveling to Brazil.2
More Details
The updated ordinance indicates the possibility of the Brazilian authorities restricting those travelers who do not comply with the adopted measures, potentially forcing them to leave Brazilian territory.
Additionally, the note continues to afford the possibility of presenting a negative SARS-CoV-2 antigen test issued no later than 24 hours before the travel date or a negative RT-PCR test issued no later than 72 hours before the flight for those individuals traveling from non-restricted countries.
KPMG NOTE
The authorities are constantly updating the rules in response to the changing pandemic situation. Travelers seeking to enter Brazil should regularly check the latest information made available by the nearest Brazilian Embassy or Consulate about entry into and exit from the country, and the restoration of passport and visa services.
The KPMG International member firm in Brazil continues to monitor the situation around travel and border restrictions and will endeavor to keep readers of GMS Flash Alert apprised of any new developments.
1 See the Brazilian government announcement of November 27, Portaria N° 660/2021 (in Portuguese) as published in the Diário Oficial da União, 27/11/2021, Edição: 222-B.
2 For prior coverage of travel restrictions, see the following issues of GMS Flash Alert: 2021-257 (October 12, 2021), 2021-223 (August 30, 2021), 2021-147 (May 24, 2021), 2021-094 (March 25, 2021), 2021-047 (February 5, 2021), 2021-025 (January 15, 2021), 2021-007 (January 5, 2021), 2020-501 (December 22, 2020), 2020-469 (November 25, 2020), 2020-425 (October 9, 2020), 2020-417 (October 1, 2020), 2020-389 (September 4, 2020), 2020-348 (August 7, 2020), 2020-312 (July 10, 2020), 2020-284 (June 17, 2020), and 2020-119 (March 26, 2020).
* Please note that KPMG LLP (U.S.) does not provide any immigration services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.
The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Brazil.
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