India and Brazil seal 10-year multiple-entry visa agreement to deepen BRICS mobility

During President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s state visit to New Delhi, India and Brazil signed a landmark deal extending the validity of tourist (VIVIS) and business (VITEM II) visas from five to ten years for ordinary-passport holders of both countries. The accord, published on 28 February 2026 in the Free Press Journal, immediately doubles allowable stay periods and dramatically cuts renewal bureaucracy for frequent travellers. The pact creates one of the longest reciprocal visa windows among BRICS members and is designed to facilitate trade, investment and “people-to-people” exchanges ahead of the 2026 BRICS summit in Recife. Indian IT firms operating in São Paulo’s Tech Hub estimate that the change will save at least two weeks per renewal cycle and reduce compliance costs by 30 percent. Under the new rules, each entry allows stays of up to 180 days per year, giving executives and project teams wide latitude to manage cross-border assignments without triggering Brazilian residence-permit thresholds. Indian professionals entering on business visas remain barred from drawing a Brazilian payroll but can now shuttle in and out to oversee projects, negotiate contracts and attend trade fairs with far greater flexibility. For Brazilian companies, the 10-year window eases market-entry planning for India’s booming renewable-energy and agritech sectors. Export-financing agency BNDES confirmed that a joint taskforce will map priority projects eligible for fast-track environmental and customs clearance. Corporate mobility managers should update travel matrices to reflect the new validity, ensure passports have at least 18 months’ validity at the time of application, and remind travellers that the visa sticker—or its digital equivalent—must still be transferred to a new passport if the original document expires before 2036.