Mexico’s Foreign Ministry (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores – SRE) published a communiqué on 2 August 2026 confirming that all Brazilian citizens can now obtain an electronic visitor visa (e-Visa) entirely online before traveling. The measure, which formally entered into force on 5 February 2026 after a six-month pilot, replaces the previous requirement for Brazilians to apply in person for a sticker visa at Mexican consulates. Applications are submitted through the SRE’s dedicated portal and processed within 72 hours; approved travellers receive a QR-coded authorisation that must be presented (digitally or in print) upon boarding and again at the port of entry. The Mexican government says the change honours a 2024 commitment by Presidents Lula da Silva and Andrés Manuel López Obrador to remove administrative barriers and stimulate bilateral tourism, cultural exchange and trade. Before the switch, visa appointments in São Paulo and Brasília ran backlogs of up to eight weeks, discouraging corporate road-warriors and MICE delegates. According to Mexico’s tourism board, Brazilian arrivals fell 38 percent between 2022 and 2025 after Mexico reinstated visa requirements; officials now expect visitor numbers to rebound to pre-pandemic levels of roughly 700,000 per year by 2027. For business travellers, the e-Visa covers stays of up to 180 days for meetings, conferences and short-term technical work, provided no remuneration is received from a Mexican source. Longer-term local payroll or remunerated activities (including the growing near-shore services sector) will still require a separate temporary-resident work visa, which must be obtained through a Mexican consulate. Carriers have already begun updating their document-check systems (Timatic) and airlines serving the São Paulo–Mexico City corridor report a spike in bookings for September trade fairs. Brazilian companies sending staff to Mexico should update their mobility policies to include: (1) pre-trip registration on the SRE portal; (2) printing the e-Visa PDF as a back-up against connectivity issues; and (3) ensuring passports are valid for at least six months beyond entry. Travellers transiting the United States en route to Mexico must still hold the appropriate U.S. visa or ESTA. The broader takeaway is that Latin America’s two largest economies are making good on promises to modernise reciprocal mobility. Brasília is expected to reciprocate later this year by re-introducing its own electronic visitor visa for Mexican nationals under the revived e-Visa programme that already covers Australia, Canada, the U.S. and, since March 2026, China. Corporations with regional operations should watch for further digitalisation of entry formalities as both governments look to boost post-pandemic growth.
