Canada’s Global Affairs Department elevated its risk rating for Brazil to "Exercise a high degree of caution" on 4 January, grouping the country with Mexico, Cuba and others facing "escalating security threats, border instability and tightening visa rules." The advisory singles out Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador for violent crime, but also warns travellers to avoid a 20-km belt along Brazil’s land borders with Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and French Guiana, where arms- and drug-smuggling gangs are active.
Although the notice stops short of recommending Canadians cancel trips, it urges robust security plans, avoidance of night travel and diligence with new Brazilian e-Visa formalities for short stays. The advisory could influence corporate travel policies: several Canadian mining and engineering firms with operations in Pará and Minas Gerais said they will now require armed transport from airports to sites and may shift meetings to virtual formats.
![Canada issues high-level travel advisory for Brazil citing crime and border volatility]()
Travellers looking for streamlined assistance with Brazil’s new e-Visa or other documentation can turn to VisaHQ, whose online platform walks Canadian passport holders through each step, offers real-time status updates and provides expert support for both business and leisure trips (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/).
Brazil’s tourism board Embratur played down the risk, pointing to record visitor arrivals in 2025 and expanded police patrols in major hubs. However, global mobility managers warn that such advisories can affect expatriate insurance premiums and trigger "hardship" allowance reviews under many assignment policies.
Companies should verify whether their travel-risk providers automatically feed Canadian government ratings into traveller-tracking platforms, as conflicting data from U.S., U.K. and Australian advisories could create compliance gaps.
Although the notice stops short of recommending Canadians cancel trips, it urges robust security plans, avoidance of night travel and diligence with new Brazilian e-Visa formalities for short stays. The advisory could influence corporate travel policies: several Canadian mining and engineering firms with operations in Pará and Minas Gerais said they will now require armed transport from airports to sites and may shift meetings to virtual formats.
Travellers looking for streamlined assistance with Brazil’s new e-Visa or other documentation can turn to VisaHQ, whose online platform walks Canadian passport holders through each step, offers real-time status updates and provides expert support for both business and leisure trips (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/).
Brazil’s tourism board Embratur played down the risk, pointing to record visitor arrivals in 2025 and expanded police patrols in major hubs. However, global mobility managers warn that such advisories can affect expatriate insurance premiums and trigger "hardship" allowance reviews under many assignment policies.
Companies should verify whether their travel-risk providers automatically feed Canadian government ratings into traveller-tracking platforms, as conflicting data from U.S., U.K. and Australian advisories could create compliance gaps.
