The European Commission reiterated on 3 January that citizens of visa-exempt countries – including Brazil – must obtain an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) approval before entering the Schengen Area from the end of 2026. While the exact launch date is still to be fixed, officials say the €20 online clearance will be mandatory for business and leisure trips of up to 90 days.
ETIAS collects passport data, travel history and security-screening responses and cross-checks them against Interpol, Europol and public-health databases. Most applications should clear within minutes and approvals last three years, but up to 5 % could be routed to manual review – a step that mobility managers must now bake into lead-times for European assignments.
![EU confirms ETIAS pre-authorisation will apply to Brazilian visitors from late 2026]()
For travellers who prefer expert assistance, VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can manage the entire ETIAS filing process on your behalf, track real-time status updates and let HR teams oversee multiple applications from a single dashboard—helping prevent delays and last-minute boarding denials.
Travel-management companies in São Paulo welcomed the clarity but warned of initial confusion similar to that seen when the U.K. launched its Electronic Travel Authorisation. HR teams should update relocation policies, ensure cost forecasts include the fee and consider bulk on-boarding webinars for frequent travellers.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said it is negotiating data-privacy guarantees and reciprocal facilitation for Brazilian diplomatic passport holders. Meanwhile, airlines plan IT upgrades so check-in systems validate ETIAS codes before issuing boarding passes – passengers without authorisation will be denied boarding and carriers fined.
ETIAS collects passport data, travel history and security-screening responses and cross-checks them against Interpol, Europol and public-health databases. Most applications should clear within minutes and approvals last three years, but up to 5 % could be routed to manual review – a step that mobility managers must now bake into lead-times for European assignments.
For travellers who prefer expert assistance, VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can manage the entire ETIAS filing process on your behalf, track real-time status updates and let HR teams oversee multiple applications from a single dashboard—helping prevent delays and last-minute boarding denials.
Travel-management companies in São Paulo welcomed the clarity but warned of initial confusion similar to that seen when the U.K. launched its Electronic Travel Authorisation. HR teams should update relocation policies, ensure cost forecasts include the fee and consider bulk on-boarding webinars for frequent travellers.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said it is negotiating data-privacy guarantees and reciprocal facilitation for Brazilian diplomatic passport holders. Meanwhile, airlines plan IT upgrades so check-in systems validate ETIAS codes before issuing boarding passes – passengers without authorisation will be denied boarding and carriers fined.
