In a major boost for Sino-Latin American mobility, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confirmed on 23 January that China’s ordinary-passport holders will soon be able to enter Brazil visa-free for business, tourism, family visits or transit of up to 30 days per trip.
Although an implementation date has not yet been published, officials in Brasília say the decree will be issued “within the first quarter”, giving airlines, tour operators and corporate mobility teams several weeks to adapt booking and compliance procedures.
![Brazil Announces Visa-Free Entry for Chinese Short-Stay Visitors]()
Brazil’s move is explicitly framed as reciprocity for Beijing’s unilateral visa-waiver for Brazilians that took effect in 2025. Travel data provider Qunar reported an immediate five-fold surge in searches for flights to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo within hours of the announcement, with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou generating the strongest demand. Long-haul capacity will, however, remain a bottleneck: there are still no non-stop mainland-Brazil flights and the only regular option—Air China’s Beijing-Madrid-São Paulo service—operated just 27 rotations in December.
Travel planners looking to stay ahead of the policy rollout can tap VisaHQ’s expertise: the platform’s China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) tracks live entry rules and will flag the exact start date, required documentation and any post-arrival formalities, ensuring companies and individual travellers alike navigate the new waiver seamlessly.
For multinationals, the exemption eliminates consular lead times that regularly stretched to four weeks and simplifies short-term project deployments in energy, agribusiness and infrastructure. HR and travel managers should still monitor for the forthcoming regulatory instrument, expected to clarify (1) permissible activities, (2) evidence of onward or return travel, and (3) the possibility of on-arrival conversion to longer-term permits.
Although an implementation date has not yet been published, officials in Brasília say the decree will be issued “within the first quarter”, giving airlines, tour operators and corporate mobility teams several weeks to adapt booking and compliance procedures.
Brazil’s move is explicitly framed as reciprocity for Beijing’s unilateral visa-waiver for Brazilians that took effect in 2025. Travel data provider Qunar reported an immediate five-fold surge in searches for flights to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo within hours of the announcement, with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou generating the strongest demand. Long-haul capacity will, however, remain a bottleneck: there are still no non-stop mainland-Brazil flights and the only regular option—Air China’s Beijing-Madrid-São Paulo service—operated just 27 rotations in December.
Travel planners looking to stay ahead of the policy rollout can tap VisaHQ’s expertise: the platform’s China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) tracks live entry rules and will flag the exact start date, required documentation and any post-arrival formalities, ensuring companies and individual travellers alike navigate the new waiver seamlessly.
For multinationals, the exemption eliminates consular lead times that regularly stretched to four weeks and simplifies short-term project deployments in energy, agribusiness and infrastructure. HR and travel managers should still monitor for the forthcoming regulatory instrument, expected to clarify (1) permissible activities, (2) evidence of onward or return travel, and (3) the possibility of on-arrival conversion to longer-term permits.
