Only 18 months after switching Brazilians from a quick online authorisation to a time-consuming paper visa, Mexico has pressed the reset button. An ordinance published by the Mexican Foreign Ministry on 5 February 2026 reactivates the Sistema de Autorización Electrónica (SAE) for holders of Brazilian passports who enter for tourism, business or airport-transit purposes. From now on, applicants complete a short form, upload a passport scan and—within a few hours—receive a QR-coded approval by e-mail.
The move rewinds a controversial policy introduced in August 2022, when Mexico—concerned about irregular onward migration to the United States—forced Brazilians to appear in person at consulates in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Brasília. Airlines reported a 40 % drop in Brazilian traffic to Cancun in the first year of the paper-visa regime, while the Riviera Maya Hotel Association estimated revenue losses of US $400 million. The timing of the U-turn is no coincidence: hoteliers and tour operators are bracing for surging demand in the run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a tri-nation tournament that will bring matches to Mexico, the United States and Canada.
For business-mobility managers the benefits are immediate. Engineers travelling at short notice to Monterrey’s auto plants, or sales teams heading for trade fairs in Mexico City, no longer need to courier originals to a consulate or wait two weeks for an appointment. The digital permit is free of charge, single-entry and valid for a stay of up to 180 days; Brazilians who already hold valid U.S., Canadian, Japanese, U.K. or Schengen visas remain exempt from any Mexican entry permit. Airlines have begun to hard-code the new requirement into check-in systems, so travellers should carry the QR code—printed or on a smartphone—until the policy beds in.
![Mexico Restores Electronic Visa for Brazilian Travellers]()
For travellers or corporate travel desks that prefer to outsource the process, VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can handle the SAE application end-to-end, from data entry and document upload to real-time status tracking and delivery of the authorised QR code. The platform also supports visa and e-visa services for 200+ destinations, making it a convenient one-stop solution for multi-country itineraries.
Immigration lawyers note that the change aligns Mexico with a wider Latin-American trend toward paperless border formalities. Colombia, Chile and the Dominican Republic have all expanded e-gates or digital entry passes in the past three years. Brazil itself is piloting facial-recognition exits at São Paulo/Guarulhos. Companies with regional travel programmes should therefore revisit policy rules, ensuring that self-booking tools recognise the SAE as a distinct document type and that travellers know they may still be asked for proof of funds or onward travel at the border.
In the short term, Brazilian tour operators expect charter capacity to rebound to pre-2022 levels by July. If that projection holds, the reinstated e-visa could restore up to 300,000 lost passenger segments in 2026, generating an estimated R$1.7 billion in outbound-travel spend and giving the Mexican Caribbean a welcome shot in the arm ahead of peak season.
The move rewinds a controversial policy introduced in August 2022, when Mexico—concerned about irregular onward migration to the United States—forced Brazilians to appear in person at consulates in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Brasília. Airlines reported a 40 % drop in Brazilian traffic to Cancun in the first year of the paper-visa regime, while the Riviera Maya Hotel Association estimated revenue losses of US $400 million. The timing of the U-turn is no coincidence: hoteliers and tour operators are bracing for surging demand in the run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a tri-nation tournament that will bring matches to Mexico, the United States and Canada.
For business-mobility managers the benefits are immediate. Engineers travelling at short notice to Monterrey’s auto plants, or sales teams heading for trade fairs in Mexico City, no longer need to courier originals to a consulate or wait two weeks for an appointment. The digital permit is free of charge, single-entry and valid for a stay of up to 180 days; Brazilians who already hold valid U.S., Canadian, Japanese, U.K. or Schengen visas remain exempt from any Mexican entry permit. Airlines have begun to hard-code the new requirement into check-in systems, so travellers should carry the QR code—printed or on a smartphone—until the policy beds in.
For travellers or corporate travel desks that prefer to outsource the process, VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can handle the SAE application end-to-end, from data entry and document upload to real-time status tracking and delivery of the authorised QR code. The platform also supports visa and e-visa services for 200+ destinations, making it a convenient one-stop solution for multi-country itineraries.
Immigration lawyers note that the change aligns Mexico with a wider Latin-American trend toward paperless border formalities. Colombia, Chile and the Dominican Republic have all expanded e-gates or digital entry passes in the past three years. Brazil itself is piloting facial-recognition exits at São Paulo/Guarulhos. Companies with regional travel programmes should therefore revisit policy rules, ensuring that self-booking tools recognise the SAE as a distinct document type and that travellers know they may still be asked for proof of funds or onward travel at the border.
In the short term, Brazilian tour operators expect charter capacity to rebound to pre-2022 levels by July. If that projection holds, the reinstated e-visa could restore up to 300,000 lost passenger segments in 2026, generating an estimated R$1.7 billion in outbound-travel spend and giving the Mexican Caribbean a welcome shot in the arm ahead of peak season.
