ETIAS for Brazilian citizens
Millions of Brazilians hold, or can claim, an Italian or Portuguese passport, and that changes the ETIAS question entirely. An EU passport makes ETIAS irrelevant. So before asking how the new authorisation works, the sharper question for many Brazilian travellers is simpler: which document will you actually travel on?
Quick answer
ETIAS at a glance
- Status
- Not live yet
- Expected launch
- Q4 2026
- Applications open
- Not yet
- Official fee
- Expected €20
- Validity
- 3 years or until passport expiry
- Stay limit
- 90 days in any 180-day period
- Official application route
- Official EU ETIAS website / app when live
- Private help
- ETIAS Pro may offer optional support when applications open
Do Brazilians need a visa for Europe?
No, and ETIAS does not change that. Brazil is on the EU’s visa-exempt list, and the updated Brazil-EU visa waiver agreement that took effect on 1 March 2026 confirms it: ordinary Brazilian passport holders can visit the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period with no visa, no consulate queue and no interview. What ETIAS adds, from the last quarter of 2026, is one online step before the trip: a short form linked to your passport, expected to cost €20, with most approvals expected back in minutes. Compare that with the consular process Brazilians still go through for a US trip and the scale of the difference is clear. Visa-free Europe stays visa-free; it gains a pre-boarding check.
The dual-citizen question: which passport do you travel on?
ETIAS attaches to a passport, not to a person, and that single design choice settles things for Brazil’s huge dual-citizen population. Enter Europe on an Italian, Portuguese or any other EU passport and ETIAS never applies to you, because EU citizens do not need it: no form, no fee, no renewal every 3 years. The Brazilian passport stays in the bag for the European leg and comes back out at the Brazilian border, where citizens use the Brazilian document. If both of your passports are non-EU, ETIAS follows whichever one you board with. Our dual-citizenship guide works through the combinations.
Which document do you travel on?
| Your documents | ETIAS needed? | Once ETIAS is live |
|---|---|---|
| Brazilian passport only | Yes, once mandatory | Apply online before the trip; expected €20, free under 18 and over 70, valid up to 3 years |
| Brazilian plus Italian, Portuguese or another EU passport | No | Enter Europe on the EU passport; EU citizens never need ETIAS |
| Brazilian passport plus an EU residence permit | No | Travel on the passport and permit together; ETIAS covers visitors, not residents |
| Brazilian passport, EU citizenship claim still in progress | Yes, until the EU passport is issued | Travel as a Brazilian with ETIAS for now; switch documents once recognition completes |
Ancestry documented, passport not yet issued
Plenty of Brazilians sit one step earlier: the Italian or Portuguese ancestry is proven, but the citizenship is not yet recognised. Two recent changes matter. Italy tightened its descent rules in 2025, and the Constitutional Court upheld the reform in March 2026; recognition now generally requires a parent or grandparent born in Italy, which closes the great-great-grandparent route many Brazilian applications relied on. Portugal still recognises grandchildren of Portuguese citizens, though the route got stricter in May 2026 and includes a language test. For travel, the position is simple: until the EU passport is physically in your hand, you fly as a Brazilian, and ETIAS will apply to you like anyone else once it becomes mandatory.
Long family visits to Portugal meet the 90/180 cap
Portugal pulls hardest: same language, family on both sides of the Atlantic, and a large Brazilian community already settled there. ETIAS does not stretch what a visit can be. The Schengen limit stays at 90 days in any rolling 180-day window, counted across every Schengen country combined, and since the EES border system became fully operational on 10 April 2026, each entry and exit is logged digitally rather than stamped. Six months helping a daughter settle in Lisbon is not a short stay, and ETIAS cannot make it one. The good news is that Brazilians have a route most nationalities lack: Portugal’s CPLP mobility arrangements make a residence permit considerably easier to obtain, and a residence permit holder travels on that document, with no ETIAS involved.
One ETIAS covers Portugal and the other 29 countries
There is no per-country paperwork. A single ETIAS covers the whole Schengen area plus Cyprus: land in Lisbon, train to Madrid, fly on to Rome and home from Paris on the same approval, with no routine passport checks between Schengen countries. It is expected to allow unlimited short trips for up to 3 years, or until the Brazilian passport it is linked to expires, whichever comes first. Travellers under 18 and over 70 are expected to pay nothing, which takes the sting out of a three-generation family trip, though every traveller, babies included, still needs an approval of their own.
When does this start for Brazilians?
ETIAS is expected to launch in the last quarter of 2026, with a transition period before strict enforcement around April 2027. Nobody can apply yet, from Brazil or anywhere else, and any site offering to sell an ETIAS today is not legitimate. When applications open, the official route will be the EU’s own website and app, and the fee is expected to be €20, about R$120 at recent exchange rates.
What to do now
Nothing operational; there is no queue to join. Check your passport first: it must be valid for at least three months beyond the day you plan to leave the Schengen area, and because an ETIAS dies with the passport it is linked to, renewing an old passport before applying saves a second fee later. If you are midway through an Italian or Portuguese citizenship recognition, factor the timing in too: once that passport arrives, you will never need ETIAS at all. And if you want one email on the day applications open, leave your address below.
Popular ETIAS destinations for Brazilian travellers
Country-specific guides for the most-searched ETIAS destinations.
Get the ETIAS launch alert for Brazilian travellers
Get one email when ETIAS applications open. No passport details. No payment before launch.
Common questions
Do Brazilians need a visa to visit Europe?
No. Brazil is on the EU’s visa-exempt list, and the updated Brazil-EU visa waiver agreement in force since March 2026 confirms that short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period need no visa. ETIAS, once mandatory, adds an online authorisation before travel: a form linked to your passport and an expected €20 fee, not a visa application, an interview or a consulate visit.
I hold Brazilian and Italian or Portuguese citizenship. Do I need ETIAS?
No, as long as you enter Europe on the EU passport, because EU citizens do not need ETIAS at all. The requirement follows the document you travel on, not your place of birth. Use the Italian or Portuguese passport at European borders and the Brazilian one at Brazilian borders, and ETIAS never enters the picture.
Can I spend six months with family in Portugal using ETIAS?
No. ETIAS only covers short stays of up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period, counted across all Schengen countries together, and the EES border system now records every entry and exit digitally. For a longer family stay, Brazilians can use Portugal’s CPLP mobility arrangements or a national long-stay visa, which are separate applications with their own rules.
Do children need their own ETIAS for a family trip?
Yes. Every traveller needs an individual ETIAS, babies included, though under-18s are expected to pay no fee and a parent can submit the application for them. One exception worth noting: a child who already holds Italian or Portuguese citizenship through a parent can travel on that EU passport and needs no ETIAS at all.
Is ETIAS Pro official?
No. ETIAS Pro is a private information and assistance service. We are not affiliated with the European Union, Frontex or any government. When ETIAS opens, you will be able to apply directly through the official EU ETIAS website or app.
Related pages
Be ready when ETIAS opens for Brazilian travellers
ETIAS is not live yet. Check whether you’re likely to need it and get one email when applications open.