Nigeria has been excluded from the list of African countries whose citizens are eligible for electronic visa introduced by the Brazilian government to streamline the visa application process for temporary visits to the South American country.
It was gathered that South Africa, Botswana, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia and Seychelles are the six African countries qualified for the eVisa initiative which started on September 1, 2026.
Reports stated that passport holders from the six countries can log into Brazil’s Integrated Consular System (SCI), upload the required documents, and receive an approved visa directly at their registered email address without physical appearances at its consulates.
Under the new arrangement, the citizens of the countries with their visitor visas, can stay in Brazil for up to 90 days at a time and a maximum of 180 days per year apart from Seychelles, where the 180-day allowance applies per 90-day visit cycle.
The categories under which applicants can utilise the eVisa include tourism, business meetings, health treatment, study, scientific research, volunteer work, and artistic or sporting activities.
Meanwhile, applicants from Nigeria and other African countries not included in the electronic visa programme are required to apply for their visas through the traditional method by visiting a Brazilian embassy in their country.
The new electronic visa category is part of broader efforts by the Brazilian government to modernise its immigration system.
The Peoples Gazette in July reported that the Nigerian passport ranked 167th globally by Global Citizen Solutions on its Global Passport Index.
A dataset released by the platform at the time showed the Nigerian passport ranked 185th out of 197 countries and territories on the ‘Enhanced Mobility Index,’ 136th on the ‘Investment Index’ and 145th on its ‘Quality of Life Index.’
