Portuguese consulates in Brazil will stop accepting visa applications by mail starting in April.

Visa applications for Portugal from Brazil will be processed exclusively in person starting in April. The change It comes into effect on April 17th., according to the announcement by Embassy of Portugal in Brasilia.

From that date onwards, all requests must be made at the offices of Vfs global in the country. Orders sent by mail after April 16th will be returned.

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According to the Portuguese government, the measure aims to "guarantee greater efficiency and closer contact with users".

In-person service and scheduling

To apply for a visa, it will be necessary to schedule an appointment in advance. According to the embassy, ​​"appointments for in-person service will be available from the aforementioned date (April 17th), on a weekly basis, allowing the user to choose the most convenient date and time."

The number of available positions was not disclosed.

Orders can be placed in the following cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre.

The change is expected to impact applicants who live far from these locations. Currently, delivery via the postal service allows access to the service for people outside of capital cities.

With the new rule, visa application planning now includes travel to one of the cities offering this service.

Security and control

The new system also includes enhanced security. According to the Portuguese government, "the new scheduling system reinforces security guarantees and the availability of appointments through an innovative facial recognition mechanism."

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Has your Italian citizenship process stalled?

Abandoned, poorly handled, or stalled cases at the consulate may still have a legal recourse.

• No progress
• Errors in strategy
• Delay at the consulate or comune.
• Is the Italian man's grandson alive?

See if there is still a solution.

In-person service will allow for immediate verification of documents. According to the government, the system will also offer digital means for monitoring the process and greater transparency.

Context and deadlines

The government states that the change aims to improve the quality of service and the speed of processing requests, within the legal deadlines.

However, these deadlines have not been met for over a year. The justification given is the high number of requests.

Since October 2025, job seeker visas have been suspended. This is the most requested type of visa in Brazil.