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Update 24 November 2022: in the face of a slight increase in the number of reported cases and deaths by COVID-19 in the country, federal health agency ANVISA revised measures to be adopted in airports and air flights throughout Brazil.
Effective 25 November 2022, airport workers, aircrews, and passengers must mandatorily wear face masks in all controlled or restricted areas in Brazilian airports and during international and domestic flights within the country (face masks can be removed for meals and hydration and onboard food service is maintained).
The following types of face protection are not accepted by the Brazilian health authorities:
- Acrylic or plastic masks
- Masks equipped with exhalation valves, including N95 and PFF2 types
- Handkerchiefs, cloth bandanas or any other object that does not qualify as a protective mask for professional and non-professional use
- Face shields, separately
The use of masks can be waived for people with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, sensory impairment or any other disability that prevents them from wearing a mask properly, according to a medical statement. Children under three years old are also exempt.
The changes are detailed in ANVISA’s Resolution RDC 761 of 23 November 2022.
There have been no changes in the rules for crew changes and shore leave.
Update 16 September 2022: Ordinance 670/2022 was revoked by Ordinance 678/2022, simplifying entry requirements as vaccination advances and the number of reported cases and fatalities continues to drop. Read more here.
Update 7 April 2022: Interministerial Ordinance 670 of 1 April 2022 removed COVID-19 testing requirements for those travellers who are fully vaccinated. Ordinance 666/2022 was repealed.
Update 21 January 2022: Interministerial Ordinance 666 of 20 Janeiro 2022 eventually lifted the ban imposed on flights and travellers from Southern African countries. While the new Ordinance revokes Ordinance 663/2021, it maintains COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates as a condition of entry into the country, with a few exceptions.
There have been no changes in the requirements for crew changes and repatriations at Brazilian ports under the new regulation, as earlier reported.
Following the Supreme Court ruling that all travellers arriving in Brazil must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, the federal government has revised its previous entry regulations, perceived as lenient for unvaccinated individuals
Interministerial Ordinance 663 of 20 December 2021 revoked Ordinances 661/2021 and 662/2021 and is already in force. It regulates the entry of air and land travellers, imposes vaccine mandates, and offers guidance on COVID-19 testing and protocols for passenger and cargo aircrews from restricted countries.
Entry by sea of foreign passengers remains temporarily prohibited. They must enter the country by air or land to be able to board cruise ships sailing off the Brazilian coast this season.
The Federal Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has issued specific guidelines on measures against COVID-19 for:
Entry by air
Under Ordinance 663/2021, all foreign and Brazilian nationals travelling to Brazil must present to the airline responsible for the flight, before boarding, the following documents:
1. Proof of negative or undetectable test for COVID-19
- Antigen test (performed within 24 hours before boarding to Brazil) or RT-PCR laboratory test (within 72 hours prior to boarding)
- In case of a flight with connections or stopovers in which the traveller leaves the restricted airport area and that exceeds 72 hours from the molecular test or 24 hours from the antigen test, the traveller must present proof of a new negative or undetectable test
2. Traveller’s Health Declaration form (DSV)
- Proof, printed or electronic, of completion of the Declaração de Saúde do Viajante – DSV (Traveller’s Health Declaration) digital form no later than 24 hours before boarding to Brazil
3. Certificate of vaccination against COVID-19
- Proof, printed or electronic, written in Portuguese, Spanish or English, of inoculation with a vaccine approved by ANVISA, WHO, or the authority of the country where the traveller was immunised
- The last dose must have been administered at least 14 days before the date of boarding to Brazil
- COVID-19 recovery certificates will not be accepted as proof of full vaccination
The above documents will also have to be shown when the traveller arrives in Brazil.
Exceptions
Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is waived for travellers:
- With a health condition that contraindicates vaccination, certified by a medical report
- Not eligible for vaccination due to age, according to criteria defined by the Ministry of Health in the National Plan for the Operationalisation of Vaccination against COVID-19 and published on the Ministry of Health website
- Due to humanitarian issues, as detailed in the Ordinance
- Arriving from countries with low vaccination covered, as published on the Ministry of Health website
Annex I of Ordinance 663/2021 provides specific guidance on testing requirements.
Quarantine
Unvaccinated Brazilian citizens, legal residents, or those falling under the above exceptions will be allowed entry. Nonetheless, they must undergo a 14-day quarantine after reaching their final destination in Brazil at the address indicated on the Traveller’s Health Declaration (DSV).
After the fifth day, if the traveller is asymptomatic and has received a negative RT-PCR or antigen test result, the quarantine may be discontinued.
Asymptomatic Brazilians and legal residents who left the country by 14 December 2021 are exempt from presenting proof of vaccination and from quarantining upon their return to Brazil. Still, they must meet the requirements of COVID-19 testing and completion of the DSV form.
Countries with restrictions
The temporary restriction on flights from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe remain. Restriction on the boarding of passengers from these countries does not apply to Brazilian nationals and foreign travellers falling under the following categories:
- Foreigners with a permanent residence permit
- Professionals on a mission at the service of an international organisation
- Officials accredited to the Brazilian government
- Foreign nationals’ spouse, partner, child, parent, or guardian of a Brazilian
- Whose entry is specifically authorised by the Brazilian government in view of the public or for humanitarian reasons
- holder of a National Migration Register card (Registro Nacional Migratório – RNM)
Air travellers who meet any of the above exceptions and have been in one of the restricted countries must undergo a fourteen-day quarantine in the destination city upon arrival in Brazil. The quarantine may be terminated after a negative RT-PCR result or antigen test performed in a sample collected from the fifth day of the commencement of the quarantine, provided that the individual is asymptomatic.
Entry by land
The traveller of international origin, Brazilian or foreign, when entering the country by land must also present proof of COVID-19 vaccination and testing following the same criteria and exceptions applicable to air travellers.
As in the previous regulations, COVID-19 vaccine mandates for land border crossing are waived for implementation of cross-border humanitarian actions authorised by the health authorities, the transit of border residents in twin cities under reciprocal treatment, and transport of cargo, including drivers and helpers.
An English translation of Ordinance 663/2021 is attached. Given that the regulations are rapidly changing, shipowners planning crew transfers in Brazil in the coming weeks must check with the local agents on specific requirements applicable for signing on crewmembers at a given port.
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Published 20/12/2021. Updated 16/09/2022
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