MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico is slated to impose visa requirements for Brazilian visitors amid efforts to slow a wave of U.S.-bound migration from Brazil, according to a document from Mexico’s interior ministry.
Mexico has not required visas for Brazilians since 2004, giving migrants an easier path to enter the country and proceed north to the United States, where they have been arrested at the southern border in record numbers this year.
Reuters reported this week https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilians-flock-us-border-an-alleged-smuggler-cashes-2021-10-12 that the Biden administration since July has asked Mexico to impose visa requirements on Brazilians to make the route through the neighboring country less attractive.
A draft for the new visa policy, drawn up by Mexico’s interior ministry and published by the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement, noted that a change was needed because more Brazilians were entering the country for reasons other than tourism, transit and business.
Officials at migration checkpoints have found “a significant number of people who intend to use the visa waiver improperly,” the document said.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said the new regulations will be published in Mexico’s official gazette in about 30 days. According to the draft document, the policy would go into effect 15 days later – putting the start date around late November or early December.
Brazil’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Mexico’s foreign ministry has informed the Brazilian government of the decision, the document said.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Rio de Janeiro and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Editing by Sandra Maler and Kenneth Maxwell)
