Brazil will restrict entry to some Asian nationals

SAO PAULO

Brazil will begin imposing restrictions on the entry of some foreigners from Asia who use the country as a launching point to migrate to the United States and Canada, the justice ministry’s press office said on Aug. 21.

The move, which starts on Aug. 26, will affect migrants from Asian countries who require visas to remain in Brazil. It does not apply to people from Asian countries currently exempt from visas to Brazil. U.S. citizens and many European nationals also do not require visas for Brazil.

A Federal Police investigation has shown these migrants often buy flights with layovers in Sao Paulo’s international airport, en route to other destinations, but stay in Brazil as a place from where they then begin their journey north, according to official documents provided to The Associated Press.

More than 70 percent of requests for refuge at the airport come from people with either Indian, Nepalese or Vietnamese nationalities, one of the documents says. The African nations of Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana and Ethiopia are among the remaining 30 percent of refuge seekers.

Starting next week, travelers without visas will either have to continue their journey by plane or return to their country of origin, the ministry said.

An AP investigation in July found migrants passing through the Amazon, including some from Vietnam and India. Many returned to Acre state, on the border with Peru, as U.S. border policies triggered a wait-and-see attitude among them.

Brazil’s Justice Ministry said that the new guidelines will not apply to the almost 500 migrants currently staying camping out at a Sao Paulo’s international airport.