Brazil waives visas for citizens of countries during Rio Olympics

BRASILIA - Citizens from Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States will not need visas to enter Brazil during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to the government's official gazette on Wednesday.

The exemption made for the citizens of these countries will last from June 1 to September 18 and will see them granted 90-day visas.

The law authorizing the temporary exemption from visas was approved by President Dilma Rousseff in November, although the beneficiary countries had not been confirmed until now.

These criteria were adopted for countries with a strong Olympic tradition, which have organized Olympics in the past, who offer no migration risks and pose no threats to national security, according to the gazette.

The citizens of numerous other countries, including the EU, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, and South Korea can already enter the country for up to 90 days without a visa.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will take place from August 5-21 with the Paralympic Games to follow from September 7-18.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Brazil hopes the Games will help to increase by 20 percent the number of tourists expected between January and September 2016.