Sendex

Fantastic! Getting a Brazilian visa turned out to be a lot more complicated than I had imagined. And well — that’s A-​OK because I walked out of Sendex with a visa in my hand today! So it’s official — I’m headed to the BZ World Cup!
What made this tricky is the timing (I only had 2 months to get this done) and the consulate is more slammed than ever because they’re preparing for the World Cup and the mass influx of tourists headed to Brazil at the exact same time. Different websites told me different things about how to get the visa, how to get an appointment, how much it would cost, how long it would take, etc.
So I had a few options. One option was to pay for a flight to San Francisco and get an in-​person interview for the visa. But appointments are not easy to get and the window is short. Not to mention the massive cost of both time and money to go to San Francisco for a 5 min interview. So I did some online research and found Sendex in Kirkland, WA. I made a few calls (their website is not awesome) and was told that they’re open from only 9am-​1pm M-​F. With that small window I booked some time off work one afternoon and made the quick trip to their offices. Basically you hand over payment, some documents to prove you’ve already purchased/​booked a flight, and in this instance, also offer the address of where you’re staying. Plus copies of the actual World Cup tickets you possess to prove you’re going to the games. So with all that in order, and of course with my passport, they just put everything in an envelope and told me they’d give me a call. It feels a little scary to hand your passport to a stranger but essentially what Sendex does is book Brazlian Consulate appts in San Francisco and then send an employee down there to acquire visas for a lot of people at once.
The experience was great. Everyone was friendly, helpful, and excited for me that I’m going to Brazil. It was like they were rooting for me! But I was hesitant to write about the experience until I heard back. And then I did! Last week I got a happy call from a bubbly woman letting me know my visa came through and that I could pick it up. So I made the trip to Kirkland and picked up my passport with the visa attached. As I walked out of the office with a huge smile the two employees there smiled and sort of cheered me on. It’s a great feeling because they’re from Brazil and it just feels awesome that they’re excited for you to visit Brazil and see how amazing it is. Though this isn’t my first trip to S. America, this is my first trip to Brazil and it’s basically a dream come true. All in all this process was really easy and also really quick! I’m actually headed to Brazil with 14 friends and I’m the only person from our group that went through Sendex. And better yet, I am also the first person to get my visa approved. Definitely use these guys if you want it done ASAP!

This is the place to go if you need a Brazilian tourist visa. I wasn’t aware I needed a visa. I read online that the Brazilian consulate required a minimum of 5 business days, not including the day the application is received, to process an application. I called several travel agencies who told me it would take at least 10 days due to a backlog of requests.
I called Ivo at Sendex and he said he needed to confirm with his contact that he could get the visa in time, because he didn’t want to take my money if he couldn’t get my visa in time for the flight. Sendex mailed the visa on a Tuesday and it was back the following Tuesday at 9:30am. And one of the weekdays was a holiday. So they were able to get my visa application processed in 3 business days! Incredible. Highly recommended.