Travel and Visa Information

Arriving at Rio


FOIS 2014 will be held in the south zone of Rio in the beach of Botafogo. Rio de Janeiro, commonly referred simply as Rio, is the second largest city and the second largest GDP in Brazil. Due to its internationally renowned attractive surroundings and tourist infrastructure, Rio regularly holds major international events, in general, and major international conferences, in particular.

International flights to Rio de Janeiro arrive at the Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), a.k.a. "Galeão". Galeão is served by direct flights from almost all major cities in Europe and North America.
Domestic flights may arrive either at Galeão or at the Santos Dumont Airport (SDU).

Galeão is located around 20 km from the city center of Rio de Janeiro, and around 22 km from Botafogo, where the main conference will take place. The Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is located downtown Rio.

Several buses, taxis and transfer companies provide airport shuttles from the airports to the city. The best way to move from the airports to the south zone of Rio (including Botafogo, Flamengo) is by taxi. If you take a taxi at the SDU airport (domestic airport) to Botafogo, it should cost approximately 12 Reais. From GIG (international airport) to Botafogo, it should cost approximately 50 Reais. In case Flamengo is your destination, the costs are similar.

Information about buses can be obtained here.

The best way to move between the south zone of Rio and downtown is by subway. The target subway station to reach FGV Centro Downtown is named URUGUAIANA. In the case of FGV Botafogo, the target station is named FLAMENGO.

Car rental and driving in Rio are only recommended for those of you who know the city very well. If you do reach FGV Botafogo by car, there is the possibility of parking there at a cost of approximately 40 Reais for Rio are very high.

Visa Information


Visas are currently not required by holders of passports of the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Morocco, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Malta, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, UK, Vatican and Venezuela.

A visa is currently required for U.S., Canadian and Australian citizens, and can be obtained through the nearest Brazilian Consulate. Visa requirements can be found on a country-by-country basis here. If you are a citizen of another country, please check for your visa requirements and consulate locations here. Please leave sufficient time for processing your visa.

Please note that the information above is subject to change. You should always check the visa situation with your local Brazilian Consulate before you travel. You should also ensure that you have at least 6 months of remaining validity on your passport prior to travel. If you require a letter of invitation to apply for your Brazilian visa, please send an email to rguizzardi@inf.ufes.br.

Due to the World Cup this year in Brazil, Brazilian Consulates abroad are likely to be dealing with a workload bigger than usual. For this reason, we strongly advise conference participants to issue their visa requests as soon as possible.