MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil to tackle abuse of refugee status by irregular immigrants

Through refuge applications, an irregular migratory route has consolidated and is profited from by human trafficking gangs

Brazil's Justice Ministry announced Wednesday that transit passengers will not be allowed to remain indefinitely at airports if they do not have an entry permit into South America's largest country. The measure will only apply to people arriving in Brazil from countries that require a visa and do not have Brazil as their final destination. The Federal Police (PF) argues that refugee claims are being used by criminal organizations as a pretext.

Starting on Aug. 26, transit passengers who arrive in Brazil without a visa and whose final destination is another country will have to continue their journey or return to their place of origin. “These passengers who may remain in the international transit area of Guarulhos Airport, in São Paulo, or other airports with international connections, if they do not have a visa to enter Brazilian territory, will be inadmissible,” the Ministry said in a note sent to Agência Brasil.

Entry visas are not required for connections or stopovers as long as the passenger remains in the international transit area. “The aim of the Brazilian legislation was to facilitate the procedure for stopovers or connections at airports, reducing bureaucratic procedures and speeding up the process of transferring and/or stopping passengers between international routes,” the Ministry's statement read.

Passengers not admitted will not be deported, since Brazil is an intermediary country and not the final destination. “In this context, as the passenger indicates, from the moment they purchase the air ticket, that they only intend to transit through Brazilian territory, a measure of deportation does not apply, but rather the transit to the passenger's country of final destination,” the statement also pointed out.

The PF noted that immigrants without proper documentation are being used by criminal human trafficking organizations. Travelers buy tickets to South American countries. When they arrive in Brazil for a stopover, they apply for refuge, give up on going to their final destination, or return to their countries of origin, thus remaining illegally in restricted areas of airports. Most come from Asian countries and want to reach the United States and Canada. The stopover maneuver is “an improper substitute for the need for a visa to enter Brazil,” and constitutes an “abusive use of the institute of refuge for the sole purpose of following irregular migratory routes,” which by now have consolidated, the Ministry stressed.

Between 2013 and 2023, the number of asylum applications at Guarulhos International Airport increased from 69 to 4,239. From January to Aug. 21 this year, there were 6,329 applications filed.