State Department to Grant Visas to Flavio Bolsonaro After Brazil Loss

The State Department will issue U.S. visas to Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them into the country, a senior department official said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The move comes two days after Bolsonaro lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“The State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States,” the senior official said, as quoted by AP and Reuters. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of visa privacy laws, did not say what kind of visas the family would receive, according to AP. Politico reported that the administration official it spoke with also did not specify the visa type or how long the protections would last.

Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will be granted U.S. visas after his weekend loss to President Lula, a senior U.S official says. https://t.co/MfqmpyIU56

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 27, 2026

CNN reported, citing a Trump adviser, that President Donald Trump approved Bolsonaro’s entry into the United States after his election defeat, and that administration officials told Bolsonaro on Monday he would be allowed in. Axios reported that administration officials said they would not comment further until the family was safely in the United States.

Passport order and a missed deadline

The visa decision follows a fast-moving standoff with Brazil’s Supreme Court. Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports as part of a money laundering investigation, according to Reuters and Brazil’s state news agency Agência Brasil. Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, denies wrongdoing, Reuters reported.

Two sources told Reuters that Bolsonaro missed the deadline to turn in his passports and that the documents were then canceled. In a court ruling seen by Reuters, the Supreme Court cited the risk of Bolsonaro leaving Brazil and his “significant financial resources” in ordering the passports seized.

Reuters reported Tuesday afternoon, citing three sources, that Bolsonaro had left Brazil for the United States. One source close to the family told Reuters he had landed in Florida but declined to say where. His exact location was not immediately clear, according to Reuters and CNN.

Agência Brasil reported that on Monday, after the passport order, Bolsonaro posted a video denying any plan to leave the country and saying he would stay to organize opposition to Lula’s government. Argentina’s immigration agency said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering Argentina, according to CNN, after an Argentine outlet reported he had crossed there on his way to the United States.

A close election and an unconceded race

Lula won 51.8% of the vote and defeated Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes, according to Brazil’s electoral court figures cited by AP. AP reported that Bolsonaro called for the results to be annulled on Sunday, alleging the rules were changed during voting. Reuters reported that Bolsonaro has yet to concede.

Politico described the visa decision as a major lifeline for a right-wing Brazilian political family with close ties to longtime Trump advisers and associates.

The State Department has not said whether Bolsonaro is already in the United States, according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, which received the department’s statement by email.

Reporting by Daily Beltway.