In an interview with Lusa, Rafael Vidal notes that the problem has been growing since the end of the pandemic, with the increase in the number of Angolans who want to travel to Brazil, which has caused the demand for visas to go from an annual average of 5,000 visas to the current 25,000 to 30,000 requests, almost 700% more than in 2022.

Many applicants complain of excessive bureaucracy and delays, which leads to the use of intermediaries, but Rafael Vidal believes that this is not a problem of the embassy, since "it is impossible for human and physical resources to grow at the same rate" as demand.

Currently, the Brazilian embassy has consular services, but the diplomat admits that the reopening of a new consulate general, already announced by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, could happen this year.

Rafael Vidal says that measures have been implemented to facilitate the flow of applications, with daily limits being set to serve applicants and prevent passports from being retained.

"We had 14,000," he says, adding that all of them have already been delivered and that to avoid retaining passports, scheduling has become the "gateway" for applicants, with about 50 being served per day.

Although he admits that scheduling is still slow, Rafael Vidal says that the fault is not the embassy's, but rather the "explosion in demand [demand] for visas to Brazil".

According to the diplomat, the country has been increasingly sought after as it meets the needs of health, education, work and improved living conditions, but also because "the rest of the world is closing its doors".

"Other countries that could be destinations, such as the USA and Portugal, for example, do not have the same ease of issuing visas," he stressed, highlighting that for a tourist visa (granted for two years) only proof of income and valid documents are required.

The main type of visa that has been requested is precisely the tourist visa (90%), followed by the student visa.

When asked about complaints about payments to make appointments and corruption schemes, recently denounced by the Angolan non-governmental organization Omunga, Rafael Vidal denied the allegations.

"In relation to the embassy there is no extra payment, the embassy is shielded. Now on the street we don't know what happens, it may happen that the famous 'mixeiros' deceive the unwary and offer services in exchange for money to expedite visas, it is possible that intermediaries, travel agencies do it, in that we have no way to act", he says.

The ambassador considers the use of the word corruption to be "very irresponsible" in relation to these cases, as he believes that this concept refers to the involvement of state agents.

"And we don't have state agents offering to expedite services. Those who offer are the famous 'mixeiros' who charge money with the promise of getting a visa faster," insists the diplomat, who warns that many intermediaries present false documents that lead to the refusal of visas, with users being "fooled".

About 60% of visa applications are not approved, and of these, about 80% are not granted due to non-compliance with the documents, while the rest are refused for being linked to serious irregularities such as forgery or fraud, which prevent requests for a new visa for five years.

As for "other insinuations", evidence should be presented, stressed Rafael Vidal, noting that the embassy maintains an open channel to expedite urgent cases, whether for health problems or for participation in meetings in Brazil that are considered important, as was the case of Omunga, whose scheduling was requested urgently.

Last week, Omunga denounced the existence of alleged corruption and influence peddling schemes to obtain visas at the Brazilian Embassy in Luanda, after its executive director, João Malavindele, was unable to board a flight to the South American country to participate in the meeting of the Lusophone Network to Combat Corruption (RedGov).

"Mr. Malavindele (executive director of Omunga) was waiting to be contacted by the embassy and we cannot contact thousands of citizens (...) in his case, fortunately, we attended the scheduling and he did not pay anything", says the diplomat, suggesting a communication failure.

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