Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in the United States on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, after leaving Brazil without surrendering his passports as ordered by the Supreme Court. A senior U.S. State Department official confirmed that visas would be issued to the senator, his wife, and two daughters to allow them entry. The departure followed Bolsonaro’s defeat in the Oct. 25 presidential run-off election against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The Brazilian Supreme Court had ordered Bolsonaro on Monday to surrender his passports within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. The court cited a potential flight risk and the senator's "significant financial resources" as reasons for the order. After Bolsonaro missed the deadline, authorities canceled his passports. A senior Federal Police official stated that Bolsonaro did not exit Brazil through any regular migration point, while police also checked border crossings into Argentina with no record of entry found.
Bolsonaro has denied the money laundering allegations, which involve police claims that he had access to bank accounts of a company owned by a lawyer accused of fraud. He described the passport seizure as an attempt at intimidation. Despite trailing by 4.4 million votes—receiving 48.21% to Lula’s 51.79%—Bolsonaro has not conceded and has called for the election to be annulled, citing a two-hour voting extension as a "dirty trick." His party, the Liberal Party, has acknowledged Lula's victory but stated the extension merits investigation.
The departure of Flávio Bolsonaro affects the political leadership of approximately 60 million Brazilians who voted for him, as his campaign manager, Senator Rogério Marinho, stated the team expected him to lead the opposition. The move involves a sitting senator who maintains legal immunity until his term ends in February. The U.S. State Department’s decision to grant visas to a foreign official facing a domestic travel ban directly impacts diplomatic relations between the two nations, as Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros.
The situation involves a presidential candidate who lost by 3.58 percentage points and is now the subject of two separate Supreme Court-ordered inquiries, including a new probe into alleged foreign campaign funding. Those following the legal proceedings will see if the Brazilian judiciary seeks international cooperation or extradition.
The event follows the actions of the senator's father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who also traveled to the U.S. after his 2022 loss and was later sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup. Next steps include the expiration of Bolsonaro's senate immunity in February 2027 and the ongoing Supreme Court investigation into his campaign finances. President Lula called the departure "shameful," stating Bolsonaro should have stayed to prove his innocence.