Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month tourist visa to stay in the United States, his lawyer Felipe Alessandri said today, quoted by Reuters.

US authorities received Bolsonaro's request on Friday, and he will remain on US soil while competent authorities consider his request.

"He (Bolsonaro) would like to rest for a while, clear his mind and spend a few months as a tourist in the United States before deciding what to do next," Alessandri said in an email to Reuters in response to a news agency inquiry.

They are operating on Bolsonaro in Brazil after his return from the US

Bolsonaro will consider "whether to use the whole six months", the lawyer pointed out.

The first media to report that Bolsonaro had requested a tourist visa was the Financial Times, Reuters notes.

Bolsonaro left for the United States late last year, 48 hours before his presidential term expired.

He entered American territory in his capacity as a representative of the Brazilian authorities.

As his term expired, however, the question of why he was in the United States was raised.

This forced the former president to submit his application for a tourist visa.

In Brazil, he is under investigation in at least four criminal proceedings.