Visa Application

I am planning to go to Japan early next year. I am worried though because, if ever, this will be the first out of country trip I'll be taking.

Do they really require that you have been to other countries before your Japanese Visa will be granted? (i.e. your passport being stamped in other countries.)

I have been saving for this trip since I started working so I can't afford other out of country trips, only this one.

Thank you in advance.

What? Where did you get that idea? You're coming jet as a tourist for less than 3 months, right? Then you won't have any problems.

Does one need a visa to enter japan, if staying less than three months?

Nevermind.

Assuming you're from a relatively normal nation, all you would need is a passport, which isn't too hard to obtain (here in the U.S. at least). Visas are for long term/permanent stays.

Do they really require that you have been to other countries before your Japanese Visa will be granted? (i.e. your passport being stamped in other countries.)

No.

Does one need a visa to enter japan, if staying less than three months?

Not if you are from a visa waiver country

Assuming you're from a relatively normal nation, all you would need is a passport, which isn't too hard to obtain (here in the U.S. at least).

Normality is not an immigration requirement. It's about reciprocal visa waiver agreements. Check here to see if you country is on the list:

http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/novisa.html

Visas are for long term/permanent stays.

Visa are for all stays, there just happens to be a specific exception for short stay visitor from certain countries.

@scarreddragon - some acquaintances told me that stamps from other countries means that 1) you are financially stable; thus you can finance your trip in Japan and 2) it signifies you are somewhat a jetsetter/traveler meaning you have no other purpose than leisure (as opposed to finding work there while on tourist Visa).

So, these people have been collecting stamps in their passports before applying for Japanese Visa and telling me to do the same.

Tish Platt,

Do they really require that you have been to other countries before your Japanese Visa will be granted? (i.e. your passport being stamped in other countries.)

I have never, never heard of anything like that.

Excuse me for asking, but which country are you from?

I've never heard anything like that either. Plenty of people I know have had their first passport stamp be from Japan. Whoever told you that has got their information all wrong.

@AK - I am from the Philippines.

I guess I will just have to try and see.

Thank you for your responses. At least I feel a bit confident to apply now hearing this from all of you.

Philippines does have stricter requirements as you must apply for a visa before entering the country, as opposed to other countries who can get one upon entry. However nothing in the Visa application instructions from the Japan embassy in the Philippines website does it mention having to have stamps. What you DO need is a general plan with where you are staying clearly planned, and a round-trip ticket back out of Japan to show you're not planning to stay. This is a good summary with pretty up-to-date information (May of 2013): http://theeagertraveller.com/2013/05/24/how-to-apply-for-japan-tourist...

Maybe they're confusing it with this:

Classification A: Applicants with travel history as temporary visitor to Japan in the last three years without any record of violations of the laws and regulations of Japan during their period of stay.

As a requirement for a multiple entry visa?

@scarreddragon - Thank you for directing me to that blog. I read it and it is very helpful.

@yllwsmrf - I see, this could have possibly been a source of misunderstanding. I also may have missed this part when I visited the official site (I only read the single entry part).

Thank you.

Visa are for all stays, there just happens to be a specific exception for short stay visitor from certain countries.

As an American, I do NOT need a visa for under 90 days.

That's the point I was making. And by 'normal' I meant nations in good standing with the Japanese government. Obviously, Japan is strict about this.

As an American, I do NOT need a visa for under 90 days.

That's the point I was making.

That's fine for your situation, but what about the OP and citizens from the other 205ish nations out there.

And by 'normal' I meant nations in good standing with the Japanese government.

By normal then you must mean countries with normalized diplomatic relations with Japan (otherwise I find referring to "normal countries" a little offensive)? If so then yes, it's really about treaties, and more recently about encouraging tourism to reach certain goals.

Hi, I'm British, but live most of my time in the Philippines and shall be taking my Filopina friend to Japan in October.
Filopino nationals are required to apply for a tourist visa through designated travel agents in Manila. The requirements for supporting documentation was quite in depth as it was used by the consulate to determine that the applicant was a genuine tourist. However, last week it was announced by the Japanese immigration authorities that Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia shall be entitled to visa waiver as soon as possible and in the meantime a quasi visa waiver scheme is now active, where applicants can apply through the designated travel agents for a visa. I presume the supporting documentation is no longer required, and this quasi visa waiver may be to allow the backlog of applicants who have paid and applied under the old system to be processed. This is speculation on my part, but logical. I'm currently in Thailand at the moment, otherwise I would contact one of the designated travel agents for clarification.

As far as I can tell from the Japan Embassy web site in Manila, a Filipino would currently need to be on a tour organized/sold by one of the authorized travel agencies, which are all based in Manila. How strict anyone is about staying with the tour group once you are in the country is the unknown question. While you have paid for airfare and hotel, and maybe some meals, what if you decide to skip the organized tours and, say, head for Disneyland on your own, or with your friend from another country, who doesn't need a visa? Or what if you wanted to be with your friend the whole time, and only get back with the tour on the day of departure? Would the tour company turn you in to immigration for not following the rules, or could they not care less? There currently is not a no-restrictions, enter Japan freely on your own whenever you feel like it visa for Filipinos.

http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/pressandspeech/press/visa_relaxed.html

Please see the link to recent announcements regards relaxation of visa requirements for Filipinos

Previous to this announcement I had downloaded all the supporting documentation templates from the consulate.

With regards an organised tour, I could not and still cannot find any reference to this requirement. The old application documents required that you write an itinerary of where you plan on visiting, but not as part of an organised tour.

Hopefully, the Philippines will follow Thailand and Malaysia soon, who gained visa waiver for tourists for 14 day visits last year

Colsie, the link you provided is merely to a press release, stating what might, or might not happen, some time in the indefinite future.

The organized tour requirement was mentioned in some Philippine newspapers recently. Of course, those could be considered press releases, too.

One source here says the "new" visa requirements are almost a virtual no-visa-required equivalent, while other sources say that little to nothing has actually changed yet.

There have been no announcements in the Philippine newspapers about the visa requirements having been changed to a no-visa status. This would be headline news if there was a change. President Aquino has visited Japan recently, there were lots of photo ops and press releases, but nothing definite has been said yet about tourist visa relaxation for Filipinos.

Hi Susan, yes it's an official press released by the Japanese Consulate in Manila...not one of the local rags...and correct it's open to interpretation...

I never stated that the visa waiver has come into effect yet, I'm just speculating upon the information given by the Japanese officials...

As I thought, there is no requirement to sign up for a guided tour as you suggested and I don't think you even know where you heard that information, but if you do remember please post a link on the forum as I am interested in any genuine requirements.

Let's hope there's another official press release soon that includes some visa waiver implementation timeline