visa denied

we were denied a japan visa but we are only transiting through japan for 3 days. we have a connecting flight to the US after 3 days of supposed visit to Japan. Would you know if the Japanese immigration will at least let us stay in an airport hotel while we wait for 3 days for our connecting flight?

To get to the airport hotels you must pass through immigration so it is highly unlikely.

If you arrive in Japan and are not permitted into the country Immigration will let you stay in a Hotel. However, you will be required to have a security guard and you must pay for the Hotel and Guard. I have heard it is rather expensive to pay for the guard.

would you really want to stay locked up in a hotel for 3 days anyway?

Really? That seems like a strange concept. In Australia if you are denied a visa you are put on the next available flight home.

Perhaps you should speak to the Japanese Embassy in your country and explain to them that you have 3 days between flights and ask them what will happen as you were denied a visa.

You should also check with your airline as depending on the airline, country of departure and your passport they may not let you board without a visa. Some countries have very strict immigration laws and will fine airlines that let passenger board without correct paperwork.

Maybe you should try and change your flights.

The information you provided is very limited. I suppose your nationality does not fall into the visa-waiver scheme and thus need to apply for a visit visa. There must be some reasons behind the visa denial. Do you have previous adverse record in the country? Do you have an US entry visa secured in your passport? Nowadays you rarely need three days to connect another flight to US. If you can do it within hours, you may not even need a transit visa!

I have not heard of any three day delay for connecting flight to US. Flights to US occur many times each day from Tokyo. Did you purposely plan the delay to try to visit Japan for three days? If so, and you were denied visa, you should change to another US flight which leaves sooner.
It is odd that Immigration would deny a travel visa. Maybe there was some past offense or suspicion, or maybe your name is similar to someone who has?
I am sorry to hear of your trouble but it is much cheaper to pay for a more convenient flight than it would be to pay for hotel for the nights and for a guard.
Which country are you from? Maybe there is extra security because of that country and not you personally.

i am from the philippines and my husband and I already had a Japan visa issued to us sometime 1997. We were able to visit Japan twice already and so we are baffled as to reason for the denial. We really intended to show-off Japan to our three grown-up kids, the reason for the 3 days layover in Japan, before proceeding to the US and Canada, our exit country. We are in possesion of both US and Canadian visa. As the embassy has stated, they do not divulge the reason for the denial and therefore we are in the dark.
We have already rebooked our flight to enable us to go straight to US and Canada. Thank you very much for all the advise that everybody has given!

Now I got a better picture. It was unfortunate that your visa was denied when considering the fact that you had visited Japan twice before and that you have your onward visa secured. I can only think of two possible reasons: (1) You submitted a wrong visa application (visit for sightseeing instead of transit for 3 days) (2) You had adverse record such as overstaying or unapproved employment during your previous stays.

With sufficient funds and onward ticket in hand, I can hardly think of any other possible reasons.

Really? That seems like a strange concept. In Australia if you are denied a visa you are put on the next available flight home.

The situation you described is being denied entry, being denied a visa is a totally different thing. One can have a visa but still be denied entry.

Any case I have never heard of a 3 day connection flight, instead you are making a stop over which is different. You might get a transit visa or shore pass but it is up to the immigration inspector, and since you were denied a temporary visitors permit before the odds are not good.

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hi TW! nope, we did not overstay, in fact we weren't able to use the length of stay that the immigration of Japan gave us. And yes, we did apply for a transit visa. No, we did not seek any employment-when we leave the country, it is always for pleasure.
It is now water under the bridge but we still remain in the dark as to the reason for the denial. We really intended to visit Japan as it was en route to our real purpose of going to North America and Canada. Anyway, maybe there is a higher reason why we are being stopped from going to Japan.

I think there is still hope in your case. You said you have a clean record with Japan immigration and so your previous visits were trouble-free on your Philippine passport with visit visas endorsed and used.

In this occassion, you had submitted a wrong visa application. You should applied for a visit visa and intend to stay for 3 days but instead, you applied for a transit visa for 3 days which obviously looked odd and unreasonable. The application was therefore considered doubtful as common sense will tell transit means connecting a flight within the same day. The visa denial may simply due to your wrong concept of visa application.

Why not re-submit a fresh visit visa application and prepare a letter to explain the situation. Surely they would consider your past records, present intention with documentary proofs such as full set of ticket, passport endoresed with entry visa for US and Canada, hotel reservation, financial proof etc. You may receive a favorable reply soon!

"you had submitted a wrong visa application. You should applied for a visit visa and intend to stay for 3 days"

This is the right answer. I get the regular tourist visa for 90 days at the airport but hey never ask how long we stay.. More than once I have gone to Japan--from North America--for 3-4 days only, just because I had extra days off at work and a chance to go.

Oh ok. So in this case, the agency that has been accredited by the Japanese Embassy in Manila is the one that was wrong. In our country, all visa application will have to be coursed thru accredited travel agencies. They the ones who validated our visa application including telling us which type of visa to apply for. Unfortunately for us, there is a standing rule that we can't re-apply for a visa until 6 months would have passed. If this is so..then they have a lot to answer.
BUT, it is us who has to suffer.

Things get complicated here. Do you mean you are not allowed to submitted your own visa application to the Japanese embassy in person? Is it true that you must go through a middle-man/travel agency to do it on your behalf? So these agencies act as the embassy's pre-screening bodies on all applications and they decide what type of visa you should submit. Who filled up the visa application form for you? Did you check the information on the form before you signed it? Are you still using the same passport that you used in your previous visits to Japan? The Japanese immigration stamps therein will show that you a genuine visitor. May be this is entirely a mistake made by the agency you trusted and they should be the one responsible!

I understand normally you need six months to resubmit a new application but this case is different. The visa denial was on your transit but never visit! So I still think a fresh application for visit purpose is appropriate. Of course, it would be better if you can find another agency to handle your case or perhaps you can fax/send a letter to the embassy direct to explain the whole situation and seek assistance. May be they have an appeal system to reconsider your case. It costs nothing but means something to you, right?

right now, we dont have any intentions of pushing thru with the visa. It's just bugging me...we will all go straight to the US and Canada. Maybe it was really the agency who didnt come thru. This is really a tough situation the we, here in the Philippines go thru. We can't transact directly with the japanese embassy so we can't really plead our case. Anyway, thank you so much for all the help and advices you have given us.

I guess that's the end of your case but may not be the end of your journey. You had left a record of refusal and you have to declare it in future applications. Perhaps it is already shown on your passport!

Good luck.

may i know which travel agency is this? i am applying for a japan visa and i want to stay away from this agency as much as possible. thank you.