Visa and entry
Japan visa: do you need one, and when to apply
Most visitors enter Japan without a visa. About 120 nationalities need one arranged before they fly. Three things decide what you do: your passport, where you live, and the day you land.
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- Check your passport. If it is on the exemption list, you are done.
- Find your route: eVISA or paper, decided by your home address and why you are coming.
- Apply between 90 and 30 days before you land. Do not buy non-refundable flights before the visa is issued.
Step 1: does your passport need a visa?
Check the official MOFA visa exemption list. It is the only document that decides this.
Your passport is on the list (74 countries and regions). No visa. You are stamped in as a temporary visitor. This includes the United States, the United Kingdom, every EU state, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. Stay allowed: 90 days for most passports. 30 days for Brunei and Qatar. 15 days for Thailand and Indonesia. Covers: sightseeing, visiting friends, business meetings, attending a conference. Never paid work. Check the note beside your country. Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, the UAE and Serbia are only exempt with a biometric ePassport. Still to do before you land: the Visit Japan Web arrival forms. Skip the rest of this page.
Your passport is not on the list (about 120 nationalities). You need a visa before you board. This includes China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam. Go to Step 2.
Step 2: which route? Your home address and your purpose decide it
Your route depends on where you live, not where your passport is from. Find your row.
| Why you are coming | Where you live | How you apply |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism | Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States | Yourself, on the JAPAN eVISA website |
| Tourism | China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Mongolia, South Korea, Singapore, UAE | eVISA, through an accredited agency |
| Tourism | Philippines, Vietnam | eVISA, only inside a packaged tour from a designated agency |
| Tourism | Anywhere else | Paper application at the Japanese embassy or consulate covering your home address |
| Business, conference, visiting relatives, study, work | Anywhere | Paper application at the Japanese embassy or consulate covering your home address |
What the eVISA covers: tourism only, single entry, up to 90 days, ordinary passports, arriving by air or on the scheduled ferries from Busan or Shanghai. Anything else is paper.
The only genuine eVISA address is evisa.mofa.go.jp. Type it yourself. MOFA warns about lookalike sites that charge for nothing.
Need someone to check and file it for you? A paid service can do that on either route. See Paid help below.
Step 3: when to apply. Count back from the day you land
Your arrival day is the day your flight lands, usually the day before the event. Every deadline below is counted back from it.
| Days before you land | What happens |
|---|---|
| 90 days | Window opens. Consulates will not accept an application earlier than three months before travel. |
| 8 weeks | Business or conference: request your invitation documents from the organiser in Japan now. Their clock is not yours. |
| 30 days | Apply by now. This is our line for every route. Appointments, document fixes and public holidays all eat days. |
| 14 days | Latest comfortable application. Inside this line you are relying on nothing being questioned or referred. |
| 5 working days | The official processing standard once a complete application is accepted. A file referred to Tokyo can take over a month. No express service exists. |
| Visa issued | Single entry, valid for 3 months from the issue date. You must enter Japan inside that window. |
| Before landing | Complete the Visit Japan Web arrival forms. |
Flights and hotels. Apply in the 90-to-30-day window, then book non-refundable travel only once the visa is issued. A booked flight does not speed up a consulate, and no paid service can jump the queue. Until the visa is in hand, use refundable fares or a hold.
Why the window is 90 to 30 days. You cannot apply more than three months out, the visa is valid for three months from issue, and processing can run past a month. Thirty days leaves room for all three.
Worked examples from the calendar
| Event | Land by | Window opens | Apply by (30 days) | Latest comfortable (14 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jump Festa 2027, Chiba, Sat 19 Dec 2026 | Fri 18 Dec 2026 | Open now | Wed 18 Nov 2026 | Fri 4 Dec 2026 |
| Takasaki Daruma Market, Takasaki, Fri 1 Jan 2027 | Thu 31 Dec 2026 | Open now | Tue 1 Dec 2026 | Thu 17 Dec 2026 |
| APMEC 2027, Kyoto, Wed 13 Jan 2027 (conference, paper route) | Tue 12 Jan 2027 | Open now | Sun 13 Dec 2026 | Request organiser documents by Tue 17 Nov 2026 |
If your conference is closer than that and you have not asked the organiser for documents, contact them today, before booking anything non-refundable.
How to apply
- Find the Japanese embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over your home address. Its website has the exact document list for your nationality and purpose.
- Tourism and your address qualifies: apply on the JAPAN eVISA website. Otherwise, prepare the paper application for your consulate or its accredited agency.
- Gather your documents. Tourism: itinerary, accommodation, proof of funds. Business or conference: add the documents from Japan (see below).
- Submit at least 30 days before you land.
- Keep your documents to hand until the visa is issued. Even on the eVISA, the consulate can call you in for an interview.
- eVISA holders: at the airport, show the visa issuance notice live on your phone over an internet connection. A PDF, screenshot or printout is not accepted.
- Enter Japan inside the visa's 3-month validity.
- Before you land, complete the Visit Japan Web arrival forms. They are border paperwork, not a visa. Details on the practical page.
Conferences, business and performers
The eVISA is tourism only, so a conference or business trip on a visa-needing passport always runs on paper, with documents prepared in Japan:
- a letter of invitation from the organiser
- your schedule of stay
- a letter of guarantee, where the Japanese side covers your costs
- a letter from your own employer
Ask the organiser for these the day you register, not the week you fly. Eight weeks before you land is the latest. Paid performing, teaching or any paid work is outside this route. A short-term visa never covers being paid in Japan. If money is changing hands, take advice before you apply.
Paid help: when it is worth it
The official routes above are free of any fee beyond the government's own, and most people manage them alone. A paid service is worth considering when:
- your consulate's document list is long and you are not sure what counts as proof of funds or an itinerary
- you live somewhere that must file through an agency and you want the agency step handled for you
- an eVISA upload has been rejected and you do not know why
- English is not your first language and the consulate's forms are only in English or Japanese
- the deadline is close and a mistake would cost you the trip
It is not worth it when you are exempt (Step 1), or when you expect it to speed things up: consulates run no priority service for anyone, so no company can sell you a faster visa.
We link to eVisas. It is a commercial company, not the Japanese government. It checks your application and submits it through the official channels. Japan applications start from US$99 on top of the government fee, and it cannot guarantee a visa is granted.
Five traps
- Fake eVISA sites. The only genuine address is evisa.mofa.go.jp.
- Using the eVISA for a conference, business trip or family visit. It is tourism only.
- Applying in your passport's country instead of where you live. Jurisdiction follows your address.
- Showing a screenshot or printout of the eVISA notice at the airport. Only the live notice is accepted.
- Applying inside the 5-working-day standard and discovering your file is the one referred to Tokyo.
Then plan the trip
Events calendar: the date you counted back from. Getting there: airports, trains and an eSIM that keeps your visa notice reachable. Practical: Visit Japan Web, money, plugs and customs.
Visa facts on this page were checked against mofa.go.jp on 3 November 2026. Visa rules change; MOFA and your consulate are the final word.
Disclaimer: This page is general information only, based on publicly available guidance checked on 3 November 2026. It is not legal or immigration advice. Visa rules, eligibility and processing times can change, and decisions are made solely by the Japanese authorities. Japan What's On accepts no responsibility for any application, processing outcome, delay or loss arising from reliance on this page. Always confirm the requirements for your passport and circumstances with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Japanese embassy or consulate covering your home address before you book or travel.