Good news for everyone who is attracted to Japan! On January 1, 2017, a relaxation of the visa regime for Russian citizens wishing to visit this country came into effect. Visas to Japan have become much more accessible. They no longer require such a complicated set of documents as they did before. Under the new rules, Russians wishing to obtain a short-term (including tourist) visa can now submit documents independently to the consular departments of the Japanese Embassy in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The visa processing time is usually, 4 working days.
The cost of consular fee for processing documents and issuance of visa is zero. Visa processing for Russians by the Japanese consulate is free of charge. This provision does not apply to citizens of a number of other countries.
Visas to Japan with Sakura Tours!
"Sakura Tours provides full visa support for all its programs and tours. Thanks to this, visa application to Japan will be as easy as possible and will not take much time. To prepare the visa application package we will need the following information from you:
- phone number and e-mail for contact;
- a scan of the front page of your passport;
- A copy of airline tickets to and from Japan;
- information about the place of work (name of the institution, address, telephone number) and the position held;
- a document from the place of employment indicating the salary (non-working persons should provide documents (statement) that they are dependent on a person with a certificate from the place of employment of this person);
- completed visa application form;
- two 45x45 mm photographs.
Leave the visa support to the professionals at Sakura Tours!
If you wish to order only visas without purchasing one or the other of our tours to Japan, we will require additional data from you to compile the documents:
- list of hotels along the route (required for the itinerary): name, address, phone number and confirmation of reservation;
- plan of the program of stay in the country.
The cost of Japanese visa processing depends on the tour you choose.
Types of visas
There are four main types of visas: short-term, medical, long-term and transit. Let's take a brief look at each of these categories and the relevant requirements for each visa.
- Short-term visa. Allows you to stay in Japan for up to 90 days. This category includes: tourist visa, private visa (visiting relatives, friends) and business visa (including visas for cultural exchange).
- Medical Visa. Allows you to take advantage of the achievements of Japanese medicine. Such visas are issued for the purpose of staying in medical institutions as a patient (including treatment at the hot springs). Unlike private and transit visas, a specialized medical visa will require a letter of guarantee from the Japanese side, namely the host medical institution.
- Long-term visa. Allows you to stay in the country for more than three months, as well as (subject to a number of conditions) to carry out labor activities in the country.
- Transit Visa. This is for those traveling through Japan to third countries. There are a number of conditions under which this type of visa can be issued.
First of allThe stay in the country on a transit visa is determined by the time required to transfer to a flight to a third country, but may not exceed 72 hours.
SecondlyIn addition, such visas are available only to passengers whose route via Japan to another country is the only possible or most rational route in terms of saving distance and time. Such routes include flights to Australia and New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and the island nations of Oceania.
ThirdlyA transit permit cannot be issued if other purposes of visit are planned besides sightseeing while waiting for a flight to a third country.
A transit visa, like a tourist visa, is issued at a Japanese consulate. Previous documents such as the Shore / Transit Pass, which allowed you to obtain a transit visa upon arrival at the airport, have been abolished. At present, permission to leave the airport (in the absence of a Japanese visa in the passport) is granted only in exceptional cases.
Tourist visa: required documents
- PassportThe passport must be valid for 3 months longer than the expiration date of the requested visa. A nice feature is that the applicant can take the passport while the visa application is being processed. In this case, it is necessary to leave a copy of the main page of the passport at the consulate.
- Visa application form in two copies, filled out in English. A sample application form can be downloaded at this link.
- Two photos 45x45 mm. They are glued on the questionnaire.
- A copy of the internal passport: the first turnaround and residential registration.
- Financial Confirmation: a certificate from the place of employment indicating the amount of salary, or a certificate from the bank confirming the availability of sufficient funds on the account, or other documents confirming the availability of funds.
- Airline reservations both ways.
- Residency Program. To be filled in according to a specific form in English (form and sample available at this link). It is mandatory to specify the dates of the visit, flight numbers of the flights the applicant plans to take to and from Japan, names, addresses and phone numbers of all hotels along the route of travel. A brief travel plan is also described.
Additionally
- If you need to obtain a visa to Japan with multiple entry, you will need a free-form letter explaining the need to visit Japan multiple times. In addition, on the visa application form, the number of days of the first stay in Japan must be indicated in the "Intended lenght of stay in Japan" column, followed by the word "Multiple".
- In the case of submitting documents through a proxy, a power of attorney in simple written form with contact and passport details of the proxy is required. Notarization of such a power of attorney is not required.
All necessary information on visa issues and application package can be obtained from on the website of the Embassy of Japan in the Russian Federation.