jpatokal

I'm planning a trip to Japan next spring-ish, but it turns out both my passports are expiring in September 2012 and I'm unlikely to be able to renew them before I leave. Now, I gather that Japan does not have the usual "passport must be valid for six months after entry" requirement, but I'm unable to find proof of this in writing -- can any enterprising FTer find some? Proving a negative isn't easy, with eg. Timatic simply silent on the issue.

ChrisLi

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

My dad was traveling with me with a passport having 4 months before expire. No question asked.

jib71

Oscar at immigration: To have one passport expire may be regarded as a misfortune... for it to happen to both seems like carelessness.

Scifience

There definitely is not a 6-month or similar validity requirement, but I can't directly find proof of this from any "official" source either.

The closest I can find directly from the Japanese government is from a page aimed at Japanese citizens travelling abroad:
http://www.gov-online.go.jp/useful/a.../200807/3.html

This page from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the requirements for entry into Japan for citizens of countries that do not require a visa, and there is no mention of anything other than a "valid passport."

There are also a number of less-official sources confirming this:
http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/5768660.html
http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp...il/q1116241116

jpatokal

Thanks for the confirmation ^

beep88

There is no requirement that your passport must have X months of validity, except that the passport must be valid (for your stay) , if you don't need a visa to visit Japan.

The standard tourist stay is 90 days. If your passport is due to expire in less than 90 days at time of landing, you'll spend a little more time at the immigration counter as the officer must manually adjust the date on the stamp to shorten the number of days you are allowed to stay.

If Timatic doesn't say 6 month's validity(remains silent), that means there is no such requirement. There is also iatatravelcentre.com where you can enter the passport expiry date and it will tell you you are fine.

Ichinensei

i don't think they have the six month limit..call the local japanese embassy or high com where you are. that is what i did but that was five years ago.

schoflyer

Call me crazy... Why don't you renew?

Steve M

Timatic is NOT silent on the issue. It rather clearly says:

And that means exactly what it says it means: the passport must be valid on [the day of] arrival. There is no requirement that it be valid any further in the future than that.

I'm sorry, but that's wrong on at least three counts:

- The length of stay granted to Japan is not dependent on validity of the passport on day of entry. There are some countries where this is true, but they'll be denoted in Timatic as "Passport must be valid for intended length of stay." Japan has no such designation or requirement.

- Since Fall of 2003, Japan has not used manual stamps in passports. They have a computer-generated sticker that they issue upon arrival and stick in your passport that has the type of entry granted and the duration. Any adjustment to the permitted length of stay because of passport validity would happen automatically in the computer.

- I can speak to all of the above with absolute certainty, as my most recent visit to Japan involved a passport with only 2 weeks of validity remaining. I was granted the standard 90-day stay, even though that would be 2.5 months past the passport's expiration.

Now, the question arises: "What happens if your passport expires while you're in Japan?" Well, for one, if you don't have a Permanent Resident Card, you immediately become a law-breaker, because you wouldn't have a valid passport which is required to be carried on your person at all times as a foreigner. Second, you won't be able to leave the country, as you can't pass through exit immigration at the airport without a valid passport, and if leaving by plane, the airline won't accept you for transport because of your lack of a valid passport.

The obvious solution to the above is: if your passport expires while you're in Japan, it's your responsibility to renew it with your embassy/consulate. To be squeaky clean legal, this would have to be done before it expires, but certainly must be done before you leave. But upon arrival, as long as it's valid on that date, you've met the requirements to be granted permission to land.

SingTel001

Easy answer. Ask Timatic.
http://tinyurl.com/84x2yba
- Passport and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.

gnaget

This "Visitors not holding return/onward ticket could be refused entry" is an interesting statement. So this derives from IATA? I could not find anything about this on Japanese govt websites. "Could be" is also vague. Japan can deny entry to anyone they find suspicious, but the problem is not Japan immigration but the airline.

I have entered Japan about 10 times in the past year on tickets terminating in Japan without any problem on the following airlines: SK, ANA, UA, TG, SQ and TK.

However, last week, NZ refused to check me in without an onward ticket so I had to quickly buy a one way refundable online in the lobby at AKL. NZ is a pretty backward airline that does not have online check-in. I recall that UA once asked to disclose date of departure from Japan when I checked in online. But I am also recalling that I checked in in person with ANA, TG and SQ as well.

FYI, I have an official document from a Japanese government agency as a "get out of jail free card" in case I have any trouble due to my frequent entries, but it's all smiles so far. The immigration agents never ask for onward tickets.

jpatokal

Because I live 1000 km away from the nearest consulate or embassy and applications have to be made in person. As it happens, I'll be passing through said city on my way to Japan and applying for a passport there, but obviously it'll take X weeks to be ready.

joejones

The Japanese government websites are a mess when it comes to explaining how the landing process works at the airport.

It is clear that you need an onward ticket in order to change your status to "temporary visitor" if you are already in Japan under a different status. That may be the basis of Timatic suggesting that you need an onward ticket when you arrive in Japan.

http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te.../Table3-1.html

gnaget

I think I also saw it somewhere in conjunction with citizens of countries who require visas. They are more likely to overstay, I suppose, and are more like to have "funding" issues.

Nevertheless, I will be prudent going forward and book something. If anything to avoid problems with airlines like with NZ.

jib71

Heh. I nearly ended up in the gaijin gulag in Shimonoseki in precisely that situation. The immigration officer demanded to see my onward ticket after changing my status. Thanks dude.

I'm sure I've mentioned it in this forum before. (Having a post office account book that showed a healthy balance was my get out of jail card).