Last edit by: etgohomeok
UPDATE Sept. 22, 2022: JAPAN WILL NO LONGER REQUIRE VISAS AS OF OCTOBER 11, 2022. As of October 11, Japan will resume visa-free entry to nationals from qualifying countries. Individuals traveling to Japan after this date DO NOT need to obtain an ERFS and visa to enter the country for individual tourism. The information below is for posterity and/or people who wish to travel to Japan prior to this change going into effect.
UPDATE Sept. 12, 2022: News media is reporting rumors of an imminent announcement which may include the reinstatement of visa waivers. Such an announcement would make most of the information below obsolete. Travelers who do not need visas immediately are advised to wait until we know more.
Overview
Until further notice, a visa is required from all foreigners to enter Japan. The visa-waiver program which previously allowed visa-free entry to nationals from certain countries has been suspended. In order to obtain a visa, a receiving agency must sponsor your application by issuing you an ERFS (Entrants, Returnees Follow-up System) certificate. ERFS certificates may be issued for a variety of reasons, including tourism, in which case a licensed travel agency must sponsor your visa application.
Tourism
As of September 7, 2022, tourists may enter Japan on unguided, unaccompanied tours as long as they are sponsored by a travel agency who arranges their flights and accommodations and acts as a point of contact for the duration of their stay in the country in the event of issues including a COVID infection. Some official documents from the Japanese government have attempted to clarify this policy (and, most notably, what it means for a receiving agency to "arrange" flights and accommodations), however in practice it has been left up to the interpretation of the sponsoring agencies. Due to the lack of clarity, there is a range of interpretations with some agencies insisting on purchasing all airfare and hotel reservations on behalf of the traveler, with others allowing travelers to keep their existing reservations as long as they share the details with them. The exact offerings and pricing from specific agencies is changing rapidly, consult this thread for the latest information.
As of now there have been no reports of denied visas or entry into the country from anyone who had a valid ERFS from a legitimate travel agency. Individuals from Australia have reported difficulties booking visa appointments, so Aussies may want to contact their local consulate and ensure they can do so before paying for a tour package/ERFS.
Visa Application and Arrival Process
The following roughly outlines the steps for obtaining a visa and entering the country:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What other documents are required for the visa application? Do I need an itinerary document?
A: For an eVisa application you only need to submit your ERFS and passport. No other supporting documentation is necessary. In-person applications may ask for more documentation and you should verify what documents are required with your local consulate.
Q: What documents are required to board a plane and enter the country?
A: Travelers who have reported their experiences have said they were asked to show their MySOS "blue screen" and their visa/eVisa by both the airline (prior to boarding their flight) and by customs (after landing in Japan). If you have an eVisa, make sure you can load the digital version of the actual eVisa website on your phone (not just the PDF) in Japan over data or WiFi, because these have a rotating QR code.
Q: What if I don't want to stay at a hotel and want to stay at a friend's house/Airbnb/couch-surfing/etc.?
A: Current tourism guidelines suggest that a travel agency is supposed to "arrange accommodations" for your time in Japan. As such, you should contact your travel agency to ask them what types of accommodations in Japan they will allow. It is advisable to book a hotel in Japan for at least your first night in the country prior to applying for a visa since the visa application asks for this information. Note that hotels in Japan are currently very cheap, especially with the weakened Yen.
Q: What if I'm not traveling for (x) amount of time? When should I get an ERFS and apply for a visa?
A: Visas are only valid for 90 days after they are issued, so you should wait until your trip is at least within the next three months. There is also a good chance that the Japanese government will move to further relax entry requirements (including, possibly, re-instating the visa-waiver program which would make this entire process obsolete) in the coming months, so you should wait until your individual planning process requires you to have some assurance that you'll be able to enter the country. We may also see more competition among travel agencies offering bare-bones tour packages in the coming weeks, which could drive prices down.
UPDATE Sept. 12, 2022: News media is reporting rumors of an imminent announcement which may include the reinstatement of visa waivers. Such an announcement would make most of the information below obsolete. Travelers who do not need visas immediately are advised to wait until we know more.
Overview
Until further notice, a visa is required from all foreigners to enter Japan. The visa-waiver program which previously allowed visa-free entry to nationals from certain countries has been suspended. In order to obtain a visa, a receiving agency must sponsor your application by issuing you an ERFS (Entrants, Returnees Follow-up System) certificate. ERFS certificates may be issued for a variety of reasons, including tourism, in which case a licensed travel agency must sponsor your visa application.
Tourism
As of September 7, 2022, tourists may enter Japan on unguided, unaccompanied tours as long as they are sponsored by a travel agency who arranges their flights and accommodations and acts as a point of contact for the duration of their stay in the country in the event of issues including a COVID infection. Some official documents from the Japanese government have attempted to clarify this policy (and, most notably, what it means for a receiving agency to "arrange" flights and accommodations), however in practice it has been left up to the interpretation of the sponsoring agencies. Due to the lack of clarity, there is a range of interpretations with some agencies insisting on purchasing all airfare and hotel reservations on behalf of the traveler, with others allowing travelers to keep their existing reservations as long as they share the details with them. The exact offerings and pricing from specific agencies is changing rapidly, consult this thread for the latest information.
As of now there have been no reports of denied visas or entry into the country from anyone who had a valid ERFS from a legitimate travel agency. Individuals from Australia have reported difficulties booking visa appointments, so Aussies may want to contact their local consulate and ensure they can do so before paying for a tour package/ERFS.
Visa Application and Arrival Process
The following roughly outlines the steps for obtaining a visa and entering the country:
- First, the traveler must obtain an ERFS certificate from their sponsoring agency. Who issues the ERFS depends on the reason for entering the country (business travelers should obtain it from the company they are visiting, tourists should obtain it from a travel agency who is arranging their visit, etc.). The ERFS certificate is a one-page document summarizing key information about the traveler and their sponsor. An example of an ERFS certificate is provided here.
- Once the ERFS is obtained, travelers must apply for a visa from their local Japanese consulate. Travelers from some countries (currently only the USA and Canada) may apply for an eVisa online. This process is faster and easier than physically visiting a consulate so it is recommended for anyone who has access to it.
- Visitors who are fully vaccinated with three doses of approved vaccine do not need to obtain a COVID test prior to traveling to Japan. A primary series consisting of one dose of J&J/Janssen is treated as two doses for the purpose of meeting these criteria (see here). Vaccination information should be submitted using the MySOS app and travelers should ensure they have a "blue screen" in the app prior to boarding their flight. Information available here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What other documents are required for the visa application? Do I need an itinerary document?
A: For an eVisa application you only need to submit your ERFS and passport. No other supporting documentation is necessary. In-person applications may ask for more documentation and you should verify what documents are required with your local consulate.
Q: What documents are required to board a plane and enter the country?
A: Travelers who have reported their experiences have said they were asked to show their MySOS "blue screen" and their visa/eVisa by both the airline (prior to boarding their flight) and by customs (after landing in Japan). If you have an eVisa, make sure you can load the digital version of the actual eVisa website on your phone (not just the PDF) in Japan over data or WiFi, because these have a rotating QR code.
Q: What if I don't want to stay at a hotel and want to stay at a friend's house/Airbnb/couch-surfing/etc.?
A: Current tourism guidelines suggest that a travel agency is supposed to "arrange accommodations" for your time in Japan. As such, you should contact your travel agency to ask them what types of accommodations in Japan they will allow. It is advisable to book a hotel in Japan for at least your first night in the country prior to applying for a visa since the visa application asks for this information. Note that hotels in Japan are currently very cheap, especially with the weakened Yen.
Q: What if I'm not traveling for (x) amount of time? When should I get an ERFS and apply for a visa?
A: Visas are only valid for 90 days after they are issued, so you should wait until your trip is at least within the next three months. There is also a good chance that the Japanese government will move to further relax entry requirements (including, possibly, re-instating the visa-waiver program which would make this entire process obsolete) in the coming months, so you should wait until your individual planning process requires you to have some assurance that you'll be able to enter the country. We may also see more competition among travel agencies offering bare-bones tour packages in the coming weeks, which could drive prices down.
Entrants, Returnees Follow-up System (EFRS) Discussion (was: Japan opening up)
#136
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New visitor limits and the end of the silly tour guide (chaperone) requirement
It's in Taiwanese Mandarin, but the quick and dirty translation is, from Sept 7, 50,000 people per day can enter, and no more need to have a tour guide BUT you (most of the world) must have an entrance visa
It's in Taiwanese Mandarin, but the quick and dirty translation is, from Sept 7, 50,000 people per day can enter, and no more need to have a tour guide BUT you (most of the world) must have an entrance visa
#137
Join Date: May 2000
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From Bloomberg: Japan to Allow Non-Guided Group Tours and Raise Daily Entry Caps
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ily-entry-caps
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ily-entry-caps
#138
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: Air Canada A35K, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 169
Oh, and: The Japan Times - Japan to ease tourism restrictions and raise daily arrival cap to 50,000
Something something unguided tours from September 7th onwards.
Something something unguided tours from September 7th onwards.
#139
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#140
Join Date: Aug 2017
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Posts: 169
Right but what does "without needing to join a tour group" mean? Announcement says you still need to book a package tour so the devil's in the details. Must of us are hoping to be able to book our own flights/accomodations and just pay a small fee to a tourism agency to approve our own itinerary, ideally.
#141
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If it means I just have to pay a tour agency a few thousand yen to say they're taking responsibility for me for the half-day I've got coming up in October (2PM in, midnight out at HND on the way to BKK) I'd consider it. More than 10-12k and I'd just spend the day at the NH lounge, though.
#142
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 41
Okay, so as pinged by seigex - here's some information so far on my Last-Minute-Totally-On-The-Fly-Do-Not-Recommend-Doing-This Trip to Japan.
(And by last minute, I mean we were going to go to Korea. Then Japan said "eh, no testing needed for entry" and I went "Eeeeeeehhh?!?!!?" Stupid Kishi. Which reminds me, I gotta call ANA to confirm that we're not going to get in trouble for not having a test done if we show up at LAX...)
So, we're due to depart next week, and I decided yeah, to hell with it. Let's do this. Why? No testing (we're 3x vax though), and this trip was meant to be a 40th birthday gift for my partner. We needed something good to look forward to, and this was it for the better part of the year. We've shortened the trip a bit as we had a ton of time squared away for Tokyo in order to attend a sumo match, but we could not get tickets and also... we can skip that for now. My partner pointed out that, based on the results of the last basho, we kind of want to go when most of the rikishi will be involved, and not pulling out due to illness.
As a result, our itinerary is now about 16 days long, and we've received our ERFS from Japan Guide Agency and have submitted our Visas using the eVISA for Canada/USA residents. (I did this about an hour ago, and I am now very studiously NOT looking at my email account, otherwise I would be refreshing constantly.)
-snip-
(And by last minute, I mean we were going to go to Korea. Then Japan said "eh, no testing needed for entry" and I went "Eeeeeeehhh?!?!!?" Stupid Kishi. Which reminds me, I gotta call ANA to confirm that we're not going to get in trouble for not having a test done if we show up at LAX...)
So, we're due to depart next week, and I decided yeah, to hell with it. Let's do this. Why? No testing (we're 3x vax though), and this trip was meant to be a 40th birthday gift for my partner. We needed something good to look forward to, and this was it for the better part of the year. We've shortened the trip a bit as we had a ton of time squared away for Tokyo in order to attend a sumo match, but we could not get tickets and also... we can skip that for now. My partner pointed out that, based on the results of the last basho, we kind of want to go when most of the rikishi will be involved, and not pulling out due to illness.
As a result, our itinerary is now about 16 days long, and we've received our ERFS from Japan Guide Agency and have submitted our Visas using the eVISA for Canada/USA residents. (I did this about an hour ago, and I am now very studiously NOT looking at my email account, otherwise I would be refreshing constantly.)
-snip-
Last edited by justinyvr; Sep 1, 2022 at 9:56 pm
#143
Join Date: Feb 2015
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just checked the website, so you provided them with your own itinerary right?
Last edited by williamluk; Aug 31, 2022 at 1:38 am
#145
Join Date: Feb 2015
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From the website it look likes they will sponsor your ERFS if you provide them with your itinerary for ‘itinerary management’, hence the 20k yen charge. It’s not cheap, but it is what it is.
#146
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 41
Oh! Yeah, that's completely new, they *just* updated it then -- looks like they're on the ball. And for good reason, they're gonna make buckets of free money from this...
#147
Join Date: Feb 2015
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#148
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Its easy money, that's for sure. "Issuing ERFS in A Day for your Japan Tourist Visa"
#149
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 47
Wait, so I just have to pay 20k yen on this site, provide a rough itinerary and I can enter Japan as a tourist? Is that seriously it?
https://www.j-g-a.org/erfs.html
https://www.j-g-a.org/erfs.html
#150
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SIN, SFO, LON
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Posts: 443
Wait, so I just have to pay 20k yen on this site, provide a rough itinerary and I can enter Japan as a tourist? Is that seriously it?
https://www.j-g-a.org/erfs.html
https://www.j-g-a.org/erfs.html
oh, you do need to go get a visa after this!
Last edited by williamluk; Aug 31, 2022 at 7:08 am