The instructions are far more detailed than that, causing more grief than clarity in a lot of situations:

OP, this is just an incredible story and a very sad one. So sorry to hear about the trouble here. I have no advice to offer that's any better than the other commenters. I only hope that your case was truly an anomaly.

However, I've noted a lot of the responses in this thread discuss Japanese xenophobia and the immigration officer's unwillingness to be helpful for something that was about to change in just a matter of days. Not to say that this isn't the case, but I'm old enough to remember when Northwest Airlines started flights from Tokyo to Portland, OR in 2000 and quickly became known in Japanese circles as "Deportland" as they regularly would deny entry to Asian travelers at dramatically high rates compared to other ports of entry. There was even an incident of strip-searching a businesswoman with what seems like little to no cause. At the time I was living in Tokyo, and my Japanese colleagues basically refused to take that flight (Northwest was our corporate airline at the time), and they would take other connections, even longer ones, to avoid it.

I, myself, was looking forward to a trip to Japan next summer. I'm hoping that I don't have to rethink that - especially when traveling with my family.

Seattle Times article: https://archive.seattletimes.com/arc...1&slug=4041807
NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/31/u...h-the-ins.html

In ignorance that a third party can't apply for a eVisa, the agent could have done exactly that. The agent would have gotten an official visa pdf file to forward. With some imagination it also fits the "visa was appropriately filled out but she had not filed it with the correct authorities" story.

The most important question regarding this situation is, were you able to use the lounge before your forced departure?

I'll just third the suggestion that OP actually had a "Certificate for Completion of Registration to the ERFS System" and not an actual visa. If it was an e-visa, the PDF would say "Visa Issuance Notice" and have a visa number written on it. The travel agent should have explained how to apply for the visa, and if not, this entire situation is their fault.

Usual period following deportation is 5 or 10 years, depending on the actual grounds they filed it all under. It will also automatically disqualify you from entering ~75 other countries under a visa waiver.

If you want to visit any of those countries within that time, even if it's a visa waiver country to you, in all those cases you will need to apply for a visa if you want to be relatively sure you'll be admitted. Oddly, Japan will probably be the easiest one to get an applied visa for as you'll be able to explain to people that might care that your tour organiser only got you the first part of the visa process (as it was at the time) completed and you didn't realise you still had to apply at a local embassy for the actual visa blah blah blah. No doubt an interview at the legation location and that will necessitate a lot of apologies for causing them trouble and admitting it was your mistake and then a few more apologies for good measure. Take the blame yourself. Don't try and pin it on the Japanese tour guide or UA, regardless of what you think or was actually the case. Given it was, by your account here, a procedural cock up I'd give it a slightly better than 50/50 on the chance for success.

This is just awful. While entry requirements are always on the passenger, I’m not sure how you were supposed to know that this was done wrong. Has the tour operator offered any compensation? They likely have errors and omissions insurance, but who knows how to get them to cough it up?

The US has a procedure called "expedited removal" where a non-citizen can be not only denied admission to the US but be slapped with a five year bar from the country. I would argue that a person who has been subject to expedited removal has been "deported."

Yah. Sounds pretty crappy all around.
I have to give you full credit for remaining level headed in your posts. I'd find a local lawyer in Japan and see what they can do to find out what the problem was. If you want to return to Japan, I'd not leave it hanging out there. Especially if you have no idea what took place. I'd also not rely on the tour guide giving you ANY more information that is accurate or truthful. I'm thinking full damage mode.

Gather up all your paper.

Put it in a nice chronological package and get it ready to send to counsel.

From what I've seen, the only way around a reentry sanction is with a "voluntary withdrawal" of attempting to entry the country. Again commonly offered in cases where the traveller wasn't attempting to violate the law but where discretion couldn't be exercised, like some minor criminal violation from long ago without the necessary exemption.

However, authorities in Japan seemed to go out of their way to exact an especially and unnecessarily harsh penalty in this case. I'm sure it'll make for a great story over sake in one of the "Foreigners forbidden" restaurants in Tokyo.

It was entirely up to OP to look into the requirements of any country before attempting to enter it, which they neglected to do.
Furthermore, I just checked the ERFS document and it states You are also requested to show a copy of this certificate when you apply for a visa
That should have been enough to realize there were further steps to take and a spending even a few minutes on the local Japan's consulate's website would have also clarified this.

Do you think any country would allow entry when the visa request had actually not been filed ?

Have you had a bad experience in Japan ? I have noticed a number of your posts extremely aggressive against japan .


There was only one party responsible here, and that was the tour operator.

It was an error, also not caught by professionals who are also trained to look out for the airline's interest.

Do you have some admiration for the lack of reasonableness by the authorities who could have chosen to exercise some discretion with the requirement ending in a matter of hours?

If this instance doesn't call for using their power of discretion, what does?

Vile, just vile.

I'm sure that if I had OPs job, I'd probably not have as much time as I do in order to look up the rules. Just glad he seems to be the coolest person when I'd be appaplectic with how things went down.

It would help to know the following:

1. Did the travel agent actually send the OP the ERFS document?

2. What did the email to the OP say about the attached "visa"? If the travel agent emailed something to the OP that the travel agent identified as a visa, IMO the situation was totally the travel agent's fault.