Japan - Visas And Red Tape

All visitors to Japan must have a valid passport for the duration of their stay, but only residents of certain countries need apply for a visa in advance. Citizens of Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland and the UK can stay in Japan for up to ninety days without a visa provided they are visiting for tourism or business purposes. This stay can be extended for another three months .

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and the USA can also stay for up to ninety days without a visa, though this is unextendable and you are required to possess a return airline ticket. Anyone wishing to stay longer will have to leave the country, then re-enter.

All other nationalities must apply for a visa in advance from the Japanese embassy or consulate in their own country. These are usually free, though in certain circumstances you may be charged a fee of around ¥3000 for a single-entry visa. The rules on visas do change from time to time, so check first with your embassy or consulate, or on the Japanese Foreign Ministry Web site ( www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html ), for the current situation.

Visa extensions
To get a visa extension you'll need to fill in two copies of an Application for Extension of Stay, available from local immigration bureaux (see Listings sections of major city accounts). These must then be returned along with passport photos,...
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Working holiday and re-entry visas
Citizens of Australia, Britain, Canada, France, New Zealand and South Korea aged between 18 and 30 can apply for a working holiday visa , which grants a six-month stay and one possible six-month extension. This entitles the holder to work for a...
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Japanese embassies and consulates
You'll find addresses for other embassies and consulates on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site ( www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html ), and links to many of them from the UK Embassy site ( ...
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Customs
The duty-free allowance for bringing goods into Japan is 400 cigarettes or 100 cigars or 500 grams of tobacco; three 760cc bottles of alcohol; two ounces of perfume; and gifts and souvenirs up to a value of ¥200,000. As well as firearms and...
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Japan - Visas And Red Tape - information