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Introduction
Most Chinese readers living and working in the U.S. have probably had the experience of transiting in Japan on the way back home. Since you are already connecting in Japan, why not enter the country and do some sightseeing while you are there? Although Japan has opened up independent travel visas for Chinese passport holders, applying for a Japanese tourist visa in China has still been quite difficult in recent years. The main reason is that applicants generally must go through a travel agency. As the saying goes, dealing with the middleman is often the hard part: because travel agencies must guarantee the visa applicant, they usually require a large amount of additional documentation on top of what the consulate asks for, demand a sizable deposit, and often verify whether the applicant actually stays at the booked hotel. That means the entire itinerary must be fully locked in before the visa application is submitted, which is naturally inconvenient for people who prefer independent travel. In addition, if you are a green card holder, you generally cannot get the visa issued in China and must apply in the U.S. By comparison, applying in the U.S. does not require going through a travel agency. You may still need to provide flight and hotel confirmations, but most readers are probably already familiar with the trick of booking refundable flights and hotels and canceling them after the visa is issued. This article gives a general overview of the process for applying for a Japanese visa in the U.S.
What type of visa should you apply for?
If you are only transiting in Japan, not staying overnight, and do not need to enter Japan, then you do not need a Japanese visa. If you need to change airports instead (for example, Tokyo Narita NRT to Tokyo Haneda HND) or stay overnight at the same airport and therefore must enter Japan, you can theoretically use a Shore Pass. However, Japan has been tightening Shore Pass issuance in recent years, and airlines may directly refuse boarding to travelers who would need one in Japan. That said, if you have already boarded, arrived in Japan, and do not have a visa for entry but only need to stay overnight at the same airport, they generally will not send you back immediately; you may simply be forced to spend the night in a holding room and then be put on the next flight the following day. In general, the two main options are a transit visa and a single-entry tourist visa. Starting in May 2017, Japanese consulates in the U.S. also began offering multiple-entry tourist visas valid for up to five years, making spontaneous trips much easier. A transit visa allows a stay of 7 days, while a single-entry visa generally allows a maximum stay of 15 or 30 days. Both are valid for entry within three months after issuance. The actual permitted length of stay depends on the flight itinerary you submit. For example, if your ticket only shows a 10-day stay in Japan, you would not receive a 30-day visa. In addition, depending on your itinerary, a transit visa may allow two entries, such as one stop in Japan on the outbound trip and another on the return. Also, when applying for a transit visa, your connection cannot be too short; if you are not staying overnight, the consulate may decide that entry is unnecessary and deny the visa. So if you plan to apply with refundable tickets and cancel them later, the itinerary still cannot look too casual. Visa fees for the transit visa, single-entry tourist visa, and multiple-entry tourist visa are $6/$27/$55, respectively. The first option does have a pricing advantage, but using a transit visa to enter Japan for tourism is technically against the rules, so we still recommend applying for a tourist visa.Where should you apply for the visa?
The consular jurisdictions of Japanese diplomatic missions (and offices) in the U.S. are listed below, and you cannot apply outside your jurisdiction.
- Embassy of Japan: DC, Maryland, Virginia.
- Consulate-General in Seattle: Washington, Alaska ,Montana and Idaho (all areas north of Idaho County) .
- Consular Office in Anchorage: Alaska.
- Consular Office in Portland: Oregon and Idaho (outside the area served by C.G.J. in Seattle) .
- Consulate-General in Los Angeles: Arizona,California (Counties of Los Angels, Orange, San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernadino, Ventura and Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo) .
- Consulate-General in San Francisco: Nevada and Northern California (not under the jurisdiction of L.A.) .
- Consulate-General in Honolulu: Hawaii and U.S. territories in the Pacific except Guam and Northern Marianas.
- Consulate-General in Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
- Consulate-General in Detroit: Michigan and Ohio.
- Consulate-General in Boston: Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
- Consulate-General in New York: Connecticut (Fairfield County only) , Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, New York, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Island.
- Consulate-General in Atlanta: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Consulate-General in Miami: Florida.
- Consulate-General in Nashville: Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
- Consulate-General in Houston: Texas and Oklahoma.
- Consulate-General in Agana: Guam and Northern Marianas.
- Consular Office in Saipan
Readers who live near one of these offices are advised to apply in person, while those farther away can apply by mail. Note that some consulates do not accept mailed applications from local residents. For example, New York residents cannot mail materials to the Consulate-General in New York to apply. Please follow the instructions on the consulate's website.
What documents do you need to prepare?
Interestingly, the required application materials vary by consulate, and some posts even have unusual requirements. For example, some consulates do not require hotel confirmations, while the Consulate-General in New York requires that the ticket originate in the U.S. and ultimately return to the U.S. In general, the required materials are as follows:- Your original passport, valid for at least six more months at the time of application and with blank pages available, plus one copy of all pages.
- A completed application form with a 2in*2in photo taken within the last six months attached. Your name must be written on the form in both Chinese and English. In addition, there are spaces on page two for an inviter and guarantor in Japan. If you are applying for a tourist visa and do not plan to stay with friends in Japan, these fields do not need to be filled in. Even if you do plan to stay with friends, we still recommend booking a hotel, getting the visa issued, and then canceling it. That is because Japan's requirements for guarantors are very strict: not only must the guarantor provide a large amount of documentation, but they also generally need to have been working in Japan for a certain number of years.
- Proof that you can legally re-enter the U.S. (green card, U.S. visa + I-94, or I-20 / DS-2019 for F/J visa holders), as well as entry permission for all/the next country or region on the flight itinerary you submit for entry (visa-free destinations may be omitted).
- Flight itinerary and hotel reservation.
- Your most recent bank statement showing sufficient funds, plus one copy. Japan visa applications have a relatively low funds requirement; you only need to show enough to cover your expenses during your stay in Japan.
- A travel itinerary in Japan form.
- For a multiple-entry tourist visa, you must also explain why you need a multiple-entry visa, such as future travel plans to Japan.
- If applying by mail, a Release of Liability Form is required. Each consulate has different requirements for this form, so please download it from your consulate's website.