I had gotten a lot of questions in the comments section of my first Japan Visa post, so I thought I’d do a follow-up summarizing some of the most frequently asked questions in the previous blog entry.
Do I need a Visa to visit Japan?
Yes, you need a Visa to enter Japan.
Is there an interview for Japan Visa applicants?
No, there is no interview for Japan Visa applications; all you need to do is submit the required documents.
Do I really need to submit a Letter of Invitation?
If you are not on a package tour, or if you are not shouldering all your expenses for the trip, then yes — a Letter of Invitation is required from your Guarantor in Japan.
What is a Letter of Guarantee?
A Guarantee Letter, also known as a Mimoto Hoshousho, is required from your Japanese Guarantor to assure the Consuls Office that some or all of your expenses while in Japan will be handled by him or her.
Alongside the Guarantee Letter, a Certificate of Income or Shotoku Shoumeisho, an Income Tax Return or Nouzei Shomeisho, and a Certificate of Bank Deposit or Yokin Zandaka Shoumeisho is also required from your Japanese Guarantor.
Do I really need to submit an ITR?
If you are employed or run a business in the Philippines, you are required to submit your Income Tax Return. Your ITR will be proof that you are earning enough to cover all your expenses while in Japan, as well as assure the Consuls Office that you will be returning to the Philippines once your fifteen days are up.
What is a Bank Certificate/Certificate of Deposit?
A Certificate of Deposit is a document you can request from your bank to indicate the amount deposited in your savings account. The suggested minimum amount of “show-money” is PhP 100,000 per single visa application.
The Japan Consuls Office uses the Bank Certificate in place of the Letter of Guarantee if you intend to shoulder all your expenses during your trip to Japan.
What other supporting documents can I submit to improve my chances of getting a Visa?
If you are a student, a Certificate of Enrollment from your school will help immensely. If you are already working, an Employment Certificate stating your position, your annual income, and your length of service to the company will also be very useful.
My boyfriend/fiance is Japanese/American/European/Australian and has assured me that he will handle all my expenses — do I still need to apply for a visa?
Yes — because you are not yet married to your Japanese boyfriend and are not included in his Family Registry or Koseiki Touhon, you will still have to apply for a regular Tourist Visa following all the required steps by the Japanese Embassy.
As for ladies with European, American, and Australian boyfriends (who are allowed visa-free entry to Japan for up to ninety days) — because you carry a Philippine passport you are still required to apply for a Tourist Visa, likewise following all the necessary steps indicated.
I am a Filipino working abroad and I plan to visit Japan– do I still need to apply for a visa?
Regardless of your Permanent Resident status or your valid Work Permit for a foreign country other than Japan, as long as you are carrying a Philippine passport you still need to apply for a Tourist Visa.
You can, however, apply for a Visa at the Japanese Embassy of your present location, and do not need to apply from the Japanese Embassy in Manila.
I plan to look for work in Japan — can I get a Work Visa even if I am not yet employed by a Japan-based company?
The Consuls Office does not issue Work Visas if you are not yet employed by a Japan-based company; many of the requirements and steps necessary to get a Work Visa are initiated by your employer and not you.
If you apply for a Tourist Visa and then enter the country with intention to find work, you are essentially an illegal alien and if caught, will be prosecuted to the full extent of Japanese law and deported back to the Philippines posthaste.
How much and how long will it take to process my application?
Direct application to the Embassy is strictly not allowed; you must apply via an accredited travel agent. Your visa, if granted, is free; however, you have to pay your travel agent a processing fee of about PhP 2500 depending on their rates.
It takes three to five business days to process applications; take note that the Consul does not accept applications during Wednesdays. To know the status of your application, get in touch with the travel agent who applied on your behalf, three to five business days after you have submitted all your requirements to them.
Why was my application denied?
The Consulate of Japan never discloses the reason for denying your visa application. If your application has been denied for any reason whatsoever, you need to wait another six months before you can apply again.
So this is everything I know about applying for a Tourist Visa to Japan, based on personal experience and a bit of research. Please take note that there may be mistakes and inaccuracies, as I am neither a travel agent nor an an employee of the Consulate of Japan.
If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to leave them in the comments box, and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my knowledge 🙂
Please note that this is a summary of our experience in applying for a Japanese visa. Mileage may vary with each individual. For more tips, you can also read How to Get A Japanese Tourist Visa in 24 Hours, How to Get a Japan Visa in Three Days, Getting a Japan Tourist Visa: An FAQ for Filipinos, and Tips on Obtaining a Japan Tourist Visa.
JPOP Manila 
Thanks for the info!
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lol hope you’ll find these tips useful someday ❤
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Thanks! Still planning that trip but at least now, it’s a lot clearer for me what to do for the requirements. You truly deserve the PBA award 😀
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“You truly deserve the PBA award :D”
lol anuvah @kat — you guys flatter me too much ^^;; anuway, thanks! and i hope you find this info useful for your future trips 🙂
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By golly! Policies for a Visa application has certainly changed. Thanks so much for sharing!
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lol and they get even more complicated over time; why that is IDEK >.>
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Regardless how strict those guidelines are, I guess there are still quite a serious number of tourists waltzing into Japan…they’re just that awesome.
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Hi! I’d just like to ask if those letters and certificates from the guarantor should be in English or Japanese? Does it matter? Our guarantor is my Dad, he’s Japanese. And I’m not really sure if he can do it in English, LOL. And about the “show money”, there will be six of us who’s gonna be flying there for the holidays, should my Dad at least show 600,000? Thank you very much in advance and for the info., this is a really big help. 🙂
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Japanese is perfectly fine. And yes, that will be PhP 100,00 per head so that’s PhP 600,000 total. Cheers and have a great holiday!
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thanks for the info!=)
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my tourist visa was denied and my auntie really needed me their i stop file a leave of absence in my school just to be their but then i was denied?my application was now in tokyo they were working for it. it was not yet 6 months?do japan embassy will make an consideration of it??because i already have my plane ticket and the family of my auntie needed very much.
hope you can help me:)
tnx!!!
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gimme a sec to fix your post, okay? your lack of proper grammar is confusing me, and i really have no idea where to start answering your questions if i don’t understand them >.>
my tourist visa was denied and my auntie really needs me there. i filed a leave of absence with my school just to be there but i was still denied. my application is now in tokyo and they are working on it. it has not yet 6 been months. will the japan embassy consider it? because i already have my plane ticket and the family of my auntie needs me very much.
hope you can help me 🙂 tnx!!!
like i keep mentioning, it is up to the consul’s office to approve or deny your application — just because you applied for a visa with a complete set of documents, it does not mean that you’ll get a visa 100% of the time.
and yes, you need to wait six months in between applications if you have been denied the first time. the only exception is if you are applying for two different types of visas.
for example, if you applied for a tourist visa but was denied, you can apply for a business visa at your company’s behest without waiting another six months. hope that clears some things up!
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Question:
I have no friends/relatives living in Japan(aka no guarantor) does that mean that in order to acquire a tourist visa my only option is to opt for those travel package tours?
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that’s the more secure option, yes — but if you’d like to go it alone you can still do so 🙂 however, i suggest that you present solid proof that: 1) you are financially capable of covering all the costs of your trip; and 2) you fully intend to come back to the philippines once your fifteen days are up. good luck with the application!
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wait, wouldn’t the agency reject my application since by not having a guarantor i wouldn’t be able to gather all my requirements such as: Invitation Letter from Guarantor in Japan and Guarantee Letter
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the LETTER OF GUARANTEE is only for applicants who will be having part of or all of their travel expenses shouldered by another person.
if you are paying your way, you can simply provide the consul’s office with your form 2316, your CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT from your bank/s, and other proofs of good financial standing such as a CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYMENT from your current workplace.
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Thanks Rose 🙂 I blame these agency sites though, badly made, not enough information, well atleast you’re there 🙂 thanks again.
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oh!im so sorry! but how can i apply business visa?without waiting for 6 months? and where can i apply for it?and what are the requirements?
tnx!!
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instructions on applying for a business visa can be found here. please note that you have to be currently employed with a japanese company or a multinational corporation and are being sent to japan on official business to qualify for this type of visa. good luck!
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my mom, who is a US citizen wants me to accompany her to japan. will it increase my chances of getting the visa if, aside from the letter of invitation from japan, my mom will also give her letter of invitation and support?
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yes — if your mom can provide you with documentation stating that she will be covering all your expenses plus a certificate of deposit from her bank in the US, that will improve your chances. oh, and to further better your chances, ask her to provide you a letter signifying that you are indeed her daughter despite the fact you bear different passports, plus a photocopy (or print out of a hi-res scan) of her US passport and green card. it’s better to provide them with too much documentation than too little. good luck!
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thank you rose:) wish me luck:)godbless!!!
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Hi. you mentioned in another post that previous travel experiences (with passport stamps and visas) could also help in the application. Shall i just photocopy those info? or do i have to provide my previous passports as well? thanks
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they’ll take a look at the stamps in your current passport for previous travel. as for your expired passports, unless they are used JAPAN, US, CANADA, EURO, or AU visas then there’s probably no need to provide photocopies of those.
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thanks. yup i have a UK visa in my expired passport as well as my current one.
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if that’s the case then go ahead and photocopy the inside of the cover (with the actual passport details) plus the page with your used UK visa on it.
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hi, i asked the same thing in your other article but i thought it would be good to post it here too 😛
it was nice reading your articles. I am a college student who has a Japanese friend willing to cover for my accommodation in Japan for 1 week only. Do i still have to provide bank certificates? ITRs and such? I do not work (as I said, I am still a student). If I need a bank certificate, how much should it contain given my age? I have a US visa, and a Saudi Arabian Visa, and 4 passports with plenty of travel stamps. Will that help? Should I still bring certificate of enrollment? My japanese friend is here in the Philippines, will it help if she comes with me to apply? Sorry for the plenty questions, I do not want my application to be denied since my friend already booked me a roundtrip ticket. I will be waiting for your reply! 🙂
btw my US and Saudi Arabian visas are in passports that have expired, but the visas themselves have not. shall i just photocopy them? because if i bring all my passports they might not bother to look at all the others. (i know you mentioned this already, i am just clarifying)
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hi and thanks for dropping by. your questions have already been answered in the comments page in this older post so it would be better if you read through all those first before asking again — thanks.
but to summarize: 1) your friend needs to make out a letter of guarantee described in this post since all you expenses will be handled by him or her; 2) the ITR and bank certificate is only needed if you are employed and if you are paying your way throughout your entire trip; 3) the recommended amount on your certificate of deposit is PhP 100,000 per person applying; 4) you may photocopy your old passports and any previous visas granted to you to support your application — actually, it will be a massive help so i encourage you to do that; 5) since you are a student, a certificate of enrollment will also help; and lastly 6) all applications have to go through an accredited travel agent as no personal applications will be entertained at the embassy.
good luck with your application, and please refrain from spamming the comments box — thanks!
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P.S.
do you recommend any good travel agents?
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like i said in my previous post, UNIVERSAL HOLIDAYS and RAJAH TOURS can help you. thanks and good luck!
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hi,
I would like to ask if my friend will provide me a guarantee letter and all other requirements from his side, do I still need to provide my ITR and bank certificate? He won’t be shouldering all my expenses though and I’m currently employed.
Thanks!
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since you are employed, your form 2316 is required (meaning, it is not optional). as for the bank certificate, since you have a letter of guarantee, it is optional — but i still strongly suggest that you produce one as it may help your application. good luck!
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follow-up question, if I would provide my bank certificate is it okay if it’s not Php100,000? What should be the minimum amount in this case?
thanks so much!
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sorry, i have no experience with making an application with less that PhP 100,000; you’ll have to ask an accredited travel agent to advise you on this.
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Hi,
I would like to get ur advice..my fiance is an american working as an English teacher in Japan..after he spends the holiday here in the philippines.we decided that he wants me to go there and visit him..our original plan is i will just visit him for 2 weeks..but since we got engaged this december were planning on getting married (were not yet decided if here in the phils or there in japan)..so if my visa gets approved and we get married there i can stay there with him since he has all the legal working papers.. ive been contacting rajah they are helpful but when it comes to financial aspect they are kinda play safe in answering its like they will just say it depends..(thanks for ur post..it really helps) they also told me that the length of stay that the embassy will give you is only what you’ve requested but since tourist visa can be extended up to 3 months..and if i was approved for 1 month and would still like to extend we can just do it in japan now for me to have the tourist visa approved what do you think? should i file it for 2 weeks or 1 month? whats the better chance of getting my tourist visa approved? this visa means a lot to me..its just not a matter of me wanting to go to Japan, but of course i want to be with my fiance 🙂 please help 🙂
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uh that’s a lot to take in all at once, so i’ll just answer you with what i know.
1) you have to apply for a standard tourist visa as a fiance because you are not yet married, and you are not yet carrying a US passport (i am assuming your future husband will be applying a green card on your behalf).
2) standard tourist visas are 15 days. there are extensions up to 90 days but those are very special circumstances granted mainly to foreign diplomats, high-ranking political figures, and intercultural exchange ambassadors. you’ll stand a better chance of getting approve by simply applying for the 15 day visa.
3) as for staying on as a spouse, sorry but i have no idea about the paperwork that goes into that as i’ve had no personal experience that. you and your future husband will probably have to talk to someone from the local city hall for that.
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thanks 😉
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no worries — good luck 🙂
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i have another question what if the tourist visa was granted for 15days and when i get to japan they didnt grant me extension when i get back to the Phils after 15days, when can i reapply for another tourist visa? is there a limit? or should i apply again next year? how many times can we go to japan in a year? any idea? thanks again 🙂
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yes, you may reapply as soon as you’ve arrived back home in manila. the 6-month application limit only applies to individuals who were denied in the first place.
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thank you so much 🙂
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Hi, my sister in law has applied for her Japanese visa through one of the “accredited Agencies”. She applied for the visa with the Japanese Cert. of Eligibility. However it has been almost three weeks with no notification from the Japanese Embassy. Do you think there is reason to be concerned yet?
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the embassy will not be notifying you directly if your application has been approved or not — you should get in touch with your travel agent to ask about results.
results are usually out in three to five working days after the application has been sent (provided that the required documents are complete) but since it’s been three weeks, they might need you to submit additional documents, or the application has been turned down.
lastly, if there was a certificate of eligibility issued by the japanese ministry of culture or ministry of education, shouldn’t she have applied directly to the embassy as instructed here? do keep in mind that the “certificate of eligibility” is vastly different from the “letter of guarantee”.
good luck!
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Hi,
Its me again. I just have another question for you. Tomorrow my fiance (American working in Japan as an english teacher) will gather all the requirements needed for my tourist visa, including bank certificate (since he will be paid tomorrow) he will only be getting like 160,000 yen for this month.Based on your recommended amount of money of 100,000 pesos of course its not enough. But i also have 115,000 pesos on my own savings account and ITR and Certificate of Employment. Do you think that will be enough though he will act as my guarantor? or Should we wait for his pay next month so he can present bigger amount of money on his bank certificate? any suggestions or recommendation?
Thanks
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hi jolene. if you include your own certificate of deposit on top of your fiance’s than you should be in good shape. good luck!
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Thank you so much rose. Your blog really helps a lot. i really wish that i would get approved :-). by the way good job with what you post on your other blog related to this (not replying to those who post comments using txt lingo or whatever you call it) i love reading your blog but when i get to those types of comments, it really gives me headache haha how much more on your part since you’re the one replying to it 🙂 anyways i’m excited to read more of your informative blogs. Belated happy hearts day 🙂
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no worries — have a happy and prosperous lunar new year!
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I have one question…My brother is in japan right now and hes married with a japanese,he wants to invite me there for a tourist visa,i just want to know if im required to get ITR and bank certificate?Pls.reply thanks!
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francesca, your question has already been answered in this post — please check there. thanks.
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what if i dont have work right now and one of my relatives want to get me to visit in japan. what would be my requirements for that? Do I need any certificates from school?
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your relatives will probably have to issue you a letter of guarantee on top of your invitation since you are not currently employed. please ask for the advice of a certified travel agent to work out your visa application.
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an update for the sake of everybody!!
kakakuha ko lang ng visa ko ngayong araw.
para lang sa kaalaman ng iba, na baka may similar situation,
ito ako:
female student
may dating student visa
nag apply ako nung isang buwan for tourist visa with the ff docs:
passport
invitation from filipina spouse, PR
guarantor letter from husband, JAP
koseki tohon
nouzei shoumeisho pareho
kazei shoumeisho pareho
itinerary
pics
return ticket
school ids ko here and japan
and after 3 working days, hiningan ako ng additional bank certificate ko.
wala ako ng sarili ko so sa kapatid ko na lang. ginawa ko na lang guarantor #2
i submitted the ff after 2 weeks:
explanation letter
my certificate of enrolment
new guarantee letter
birth certificate ng kapatid
bank certificate ng kapatid
certificate of employment ng kapatid
passport copy ng kapatid
id copy ng kapatid
after 3 days, meaning today, approved ang tourist visa ko.
hope this will help someone. 🙂
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i understand that the visa is good for 15 days in japan. however, how long does the visa last? can i apply now for travel in march 2011?
thanks!
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visas are valid for three months from the date of approval.
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Hi! I appreciate your efforts in posting tips and FAQs such as these. They’re really helpful for people like us who intend to travel someday. 🙂 I just have a question, and I hope you can answer them even to a certain extent:
Money in savings account = readily withdrawable money, right? Currently, my savings account doesn’t have much money in it. If ever it reaches over and above a certain threshold, I place the excess in another SDA (special deposit account) which currently has a little over 100K. However, the money is only “withdrawable” once a month, and at a certain date. Will this be enough as “show money?” In addition to that, I’m intending to open up a US dollar account. Can they take that into consideration as well?
Sorry if the question seems long. T_T But thanks in advance for reading and answering it. 🙂
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if your bank makes out a certificate of deposit to include the amount you put away in your SDA (i assume this is something like BPI’s Save-Up program) then i suppose that should do just fine 🙂 and yes, having a dollar savings account will help your application — it can function as additional documentation of your ties to the philippines and your intent to return. good luck with your application!
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holy crap…. kelangan kong maging Manager Level to afford going there first…. AMP (I plan to bring along a translator…. I still nosebleed y’know)
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lol you don’t really need a translator if you intend to stay in the huge cities like tokyo and osaka — most of the signs already have english translations 🙂
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I got my visa and I find it sooo cute! I know, I’m weird. I think that having a previous japanese visa helped me get one as well as my “tour-mates” get theirs. =) ours got granted in just one day. 🙂 here’s my visa =) I find it so cute that they incorporate sakura holograms in it 🙂 I hope that the others get theirs too!
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congratulations vivi! quick warning though — block out all the long number sequences on your visa in the photos. talented counterfeiters can make fake visas by using the number series issued to you, causing your visa to be invalidated and ruining your travel plans. better safe than sorry 🙂
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gee! thanks!! will do that asap!!
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I blocked them all out! Whew! thanks for that!!! I hope I didn’t miss out anything! Thank you thank you!
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The embassy website clearly says they do not disclose the reason for the denial, so let me not bother you with what all I submitted etc. Can you or perhaps someone whose visa request has been denied tell me this, –> does the embassy, at the least send a note saying the visa has been denied ? <– . or is the only way to determine this is to check the passport ? If there is no visa, then it means its been denied ?
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There is no official notice or explanation — when you claim your passport and there is no visa attached, that pretty much means your application has been denied.
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Hello there!
I’m Denise and I’m still 15years old. I wanna go to Japan but I don’t know how to get a tourist visa. Can you help me?
I am a green card holder po. Do I need to have the visa? If ever, yes. How? thanks! 😉
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hi denise — sorry but i am not familiar with the visa process for permanent residents of foreign countries who still hold philippine passports. afaik you still have to apply for a visa; please consult with a travel agent for more details.
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