Visa requirements for Japanese citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed oncitizens of Japan.
As of 2026, Japanese citizens had visa-free access to 187 countries and territories, ranking theJapanese passport 2nd in the world according to theHenley Passport Index.[1]
From 2018 to 2022, Japanese citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to the most countries and territories,[2] making the Japanese passport rank first in the world in terms of travel freedom according to theHenley Passport Index.[3][4] It ranked 2nd in 2023 and 2024.[2][5]
Must have an international vaccination certificate.
Three types of electronic visa are offered: the e-Visa valid for 30 days for a single entry (EUR 50), the e-Visa valid for 30 days for several (multiple) entries (EUR 75), and the e-Visa valid for 90 days to make several (multiple) entries (EUR 100).[33]
From December 2021, passengers of all countries that required visa, can now obtain visa on arrival atBujumbura International Airport, and all land borders.[47]
240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit to a third country or region (includingHong Kong,Macau orTaiwan) using any mode of transport. Must have a confirmed onward ticket/itinerary, and enter through 1 of 64approved ports.
24-hour visa-free transit to a third country or region (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), is available atmost international airports, without leaving the airport.[65]
Travellers who need to leave the airport may obtain a temporary entry permit fromimmigration.[65]
5-day port visa (Visa on Arrival) forShenzhen if arriving atdesignated ports of entry from Hong Kong by land or sea, for stays within Shenzhen.
May apply for a port visa (Visa on Arrival) if travelling for an urgent, qualified reason. Prior clearance for port visa is highly recommended or may be denied boarding by airlines.[67]
Visa on Arrival is only granted at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai airport.
Japanese citizens can also apply for e-Visa online for 30 days.
e-Visa holders must arrive via 32 designated airports[Note 1] or 5 designated seaports.[Note 2][121]
An Indian e-Tourist Visa may only be obtained twice within 1 calendar year.[122]
Foreigners of Pakistani origin or who hold a Pakistani Passport are not eligible for an e-Visa. Foreigners who are not Pakistani nationals, but whose parents or grandparents (either paternal or maternal) were born in, or were permanent residents in Pakistan, are also not eligible for an e-Visa.[123]
Visa can be obtained upon arrival, it will cost a total of 40 JOD, obtainable at most international ports of entry and land border crossings (exceptKing Hussein/Allenby Bridge).
Japanese citizens can enter South Korea as a short term visit (e.g., tours, visiting relatives or friends, attending simple meetings) up to 90 days without a visa, though you should remain aware of the quarantine requirements. You must also have an onward or return ticket. It's illegal to work on a tourist visa, whether as a teacher or in any other capacity.[144]
All visitors are fingerprinted. From September 2021, travelers require the Korean Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA). The validity period is 3 years from the date of approval.
The government of the Republic of Korea announced that from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025, a K-ETA is not required for 27 countries' citizens visiting Korea for 90 days or less for business or tourism.
Granted free of charge atBeirut International Airport or any other port of entry if there is no Israeli visa or seal, holding a telephone number, an address in Lebanon, and a non refundable return or circle trip ticket.
The Japanese government advises its citizens to refrain from traveling to Lebanon for any purpose due to safety concerns, as well asthe ongoing conflict in Lebanon. Japanese citizens in Lebanon are advised to leave immediately.[151]
Available atNouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport. Only Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport offers a Mauritania visa on arrival. Any other entry point necessitates a ride to the embassy.[172]
Holders of an Australian Permanent Resident Visa or Resident Return Visa may be granted a New Zealand Resident Visa on arrival permitting indefinite stay (pursuant to theTrans-Tasman Travel Arrangement), subject to meeting character requirements and obtaining an Electronic Travel Authority prior to departure.[193] Such travellers are not required to pay the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.[192]
The Japanese government advises its citizens to refrain from traveling to Somalia due to no diplomatic missions, as well as theongoing war in Somalia.[245]
Japanese nationals can obtain a single or multiple entry e-Visa online for USD 30 prior to arrival for a maximum stay of 60 days within 90 days. Along with e-Visa, visitors can apply for a permit to visitGorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province for 20 USD.[265]
For Japanese citizens coming to Turkmenistan for tourism purposes, a discounted rate has been established for issuing a one-time visa for up to 10 days.[277][278] For Japanese tourists 10 days visa fee is 25 USD.[279] Visa will be issued during 3 to 7 days by Embassy of Turkmenistan in Tokyo, depending on number of applications.
Pre-approved visa can be picked up on arrival.
Japanese citizens have the right tovisa-free transit through the international transit area of Ashgabat International Airport.[280]
Must apply online at least 2 business days prior to travel. As of March 2017, airlines may deny passengers permission to board flights to Uganda without proof that they had successfully applied for an e-Visa. Ugandan immigration authorities may require additional documentation, including proof of a return plane ticket and detailed tour itinerary in Uganda.
Can also be entered on an East Africa Tourist Visa issued by Kenya or Rwanda.[139]
International Certificate of Vaccination required.
ESTA is valid for 2 years from the date of issuance.[291]
ESTA is also required when entering the country by cruise ship or land.[292]
AForm I-94 is required for entry into the United States by land. It carries a $30 fee and can be obtained either online or upon arrival.[293]
Visa required for nationals of VWP countries who have travelled or been present in Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen at any time on or after 1 March 2011 (with limited exceptions), or those who have travelled or being present in Cuba at any time on or after 12 January 2021, or nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan or Syria.
Passengers can transit without visa with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight to a third country within 24 hours. They must stay in the international transit area of the airport and have documents required for the next destination.
Yemen introduced an e-Visa system for visitors who meet certain eligibility requirements (group travel of 10 or more people, business trips, and transit etc.).[304]
Special permit required (4 days:EUR 25 forOrthodox visitors, EUR 35 for non-Orthodox visitors, EUR 18 for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.[309][310]
Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours[319] and permit issued by theNorwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.[320][321]
To enter South Ossetia, visitors must have a multiple-entry visa forRussia and register their stay with the Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs within 3 days.[326][327]
90 days. Passports and visas are not required when travelling from the Australian mainland. However, photographic identification must be produced for clearance through Customs and Immigration. Normal Australian Customs and Immigration procedures apply when entry is made from outside Australia.
90 days. Passports and visas are not required when travelling from the Australian mainland. However, photographic identification must be produced for clearance through Customs and Immigration. Normal Australian Customs and Immigration procedures apply when entry is made from outside Australia.
120 days. Visa is issued upon arrival for a visit of up to max stay of 120 days, for holders of a multiple entry Electronic Travel authority (ETA) issued by Australia, valid 30 days beyond the period of intended stay in Norfolk Island.
From 1 July 2016 all movement between Norfolk Island and Australian mainland are considered as domestic movement, however all passenger are still required to carry passports or, for Australian citizens, some type of photographic identification and pass Customs and Immigration. Normal Australian Customs and Immigration procedures apply when entry is made from outside Australia. Passenger not carrying their passports aren't eligible to purchase duty-free goods on Norfolk Island.[389]
10 days/3 months/1 year. Visitors permits/Residence permits/Work permits/Special permits granted, allow the permit holder to be in Tokelau, for up to 10 days/3 months/1 year, unless otherwise specified. Apply for a travel permit at the Tokelau office in Apia, Samoa, at least 2 weeks prior to travel. Visitors are required to hold proof of sufficient funds to cover their stay.[396]
The amount of funds needed is NZD 1,000 - per person per month of stay or NZD 400 - if accommodation. Tokelau can only be reached by boat from Samoa, and a permit from the Samoan Immigration Authorities is required to leave and re-enter Samoa.[397]
Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages to be available in the passport being presented, typically one or two pages.[431] Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being valid or available.
Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[434][435]
Very few countries, such as Paraguay, just require a valid passport on arrival.
However many countries and groupings now require only an identity card – especially from their neighbours. Other countries may have special bilateral arrangements that depart from the generality of their passport validity length policies to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens[436][437] or even accept passports that have already expired (butnot been cancelled).[438]
Some countries, such as Japan,[439] Ireland and the United Kingdom,[440] require a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.
In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid for at least 6 more months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain,[441] Bhutan, Botswana,British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel,[442] Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru,[443] Philippines,[444] Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.[445]
Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.
Countries requiring passports with a validity of at least 3 months beyond the date of intended departure include Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Montenegro, Nauru, Moldova and New Zealand.Similarly, theEEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, allEuropean Union countries (except Ireland) together with Switzerland also require 3 months validity beyond the date of the bearer's intended departure unless the bearer is an EEA or Swiss national.
Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include Albania, North Macedonia, Panama, and Senegal.
Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.
Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month beyond the date of intended departure include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Maldives[446] and South Africa.
Some countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States,[448] routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have acriminal record, while others impose restrictionsdepending on the type of conviction and the length of the sentence.
The government of a country can declare a diplomatpersona non grata, banning them from entering the country or expelling them if they have already entered. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreignerpersona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.[449]
Kuwait,[450] Lebanon,[451] Libya,[452] and Yemen[453] do not allow entry to people withpassport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.
To circumvent thisArab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports atBen Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017[update]) stamped atErez when passing into and out ofGaza.[citation needed]
Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.
Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, befingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest travellers who refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to change planes rather than golandside.[454]
Fingerprinting countries/regions include Afghanistan,[455][456] Argentina,[457] Brunei, Cambodia,[458] China,[459] Ethiopia,[460] Ghana, Guinea,[461] India, Japan,[462][463] Kenya (both fingerprints and a photo are taken),[464] Malaysia upon entry and departure,[465] Mongolia, Saudi Arabia,[466] the Schengen Area,[467] Singapore, South Korea,[468] Taiwan, Thailand,[469] Uganda,[470] the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Many countries also require a photo be taken of people entering the country. The United States, which does not fully implementexit control formalities at its land frontiers (although long mandated by its own legislation),[471][472][473] intends to implementfacial recognition for passengers departing from international airports to identify people who overstay their visa.[474]
Together with fingerprint and face recognition,iris scanning is one of three biometric identification technologies internationally standardised since 2006 by theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for use ine-passports[475] and the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors who need to apply for a visa.[476][477] The United StatesDepartment of Homeland Security has announced plans to greatly increase the biometric data it collects at US borders.[478] In 2018, Singapore began trials of iris scanning at three land and maritime immigration checkpoints.[479][480]
^"TheHenley Passport Index"(PDF). Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. 19 July 2022. Retrieved21 July 2022.This graph shows the full Global Ranking of the 2022 Henley Passport Index. As the index usesdense ranking, in certain cases, a rank is shared by multiple countries because these countries all have the same level of visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.
^ab"Paying the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy".immigration.govt.nz. Immigration New Zealand. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2021.Many tourists, people on working holidays, and some students and workers coming to New Zealand must pay an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $35.
^"Information about: Australian Resident Visa".immigration.govt.nz. Immigration New Zealand. RetrievedMay 21, 2020.Australian citizens and permanent residents can visit, work and live in New Zealand. You do not need a visa before you travel to New Zealand.
^Baker, Vicky (20 June 2013)."Passport expiry dates and blank pages: what are the rules?".The Guardian. Retrieved13 January 2024.The number of remaining blank pages a passport should have is also an issue. Some travellers have reported arriving with one or less than one full page left and waiting for hours at immigration, until an official reluctantly grants them entry. The FCO lists no hard and fast rules because, in many cases, there aren't any.
^"Yellow Fever".Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). African Union. Retrieved23 August 2021.African countries that requires (sic) Yellow Fever vaccination certificate: Countries that require vaccination for all travellers older that 9 months or 1 year: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameron, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'lvoire, DRC, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Niger, Togo.
^"Fièvre jaune" (in French). 2 September 2018. Retrieved27 August 2019.
^"Yellow Fever".Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). African Union. Retrieved23 August 2021.African countries that requires Yellow Fever vaccination certificate: Countries that requires (sic) vaccination for travellers from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission or transit for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
^"Visitor Visa".travel.state.gov. US Department of State. Retrieved13 January 2024.Passport valid for travel to the United States – Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the United States (unless exempt by country-specific agreements). Each individual who needs a visa must submit a separate application, including any family members listed in your passport.
^"Countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Turkey with their expired passports".Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Republic of Turkey. Archived fromthe original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved6 July 2018.Countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Turkey with their expired passports: 1. Germany – Passports expired within the last year / ID's expired within the last year, 2. Belgium - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 3. France - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 4. Spain - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 5. Switzerland - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 6. Luxemburg - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 7. Portugal - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 8. Bulgaria – Valid ordinary passport
^"Frequently Asked Questions".Embassy of Japan in Malaysia. Retrieved13 January 2024.Q: Do I need at least 6 months passport validity in order to enter Japan? A: Japan does not have any regulations relating to passport validity, so long as your passport will be valid until after you leave Japan.
^"Entering the UK".Gov.UK. Retrieved17 March 2021.You're not from an EEA country: you must have a valid passport to enter the UK. It should be valid for the whole of your stay.
^Calder, Simon (24 April 2017)."Airline lobbying for a relaxation of draconian rules for London-Auckland travellers".The Independent.Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved7 July 2018.Travellers heading west from the UK to New Zealand may soon be able to avoid the onerous requirement to clear US border control during the refuelling stop at Los Angeles airport (LAX). Unlike almost every other country in the world, the US insists on a full immigration check even for passengers who simply intend to re-board their plane to continue onwards to a foreign destination. Air New Zealand, which flies daily from Heathrow via Los Angeles to Auckland, says there are currently "strict requirements for travellers" in transit at LAX. Through passengers to Auckland on flight NZ1 or Heathrow on NZ2 must apply in advance for an ESTA (online visa) even though they have no intention of staying in the US. They also have to undergo screening by the Transportation Security Administration.
^"China to Start Fingerprinting Foreign Visitors".Air Canada. 31 Jan 2019. Retrieved7 July 2018.Effective 27 April 2018, border control authorities at all of China's ports of entry, including its airports, will start collecting the fingerprints of all foreign visitors aged between 14 and 70. Diplomatic passport holders and beneficiaries of reciprocal agreements are exempted..
^"Immigration & Visas FAQs".Kenya Airports Authority. Retrieved6 May 2019.Will visitors still have their digital photo and fingerprints taken at the immigration desk on arrival? Yes, the need to have photos and fingerprints taken upon arrival is to authenticate that the person who applied for the Visa is the same person at the port of entry
^Brown, Theresa Cardinal (9 May 2016)."Biometric Entry-Exit Update: CBP Developing Land Border Process".Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved25 April 2019.While a requirement for a biometric entry-exit system has been in law for over a decade, it is not yet a reality. Many reasons for the long gestating development have been documented in BPC's 2014 report Entry-Exit System: Progress, Challenges, and Outlook, including the technological, operational, and cost challenges of creating exit systems and infrastructure where none exist today. However, many critics, especially in Congress, simply accused the Department of Homeland security of dragging its feet... the major operational, logistical, and technical challenge in implementing exit capability at our ports has been the land borders. Unlike airports and seaports, the land border environment is not physically controlled, there is no means to get advance information on who is arriving, and the sheer volume of travel—both vehicular and pedestrian—creates challenges in any system to not further exacerbate delays. While biometric exit for land vehicular traffic is still in the "what if" stage, CBP is moving ahead and piloting systems and technology to use with the large population of pedestrian crossers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
^Lipton, Eric (21 May 2013)."U.S. Quietly Monitors Foreigners' Departures at the Canadian Border".The New York Times. Retrieved25 April 2019.Long demanded by lawmakers in Congress, it is considered a critical step to developing a coherent program to curb illegal immigration, as historically about 30 percent to 40 percent of illegal immigrants in the United States arrived on tourist visas or other legal means and then never left, according to estimates by Homeland Security officials.
^Lipton, Eric (15 December 2006)."Administration to Drop Effort to Track if Visitors Leave".The New York Times. Retrieved25 April 2019.Efforts to determine whether visitors actually leave have faltered. Departure monitoring would help officials hunt for foreigners who have not left, if necessary. Domestic security officials say, however, it would be too expensive to conduct fingerprint or facial recognition scans for land departures.
^"Iris Scanner Could Replace Emirates ID In UAE".SimplyDXB. 11 June 2017. Retrieved7 July 2018.The breach of privacy is probably the biggest threat to the biometric technique of iris recognition. Secondly, a device error can false reject or false accept the identity which can also have some heinous consequences. Lastly, the method isn't the most cost-effective one. It is complex and therefore expensive. Furthermore, the maintenance of devices and data can also be relatively burdensome. However, thanks to the oil money and spending ability of Dubai, they are economically equipped to effectively embrace this system.
^Roberts, Jeff John (12 September 2016)."Homeland Security Plans to Expand Fingerprint and Eye Scanning at Borders".Fortune. Fortune Media IP Limited. Retrieved24 April 2019.Unlike with documents, it's very hard for a traveler to present a forged copy of a fingerprint or iris. That's why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to vastly expand the amount of biometric data it collects at the borders. According to Passcode, a new program will ramp up a process to scan fingers and eyes in order to stop people entering and exiting the country on someone else's passport.
^"Singapore tests eye scans at immigration checkpoints".Reuters. 6 August 2018. Retrieved24 April 2019.Singapore has started scanning travellers' eyes at some of its border checkpoints, its immigration authority said on Monday, in a trial of expensive technology that could one day replace fingerprint verification.
1British Overseas Territories.2 These countries span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.3 Partially recognized.4Unincorporated territory of the United States.5 Part of the Kingdom of Denmark.6Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia.7 Unrecognized state.