General Visa Information

[Index]
1. Visa inquiry
2. Who needs a visa to enter Japan
3. Eligible applicants (Who can apply?)
4. How to apply for a visa (3 ways)

1. eVISA (online visa application)
2. Apply in person
3. Apply by post

5. Visa Requirements (What do I need?)

1. Short term stay (less than 90 days for tourists, business meetings, etc.)
2. Long term stay or Working (employment) visa
       Digital Nomad visa (Specified visas) (Started from 31 Mar 2024) (Link jump to MOFA)
3. Working Holiday visa

6. Necessary time for a visa application and examination process (When can I apply?)
7. Visa fees
8. FAQ
9. Criteria for Visa Issuance
10. Notice
11. Others
12．Other information

1. Travel to Japan
2. Police Clearance certificate

 

1. Visa inquiry

(1) General visa /eVISA inquiry

please call "Japan Visa Information Hotline"  (+61 AUS) 08 7130 3370 (24 hours/ 7days a week, English only)

 

This hotline is designed for visa applicants residing in Australia.
*The Hotline will not connect you to the Consulate-General's Visa section. If you need to contact Consulate-General in regards to a pending visa application, please contact directly at 03 9679 4510 during 9am-12:30pm and 2pm-4pm.
 

(2) JAPAN eVISA Enquiries (*Please check FAQs on JAPAN eVISA site before making an inquiry.)

1. JAPAN eVISA Help Desk (Questions about technical issues with JAPAN eVISA site)
       *Please contact via inquiry form on JAPAN eVISA site. (English or Japanese)
2. Hotline: japan-visa@bricks-corp.com (English only)
       *Please mention your nationality or citizenship and country of residence in your email.

 

2. Who needs a visa to enter Japan?

In general, all foreign nationals are required to apply for a visa to enter Japan, unless they enter with a valid re-entry permit or are eligible for visa waiver measures. Currently, visa exemptions apply to certain countries and regions, including Australia. Passport holders from these visa waiver countries/regions do not need to apply for a visa for a short stay for the purpose of business, meetings, sightseeing, or visiting relatives or acquaintances. However, those who intend to engage in remunerated activities in Japan or to stay longer than the short-stay period set for each country will need to obtain a visa.

Please refer to "Exemption of Visa (Short-Term Stay)" (MoFA: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website) for visa exemption measures, countries/regions to which the measures apply and eligible passport types.
 

3. Eligible applicants (Who can apply?)

• Visa applications are accepted only from residents in our jurisdiction, VIC, SA and TAS.
• Long-term resident status in Australia who hold visa such as permanent visa, student visa, temporary graduate visa and etc can apply.
• We DO NOT accept visa applications from tourist visa holders (e.g visa subclass 600)
• Bridging visa A holders need to obtain Bridging visa B in prior to apply for a Japanese visa.

 

4. How to apply for a visa (3 ways)

(1) eVISA (online visa application)  (starting from 12:00pm 1 FEB 2024)

Short-term visa with a Tourism Purpose (for a stay of 90 days or less) (single-entry visa only)
This is solely for tourist purposes (If your intentions include visiting acquaintances/ relatives or business/academic activities, you are not eligible to apply for an online eVISA).

• You can complete all the process online. eVISA is not a sticker visa, but a digital visa online.
• The payment method for eVISA will be by card only after the 1st of JUNE 2024.
• Please prepare documents according to this checklist before submitting the online application.
• Any insufficient documents fail to be accepted. (Ex. A photo is not passport standard one. Flight itineraries departing from Australia are missing. etc.)

  The JAPAN eVISA system (electronic visa)   
 

YouTube instruction -How to apply for visa on the JAPAN eVISA website (online payment)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZPxygNAJ-c

 

(2) Apply in person

You can apply to the agencies and receive your passport and visa from the agencies. Please submit your documents to one of the accredited agencies. You do not need to visit Consulate General of Japan in Melbourne. Passport with visa is returned to the agency after completion of assessments.
*We do not accept visa applications at our office directly from applicants after the 1st of Oct 2019.

List of accredited agencies   

Since accredited agencies are private enterprises, a handling fee is necessary for processing the application. Please inquire directly at the accredited agencies for the rates/ handling fee on visa application.  

Following applicants can apply directly to our office. Please call Visa section 03 9679 4510 for an appointment beforehand.

• Diplomatic or Official Visas
• Visas for invitees directly by the Japanese government and independent administrative agencies of Japan
• Visas for awardees of Japanese Government Scholarship
• Entertainment visa applicants apply by a team (bulk applications such as a team member of 10 people or more.)

 

(3) Apply by post

• Applicants reside in a remote area from our office can apply for a visa by post. Applications by post will be accepted only from TAS, SA and the western area from Ararat, northern area from Strathbogie and eastern area from Mansfield, South Gippsland in VIC.

  Eligible areas in Vic are shown in purple colour.

• Our office is not responsible for delay of delivery or loss of passports in the mail.
• In some cases, personal appearance or additional documents may be required.
• Do not send money. Visa fee need to be paid at the time of passport collection. We cannot receive money before finishing visa assessments.
• Post all the required documents (including the original passport) to

   ATTN: Visa section
  Consulate-General of Japan, Melbourne
  Level 25, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

How to collect your passport with visa

 

• Applicants or appointed person by the applicants needs to collect passport and visa at Consulate-General of Japan, Melbourne. If the appointed person on your behalf come for passport/visa collection, the person needs to bring applicant's authorisation/proxy letter with own photo ID.
• Visa fee can be paid at the time of collection. Only Cash is accepted. Card payments are not available.
• After receiving visa grant notification by email from us, you may come to our office for collection during the open hours without an appointment.

  

• List of accredited agencies
• 3. We can send back passports and visa only for the passport holders of visa fee exemption countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, USA, Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Colombia and Pakistan. If you choose to be sent back, you need to send us the "PLEDGE-apply by post" and a self-addressed prepaid envelope (express or registered envelope are strongly recommended) included in addition to the required documents. Please keep the tracking number of its self-addressed envelope for your information.

 

 

6. Necessary time for visa application and examination process

• Most of the visa are valid for 3 months after the date of issue. Working holiday visa is valid for a year. You can apply for a visa within 3 months of your date of entry to Japan.
• For visa application filed through accredited agencies and sent by post, at least (1) week ( five (5) working days) from the date of acceptance by the Consulate-General of Japan is necessary to be processed and released of passports to the accredited agencies and collection. If however, the passport has not been returned after more than a week, the applicant who need to verify the status of the application may inquiry to your chosen agency.
• If visa is issued, passport with visa will be returned to applicant. If visa is denied, only passport will be returned to applicant.
• For eVISA applications, due to high volume of applications, it could take 2 -3 weeks with completed documents. However, we recommend applying early at least 1 month in advance of your trip. We do not provide expedite visa services.
• Depending on examination, additional documents may be necessary; or personal appearance of applicants may be requested; or inquiry at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs /Immigration Services Agency of Japan regarding the application may be necessary and examination may not be completed by the scheduled date of departure to Japan, thus please apply early and allot enough time for situations like this. At the same time, please be informed that we cannot accommodate requests for early release of passports for scheduled date of departure.

 

10.Notice

 

• New border measurements start 29th April 2023 （27APR2023)（MHLW）
• Electronic Certificate of Eligibility starts 17th March 2023 (14MAR2023)(Immigration Services of Agency in Japan)
• Guideline for wearing mask in Japan (8Dec2022)(JNTO) 
• Foreign national coexistence policies (15Nov2022)(Immigration Services of Agency of Japan)
• Visa fee exemption for foreigners visiting three Tohoku prefectures (Extended till the 31st Mar 2026)(11 Oct 2022)(MOFA)
• Bringing animal products into Japan from overseas (MAFF)
• Be aware of traffic rules in Japan (IATSS)
• Be aware of fraudulent website, social media, emails in an attempt to extract payments from visa applicants. (MOFA)

 

11. Others