Getting a Japanese Visa for Filipino Tourists
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Japan is a sought after place to travel for us Filipinos. As a Philippine-passport holder, we are required to apply for a visa in order to enter Japan. This guide is based on my personal experience only, but I hope this simple guide helps you on your application process as a tourist. We submitted our application through Attic Tours at SM Megamall.
My Profile
- Has traveled to Japan once in 2018.
- Permanently employed for 10-years.
- Has financial capacity to cover travel expenses.
Japan Visa Requirements for Tourists
This guide is only for Tourism, as I do not have any experience getting another type of visa. For more details on other types of visa, please check the details from the Japanese Embassy. You may apply for a visa 90-days before your date of travel.
- Passport
- Please ensure that your passport is not expiring within 6-months before your travel date.
- Sign your passport (usually on Page 3)
- Application Form (Download here)
- Paste or glue a passport-sized photo (4.5×3.5cm with white background) on your application form.
- For Attic Tours, we submitted a computerized application form.
- All fields that are not applicable must not be blank. Just type “N/A” on those fields.
- Itinerary in Japan (Download here)
Additional Requirements for first-time visa applicants:
- Birth Certificate (issued by PSA within 1 year)
- Marriage Certificate (issued by PSA within 1 year. For the married only.)
Note: If you have a used Japanese visa on your old or current passport, you do not need to submit a birth certificate or marriage certificate. Just ensure to submit your old passport with the used visa.
If you will shoulder part/all your travel expenses, submit the following:
- Bank Certificate with ADB (Average Daily Balance)
- Photocopy of Income Tax Return (BIR Form)
Note: If you do not have an ITR or Bank Certificate with ADB, you need to submit a Bank Statement with transactions from the last 3-months.
If you have a guarantor in the Philippines who will shoulder part/all your travel expenses, submit the following:
- Guarantee Letter (Download here)
- Proof of relationship between applicant and guarantor(e.g. Birth Certificates)
- Bank Certificate
- Photocopy of Income Tax Return (See no.7)
Multiple-Entry Visa Application
Since I have traveled to Japan in the past, I wanted to take a chance and apply for a multiple-entry visa. More often than not, if you have visited Japan before, they might grant you a multiple-entry visa without applying for it, but it’s a case to case basis.
These are the specific requirements to satisfy this request. To view more details, click here.
- Applicant who travelled Japan as temporary visitor in the last 3 years and has financial capacity.
- Since there was a pandemic, I was only able to visit Japan once in 2018, so consider 2020 to 2022 invisible years! 🤣
- Applicant who travelled Japan (as temporary visitor) and G7 countries (several times, except Japan)
- Applicant with sufficient financial capacity.
- Spouse/Child of “III” (Applicant with sufficient financial capacity)
Additional Requirement That I Submitted
- Submit the Request for a Multiple-Entry Visa Application (Download here)
- I ticked “A frequent traveler to Japan” who has sufficient financial capacity.
- The reason I typed in was, “I wish to visit different prefectures in Japan more often, immerse in their unique cultures, and experience its different seasons.“
Application Experience
We chose Attic Tours at SM Megamall as our travel agency due to a number of positive feedbacks that we have read online. They seem to have less people in the morning, even on a Sunday. We applied as a family and once we provided our application requirements, they went over our documents meticulously. We paid Php1700/each for a multiple-entry visa application. My parents are both retirees and my brother has only been working for less than 2-years.
Our application was received on Wednesday, 20th September 2023, and we received a notification on Tuesday, 26th September 2023, that our passports are available for pick up. My parents and brother received a single-entry visa, while I was given a multiple-entry visa for 5-years.
Overall, I would say that getting a Japanese visa is easier than other visa-countries in Asia.
It’s time to Book an Airbnb and Purchase a JR Pass!
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