Citizens of Russia and CIS countries require a visa to enter Japan.

Types of visas

Short-term visas with a stay of up to 90 days vary depending on the purpose of the visit.

Business visit - the purpose of the visit is cultural exchange, exchange between local governments, sports exchanges, administrative meetings, participation in conferences, business negotiations, signing contracts, warranty service, advertising, market research.

Visiting relatives and friends - the purpose of the visit is to visit relatives (spouse or spouse, as well as relatives of the third generation of kinship inclusive) and acquaintances (including friends), as well as independent tourism.

Tourism - the purpose of the visit is a tourist trip, the guarantor of which is a travel company.

Transit - the purpose of the visit is transit through Japan to a third country.

None of the above purposes of the visit implies work or other activities related to making a profit in Japan.

The procedure for preparing documents for obtaining a visa

Without fail, before applying for a visa, the applicant must send the inviting party and the guarantor (the same person can act in this capacity) a number of documents to fill out. The host and the guarantor can be individuals and legal entities that have an official status in Japan (an enterprise officially registered in the country, a citizen of the country or a foreigner with the status of "permanent resident", "long-term resident" or "special resident"). In turn, the guarantor and the inviting party must fill out these documents and collect the necessary papers, and then send the applicant residing in Russia or the CIS countries the original of these documents and one copy (documents sent directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassy or Consulate General of Japan, do not accepted). Only after receiving these documents, the applicant can apply for a visa.

The list of documents to be completed by the host party varies depending on the purpose of the trip.

For a short-term business trip, the following documents are required:

a letter explaining the reason for the invitation;
stay plan;
letter of guarantee;
documents about the guarantor organization:
- registration certificate or
- description of the activities and structure of the enterprise,
- for companies registered on the stock market - a copy from the directory of companies.
certificate of payment of taxes;
documents explaining the purpose of the trip.
For a trip to visit relatives and friends, you must provide:

a letter explaining the reason for the invitation;
stay plan;
letter of guarantee;
If the guarantor is a Japanese citizen, the following documents about the guarantor must be submitted:
- information about the place of residence,
- certificate from the place of work,
- tax information.
If the guarantor is a foreign citizen permanently residing in Japan, the following documents about the guarantor must be submitted:
- foreigner's registration card,
- copy of the passport,
- certificate from the place of work,
- tax information.
documents confirming kinship (marriage certificate, birth certificate) or indicating the relationship between the applicant and the guarantor (letters, printouts of electronic messages, telephone bills, joint photographs);
documents about the inviter (if the inviter is not a guarantor):
- information about the place of residence of a citizen of Japan or a copy of the passport of a foreign citizen,
- certificate from the place of work,
- tax information.
In the case when the purpose of the trip is tourism, the inviting party provides the following documents:

a letter explaining the reason for the invitation;
stay plan;
letter of guarantee;
documents about the guarantor organization:
- registration certificate,
- description of the activities and structure of the enterprise,
- for companies registered on the stock market - a copy from the directory of companies.
certificate of payment of taxes;
documents explaining the purpose of the trip, as well as confirming the purchase and payment for the tour;
booking a hotel in Japan and booking air tickets.
Only after the applicant receives the entire package of documents from the Japanese side, he can apply to the consulate or embassy for a visa.

Short stay visa

To obtain a short-term visa to Japan (tourism, visiting relatives or friends, business visit), the applicant, in addition to the above documents from the Japanese side and their copies, must provide:

international passport, the validity of which is at least 6 months from the end of the trip;
a copy of the first page of the international passport on an A4 page;
copy of internal passport A4 page (pages with personal data and registration);
2 questionnaires completed in English and signed by the applicant. Questionnaires are filled out on a computer or by hand in accordance with the instructions of the visa department of the embassy;
2 color or black-and-white passport photographs 4.5x4.5 cm (photos must be taken no more than six months before the application is submitted);
a certificate from the place of work indicating the position and salary (for pensioners - a copy of the pension certificate, for students and schoolchildren - a certificate from the place of study);
for the unemployed (children, pensioners, etc.) - a sponsorship letter in free form from the person paying for the trip, and a certificate from his place of work;
in the case of a trip to relatives - copies of documents confirming kinship;
additionally, you may need: air tickets, a bank statement or other documents confirming that the applicant has sufficient financial resources to stay in Japan, as well as a document explaining what the applicant will do in the country (description of the route or program of the conference or business meeting, etc.).P.).
Consulates General and the Embassy of Japan reserve the right to request additional documents during the visa application process. All documents must be submitted no later than three months from the date of their preparation.

Transit visa

To apply for a visa, you must provide the following documents:

international passport, the validity of which is at least 6 months from the end of the trip;
a copy of the first page of the international passport on an A4 page;
a copy of the pages of the internal passport (personal data and registration);
2 questionnaires completed in English and signed by the applicant. Questionnaires are filled out on a computer or by hand in accordance with the instructions of the visa department of the embassy;
2 color photographs of a passport sample 4.5x4.5 cm (photos must be taken no more than six months before the application is submitted);
printout of air tickets along the entire route or booking tickets (preferably with a stamp of air ticket offices);
a certificate from the place of work indicating the position and salary (for pensioners - a copy of the pension certificate, for students and schoolchildren - a certificate from the place of study);
for the unemployed (children, pensioners, etc.) - a sponsorship letter in free form from the person paying for the trip, and a certificate from his place of work;
visa to the destination country, if required;
confirmation of a hotel reservation in Japan if the applicant intends to spend more than 24 hours in the country.
Traveling with children

Children over the age of 14 must have their own passport. For children entered in the passport of their parents and who have reached the age of six, a photograph must be pasted. To obtain a visa for children, in addition to the above, the following documents are provided:

birth certificate (original and copy);
certificate from the educational institution;
if the child is traveling accompanied by one of the parents or a third person, a notarized consent to the removal of the child from the remaining parent (s) is also provided.
Data on children entered in the parents' passport and traveling with them are entered in the questionnaires of one of the parents. For children who have their own passport, separate questionnaires are filled out.

The procedure for processing documents

When submitting documents, a personal presence is required, however, documents can also be submitted through a travel agency accredited by the Embassy or Consulate General of Japan. Documents are submitted to the consulate to which the applicant's place of residence belongs.

Submission of documents to the consular department of the Japanese Embassy in Moscow is carried out from Monday to Friday, from 09.30 to 12.00, issuance of documents - from Monday to Friday, from 14.30 to 17.30. The embassy is in charge of the entire territory of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the territories that are under the jurisdiction of the Consulates General listed below, as well as Armenia.

At the Consulate General of Japan in St. Petersburg, documents are accepted from Monday to Friday, from 09.30 to 12.00, documents are issued from Monday to Friday, from 15.00 to 18.00. The Consulate General is in charge of the Leningrad Region.

At the Consulate General of Japan in Vladivostok, documents are accepted from Monday to Friday, from 09.30 to 12.00, documents are issued from Monday to Friday, from 15.00 to 18.00. The Consulate General is in charge of the Primorsky Territory, the Kamchatka Region, the Magadan Region, the Koryak Autonomous Okrug.

At the Consulate General of Japan in Khabarovsk, documents are accepted from Monday to Friday, from 10.00 to 12.00, documents are issued from Monday to Friday, from 15.00 to 17.00. The Consulate General is in charge of the Khabarovsk Territory, Buryatia, Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Amur Region, the Irkutsk Region, the Chita Region, the Jewish Autonomous Okrug.

At the Consulate General of Japan in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, documents are accepted from Monday to Friday, from 10.00 to 11.30, documents are issued from Monday to Friday, from 15.00 to 17.00. The Consulate General is in charge of the Sakhalin Region.

Submission of documents through the Visa Application Center of Asian countries

You can also apply through the Asian Visa Application Center in Moscow. In this case, the visa application form is issued online, directly on the website of the