A bird's eye view of a pagoda in Japan. ARCHIVE

Residents can now apply for Japan visas online

Visa applications for traveling to Japan can now be completed through online arrangements, the Japanese authorities announced on Tuesday (April 18). By this means, all UAE residents who wish to obtain visas are no longer required to visit the consulate-general in Dubai or the embassy in Abu Dhabi. UAE residents may now apply for an e-visa through a dedicated website. Here’s how the new paperless process goes: – Log into evisa.mofa.go.jp/index – Upon successful submission, a digital confirmation visa will be sent to the applicant – When entering Japan immigration, the e-visa holder needs to simply log on to the Japan eVisa website and show the visa – No screenshots or printouts of the page will be accepted – For further details on how to apply online, check out the instructional video on the website. The new digital visa process has been rolled out for residents of Saudi Arabia. In addition, the Covid-19-related entry requirements will also be lifted starting from May 8. The authorities clarified that travelers might no longer need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test from May 8 onwards.

Qatari nationals: Visa Waiver Registration

Meanwhile, travel announcements regarding Japan's entry brought another ease to all Qatari nationals, as they can now register their passports at Japanese embassies, consulate-generals, or consulates. Upon registration, Qatari applicants will receive a “Visa Waiver Registration” seal within their passports, which grants them multiple short-term stays in Japan without a need for a visa for a period of 3 years (or expiration date of the passport). According to Kobashi Daisuke, Executive Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in Dubai, the commencement of the online applications will ease the process to visit Japan for tourism purposes. He also added that travel to Japan from GCC countries had been steadily increasing, making it one of the international markets showing post-Covid recovery levels. The current figures even surpassed the number of visitors in 2019. With the resumption of the Japan routes, Daisuke expressed confidence that the upward demand for traveling to Japan would continue. RZSP/Expat Media
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