visa

There are only four criteria for someone to be granted a visa to enter Japan.  However, satisfying some requirements is easier than others.  First, the applicant must have a valid passport.  Second, the applicant must have accurately completed all necessary documents for the visa application.  Third, the activities that the applicant plans to engage in while in Japan must be legitimate and meet the requirements of the visa.  Finally, certain people defined in the Immigration Control Act (such as those with a dangerous infectious disease) can be denied a visa to enter Japan.

A letter of guarantee required by some Japanese visa applications is a relatively simple one page document.  It should contain the relevant information of the foreign national and the guarantor but it should also describe their relationship, whether this be friends, relatives or coworkers.  In the letter, the guarantor should promise to provide logistical support for the foreign national as well as transportation fee for the trip back to his or her home country.  Finally, the guarantor must also swear that the foreign national will abide by Japanese law while staying in Japan.

In Japan, most visa applications that are immediately re-submitted after a denial will not be accepted by the Japanese immigration department.  This is because, if the applicant immediately reapplies, the circumstances that led to the denial of the first visa application are not likely to have changed.  Reviewing the same application for a second time would simply lead to the same result.  Therefore, applicants who have had their visa application denied generally wait for 6 months before reapplying.