What procedures do Vietnamese tourists need to apply for a Japanese visa?

According to the website of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, Vietnamese visitors from Gia Lai, Binh Dinh provinces to the North will submit visa applications at the Embassy of Japan in Hanoi. Those living in the Dak Lak, Phu Yen areas to the South will submit applications at the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City.

Currently, Vietnamese tourists who want to travel to Japan do not submit visa applications and receive results directly at the Embassy or Consulate General. Instead, they submit their applications through designated agents, as required by Japan. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City both have 13 designated agents.

According to Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, one of 13 authorized agents receiving Japanese visa applications in Ho Chi Minh City, independent tourists need to complete the following documents:

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tron, Deputy Director of TripU, a company providing independent travel packages under Vietravel, said the visa fee for independent travelers is VND720,000. This includes a consular fee of VND520,000 and a service fee of VND200,000. This amount does not include the fee for delivering and receiving documents and other costs. In case of failure, the consular fee will be refunded.

Ms. Tron also said that the actual time for the consulate to review is 6 days, not including working days. However, when customers submit through an authorized agency, there will be additional time to check and arrange the submission time. "Therefore, authorized agencies will usually require customers to complete all documents to submit 10-15 days before departure to have time to get a visa," Ms. Tron said.

In case the tourist visa is rejected, if the customer wants to reapply for the same type of visa, they have to wait 6 months. If they apply for a different type of visa such as visiting relatives or working, there is no waiting time limit. Japan does not disclose the specific reasons for the cases where the visa was refused.

The authorized agents will be responsible for receiving and checking the tourist's documents as well as monitoring and receiving the results according to the appointment schedule of the Embassy or Consulate General as well as notifying as soon as the results are available.

In the case of customers buying a tour to Japan from a travel agency designated to organize a package tour in Vietnam, they will be able to get an e-visa. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Director of Asia Gate Travel, a company with more than 10 years of experience in taking customers to Japan in Hanoi, the e-visa procedure is faster and simpler because the travel agency is the guarantor. The fastest waiting time for customers to receive a Japanese e-visa is after 5 working days, while the waiting time for independent tourists is 6 days.

According to Mr. Dung, the most popular tour to Japan in the summer (June, July) for Vietnamese tourists is the Osaka-Kyoto-Nagoya-Fuji-Tokyo golden route with a 6-day, 5-night itinerary. The current tour price starts from 31.9 million VND.

The Japan National Tourism Organization in Vietnam (JNTO) announced on April 22 that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan in March was the highest in history with 67,400 arrivals, up 41% over the same period in 2019 and up nearly 26% over the same period in 2023. March is also the second consecutive month this year that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan has exceeded 60,000 arrivals.

Yoshida Kenji, chief representative of JNTO in Vietnam, said that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan in 2023 will rank 10th, but if we consider the growth rate compared to 2019, Vietnam will rank in the top 5 in the world. In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam was the 9th largest market sending visitors to Japan.