Document lists for Japanese visa applications are published by category, and the published list is a minimum rather than a complete answer. Immigration can and does ask for more. What follows is what almost every application needs, then what changes by category, then the mistakes that cause the most delay.
Always check the current list on the Immigration Services Agency site or with the embassy handling your case before you file. Requirements change, and they vary by bureau.
What every application needs
- A completed application form, using the current version for your category
- A passport photograph to specification: 4cm by 3cm, taken within the last three months, plain background, no headwear
- Your passport, valid well beyond your intended stay
- A stamped, self-addressed return envelope for a paper Certificate of Eligibility application, or an email address for an electronic one
- Japanese translations of every foreign-language document
Translations do not have to be done by a certified translator in most cases, but they must be accurate, complete, and signed by whoever prepared them with their name and contact details. Inconsistent translations across a file cause real problems.
Work applications
From you:
- Degree certificate and academic transcript
- CV or résumé covering your full work history with dates
- Professional certifications, where they substitute for a degree
- Evidence of years of experience, where you are relying on the ten-year or three-year route
From your employer:
- Employment contract or letter of offer stating role, duties, term and salary
- A written description of the work in enough detail that a reviewer can see it matches your qualifications
- Company registration certificate and a company profile
- The most recent withholding tax statement, which determines the company's category
- For newer companies, a business plan and financial statements
The job description is the document that most often decides the case. "Marketing duties" tells a reviewer nothing. A paragraph explaining what you will analyse, in which markets, using which languages and which skills from your degree, tells them everything they need.
Student applications
- Certificate of admission from the school
- Academic transcripts and graduation certificates from previous study
- Evidence of Japanese ability, where the programme requires it
- Bank statements covering tuition and living costs
- If someone else is funding you: their letter of support, income certificate, tax payment certificate, employment certificate, bank statements, and a document showing your relationship
A large recent deposit needs an explanation in the file. See Financial & Income Requirements.
Family and spouse applications
- Marriage certificate, and the Japanese family register (戸籍謄本) where a Japanese national is involved
- Birth certificates for children
- Certificate of residence (住民票) for the sponsor in Japan
- The sponsor's income certificate and tax payment certificate
- A written statement of how the relationship began and developed
- Photographs together spanning the relationship
- Records of communication and of visits between countries
The written statement and the photographs carry more weight here than anywhere else in the system. Detail helps: dates, places, names of people present.
Extensions and changes of status, filed in Japan
- Your residence card
- Certificate of residence from your city or ward office
- Income certificate (課税証明書) and tax payment certificate (納税証明書), usually for the last one to three years
- Certificate of employment (在職証明書)
- Your employer's withholding statement (源泉徴収票)
For permanent residency, the same documents are required over a longer span, typically three to five years, along with pension payment records and a guarantor's documents.
Getting Japanese documents
Most of the certificates above come from your city or ward office, and several can now be collected from convenience store kiosks with a My Number card, which is considerably faster than queueing. Tax certificates for older years sometimes need a separate request and a few days' wait, so order everything at the start rather than as you discover you need it.
What causes delay
- Documents older than three months, when the category requires recent ones
- Name spellings that differ between passport, contract and certificates
- Photographs that fail the specification, which is stricter than people expect
- Translations missing the translator's details
- Gaps in a CV that are not explained
- Photocopies where originals were required
A useful habit: assemble the file, then read it as if you were the reviewer seeing it cold. Anything that raises a question you have not answered somewhere in the file is worth addressing before you submit.
Where to go next
For how the CoE stage works, see Certificate of Eligibility. For the embassy step, see Visa Interview & Embassy Application.
Back to How to Apply.