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Immigration procedure · 査証

Getting your visa for Japan after the CoE

Your Certificate of Eligibility has arrived — now you need the visa. It is issued by a Japanese embassy or consulate in your country, not by immigration. Where to apply, what to bring, how long it takes and what happens at the airport.

Forms and documents

What the CoE is

Checked against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Immigration Services Agency on 6 October 2026 · All procedures

WhereJapanese embassy or consulate

ProcessingUsually 5 working days

Visa valid3 months

After arrivalAddress within 14 days

Step by step

From the CoE to Japan in three steps

Everyone who comes for a long stay — study, work, family — needs this visa, including nationals of visa-exempt countries: visa-free entry covers only short stays.

1. The CoE arrives

Your school or employer in Japan receives the Certificate of Eligibility and sends it to you — usually by e-mail, sometimes on paper.

2. Apply for the visa

Take your passport, the application form, a photo and the CoE to the Japanese embassy, consulate or the visa center it names.

3. Fly to Japan

Show the passport with the visa and the CoE at the border. You receive your status of residence and, at the main airports, the residence card.

Where to apply

At the embassy or consulate of Japan that covers the place where you live. In some countries applications go through a visa center or accredited agencies instead. MOFA keeps a list of all embassies and consulates of Japan; your embassy’s visa page has the address, hours, fee and how to book.

Two 3-month deadlines

The CoE is valid for 3 months from its date. A single-entry visa is valid for 3 months from the day after it is issued and is used up at the border. You must land in Japan while both are valid — the earlier date counts. If you miss it, your school or employer has to apply for a new CoE.

Forms and documents

The visa application: form and documents

MOFA’s base list is the same everywhere: passport, application form, photo and the CoE. Your embassy may add its own items — its page has the final list.

Visa with a Certificate of Eligibility — at the Japanese embassy or consulate for your country

The visa is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) through its embassies and consulates, not by immigration. Apply at the embassy or consulate of Japan that covers the place where you live — or at the visa center or accredited agency it names. Many embassies work by appointment, and some accept applications through a representative. Each embassy publishes its own document list, fee and processing time: open its visa page before you apply.

Visa application formPDF · mofa.go.jpDocuments with a CoEmofa.go.jpFind your embassy or consulatemofa.go.jp

Fill in the form in English, with no empty fields. The buttons open the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; your embassy’s page has the local details.

Documents

  1. Passport 旅券Valid, with blank pages for the visa.
  2. Visa application form 査証申請書One copy in MOFA’s list; some embassies ask for two.
  3. Photo 写真Usually 45 × 35 mm. Check the size and number on your embassy’s page.
  4. Certificate of Eligibility — the original or a copy 在留資格認定証明書An electronic CoE is shown or submitted as a copy of the e-mail. If you hand in a paper original, it is usually returned with the passport.
  5. Other documents your embassy asks for Your embassy may ask for more — for example a copy of the passport, proof that you live in that country, or a power of attorney if someone else applies.

Base list from MOFA’s page on visas with a Certificate of Eligibility (checked 6 October 2026). Embassies add their own requirements — the list on your embassy’s page is the one that counts. A CoE makes the visa easier to get but does not guarantee it.

Where to apply
The embassy or consulate of Japan that covers the place where you live, or the visa center or accredited agency it names
Fee
Depends on your nationality — some nationalities pay nothing. The embassy publishes the amount in local currency.
Processing time
Usually 5 working days from the day after the application is accepted (MOFA); longer if extra checks are needed
Valid for
A single-entry visa — 3 months from the day after issue; the CoE — 3 months from its date
Documents for my caseYour list for your category and family — with checkboxes and a PDF

Arrival

At the airport and in your first two weeks

Border check

Show your passport with the visa and the CoE — an electronic CoE as the e-mail on your phone, a paper one as the original or a copy of both sides. Fingerprints and a photo are taken. The CoE does not guarantee entry if your circumstances have changed.

Residence card

Issued on the spot at New Chitose, Sendai, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Naha airports. Elsewhere your passport is stamped and the card is posted to you after you register your address.

Address within 14 days

Within 14 days of moving into your home, register your address at the city or ward office with your residence card (or passport). Other duties: notifications to immigration.

Students. If you enter for the first time with the Student status, you can apply for part-time work permission right at these 10 airports — unless you were given a period of stay of 3 months. Details: part-time work permission.

FAQ

Entry visa questions

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Where do I apply for the visa after I receive the CoE?

At the embassy or consulate of Japan that covers the place where you live, or at the visa center or accredited agency that this embassy names. MOFA keeps a list of all embassies and consulates of Japan; the visa page of your embassy has the address, hours and how to book.

MOFA’s base list is short: passport, visa application form, photo and the Certificate of Eligibility (original or copy). Many embassies add their own items, such as a passport copy or proof that you live in that country. The list on your embassy’s page is the one that counts.

It depends on your nationality. Some nationalities pay no fee; others pay the amount their embassy publishes, in local currency. A visa center or agency may add a service fee.

MOFA says a visa with a Certificate of Eligibility is usually issued within 5 working days from the day after the application is accepted. Some embassies take longer, especially in busy seasons or if they need extra checks.

Yes. You can show the CoE e-mail on your phone or submit a printout of it; a copy of a paper CoE is also accepted instead of the original. If someone else applies for you, they need a printout.

A single-entry visa is valid for 3 months from the day after it is issued and is used up when you pass the border check. The CoE is valid for 3 months from its date. You must land in Japan while both are valid, so the earlier date counts.

No. It makes the visa much easier to get, but the embassy can still refuse, and the officer at the airport can refuse entry if your circumstances have changed.

At the border at New Chitose, Sendai, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Naha airports. At other ports the passport is stamped and the card is posted to you after you register your address.

Within 14 days of moving into your home, register your address at the city or ward office with your residence card, or with your passport if the card will be posted later.

Sources

Where this information comes from

Facts and document lists were checked against the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) and the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) on 6 October 2026. Form links come from a register of ISA files that our server refreshes every week: when ISA publishes a new version of a form, the button opens the new file.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration decides each application and may ask for more documents. Where a rule is known only from practice, we say so.

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