How many times can tourists enter Japan on Temporary Visitor visa?

photo by jpmatth

Temporary Visitor visa, which is unofficially called “tourist visa” or “short stay visa”, is the most commonly used visa by people who visit Japan on holiday or business. If you have a passport issued by one of visa exemption countries, you don’t even have to be bothered to obtain a visa before coming to Japan. Then, here the most common question about Temporary Visitor visa arises. Can we eventually stay in Japan permanently just by regularly departing and re-entering the country? Is it true or not, as a matter of fact?

About Temporary Visitor visa

Among all visas granted by Japanese government, so-called “tourist visa” generally refers to Temporary Visitor visa which is issued for people staying in Japan for the purpose of tourism, business appointments, attending sports competition, visiting family or similar purposes. While it is rather easily granted, many restrictions are imposed on Temporary Visitor holders, for example, they are restricted to work in Japan or required to have sufficient funds to cover all expenses during their stay in Japan. Also, a Temporary Visitor visa is revoked after the holder depart from Japan and re-entry to Japan is not allowed under any circumstances. To re-enter Japan on Temporary Visitor visa, you need to obtain a new visa from Japanese embassy, consulates or permanent mission to re-enter Japan (except for passport holders of visa exemption countries).
Remember that Temporary Visa is issued in order for short term stay, therefore you are required to prove your intention to depart from Japan by presenting returning flight ticket or other documents.

About exemption of visa

As of July 2017, Japan has entered into the Visa Exemption Arrangements with 68 countries and regions. Here, a visa is defined as an endorsement made on a passport by an authorized representative of a country denoting that it is valid and its holder is permitted to enter the county. As a general rule, all travelers including temporary visitors are required to obtain appropriate visas from Japanese diplomatic office and pass immigration inspection at a port of entry before entering Japan. However, if you have a passport issued by a visa exemption country, you will be granted with Temporary Visitor status at immigration inspection without applying for a visa before you travel to Japan.

The period of stay granted at the time of landing permission vary depending on issuing country or region of passports.

Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei : 15 days
United Arab Emirates : 30 days
Other 64 countries and regions : 90 days
Passport holders of Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom and Mexico can extend their period of stay up to 6 months by applying for an extension of the period of stay to the Ministry of Justice before the period of permitted stay is to expire.

Important reminders for Temporary Visitor visa holders

Temporary Visitor visa holders may stay in Japan for no longer than 180 days a year

Application process of Temporary Visitor visa is simple most of the time as long as there is no insufficiency in documentation. If you are from a visa exemption country, only thing you need to bring with you to enter Japan is your passport. you may think you can eventually stay in Japan permanently by departing and re-entering Japan every time your visa is about to expire. But in fact, you cannot reside in Japan in such a way. Generally, the maximum period of stay allowed for Temporary Visitor visa holders is up to 180 days a year, which is almost half of a year. If you intend to stay in Japan for longer than that, you are no longer a “temporary visitor”. Importantly, “180 days a year” means total sum of days you actually stay in Japan on Temporary Visitor visa over the past year backward from the last day of your departure from Japan, not a sum of period of stay you were granted.

There are some cases Temporary Visitor visa holder allowed to stay in Japan over 180 days a year under special circumstances permitted by immigration inspectors. Though, these cases are not common, and you are hardly allowed to stay in Japan over 180 days a year just for the purpose of tourism.

Reminder for frequent visitors on Temporary Visitor visa

As previously mentioned, the maximum length of period of stay for Temporary Visitor visa holder is generally 180 days a year. However, sometimes your application for a visa is declined or entry to Japan is rejected at immigration inspection, or you may be taken for a long interview at landing permission if you frequently re-enter Japan on Temporary Visitor visa. This is mainly because immigration inspectors become suspicious about unreasonable entry to Japan. Whether or not you are permitted to enter Japan is decided by an immigration inspector after all, therefore you should be aware of that you may be rejected to enter Japan anytime.

You must get a proper visa that meet your reason to stay, after all

So, it seems that there is no clear limits regarding number of entry tourists can make on Temporary Visitor visa. In fact, total period of your stay in Japan overweighs the number of your entry. Note that, you cannot be allowed unlimited entry in Japan just because you meet the requirement for total period of stay. Things are not that simple. A landing permission is not granted unless an immigration inspector agrees that your stay in Japan is reasonable. There are many real cases tourists were rejected to enter Japan for frequent entries within a short time of period. If you wish to repeatedly visit Japan, make sure that you can prove your purpose to stay in Japan is genuine and reasonable.