Key Takeaways
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The Japan tourist visa for Indians starts from a short official list: a valid passport, one application form, one photo, a flight itinerary, one document proving you can pay (such as an income tax return or a bank statement) and an itinerary in Japan, lodged at the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) for your state (MOFA, Checklist for Single-Entry Short-Term Stay Visa, mofa.go.jp , accessed 2026-09-17). Centres add their own checklists; this guide keeps the two apart.
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group. For fees and processing times, start with our guide to the Japan visa for Indians .
Last verified: 2026-09-17.
Japan tourist visa requirements: the official list
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) asks a tourist for six documents, and the Embassy and consulates in India link its checklist for Indian nationals. Check you are on the real sites: mofa.go.jp and in.emb-japan.go.jp .
Document | What MOFA asks for |
Passport | A valid passport |
Application form | One completed form |
Photo | One; the size depends on your centre |
Flight itinerary | Flight or ship number, with arrival and departure dates |
Proof you can pay | One document: an income certificate or tax return issued by a public agency, or a bank statement or balance certificate |
Itinerary in Japan | Date, activity plan, contact and accommodation for each day |
Documents “must have been issued within the last three months”, and “Reservations and payments for airline tickets, accommodations, transportation, etc. are not required at the time of visa application.” For the photo, see Japan visa photo size .
The itinerary format. One row per day under MOFA’s four columns, with a phone number where you can be reached, such as your hotel’s. Kolkata posts its own format online; Chennai wants it typed.
If a host in Japan pays, MOFA wants their invitation letter, letter of guarantee, proof of funds and certificate of residence (juminhyo) instead of your proof of funds.
Travelling to Japan? Get covered before you fly. Travel insurance for Japan is not a visa document, but Japan’s consulates in India warn that medical costs in Japan can be very high.
What your application centre adds
Each VFS centre publishes its own checklist, and they differ on bank-statement months and ITR years, so follow the one for your state. These rows are what each centre’s checklist asks for, and centres update their lists, so check yours before you apply.
Centre | Financial documents | Tickets and hotel | Also asks for |
New Delhi | Latest ITR, or else 6 months’ bank statements | Flight or cruise schedule | Old passports |
Mumbai | Latest ITR and 3 months’ personal bank statement | “Confirmed travel booking (Hotel & Flight Booking)” | Leave sanction or NOC; travel history of the last two years |
Chennai | Last 3 years’ ITR; latest 3 months’ bank statement | “Reservation/booking is acceptable” | Typed day-to-day schedule; employment certificate plus NOC or leave |
Bengaluru | Employees: 3 months’ salary account statement, 3 years’ ITR acknowledgements, 3 months’ payslips | Hotel blocked in your name; blocked flight tickets | NOC or leave; onward-country visa copy |
Kolkata | 3 years’ ITR (or an explanation letter); 6 months’ bank statement, stamped by the bank | Hotel “booking only, not confirmed” | NOC, incorporation, student ID or retirement proof |
Where the lists disagree:
· Tickets. MOFA does not require you to buy tickets or pay for hotels before applying; a reservation and an itinerary are enough, though the Mumbai centre’s checklist asks for confirmed bookings, so follow your centre’s list.
· Bank statements and ITR. MOFA asks for one proof of funds; your centre’s checklist may ask for three to six months of bank statements and up to three years of ITRs. None of these lists names a minimum balance.
· Covering letter. Most centres ask for one stating your purpose (Bengaluru also wants everyone travelling, the dates and who pays); MOFA does not list it for tourism.
Documents by applicant type
MOFA has one tourism list for everyone, plus a concession for Indian university students; the rest comes from the centres’ checklists.
Applicant | MOFA | Centres add |
Employed | Standard list | NOC or leave sanction (all but New Delhi); employment certificate (Chennai); payslips (Bengaluru) |
Self-employed | Standard list | Proof of ownership (Mumbai, Chennai); company’s 3 years’ ITR (Chennai); GST certificate (Bengaluru); incorporation document (Kolkata) |
Student | Students and graduates of the last three years from eligible Indian universities (not open universities) may give a certificate of status or graduation instead of financial documents | Student ID (Mumbai, Kolkata); bonafide certificate (Chennai, Bengaluru); parents’ consent or sponsor letter, with their ITR or statements (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai) |
Retired | Standard list | Retirement proof (Kolkata) |
Minor | Standard list, for each child | Parents’ consent (New Delhi, Mumbai) or sponsor letter with photo ID (Chennai), with the parents’ ITR or statements; proof of relationship such as a birth certificate (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai) |
The student concession covers single-entry tourism visas and has applied since 2017-02-01 (MOFA press release, accessed 2026-09-17).
Japan tourist visa types
Indian tourists get either a single-entry visa, issued as an eVISA, or a multiple-entry visa, issued as a sticker in the passport, both through the same centre (MOFA, Validity of a Visa; JAPAN eVISA FAQ, accessed 2026-09-17).
Visa | Issued as | Validity | Stay per visit |
Single-entry tourist | eVISA, no sticker | Three months from the day after issue | 15, 30 or 90 days, set by the mission from your itinerary |
Multiple-entry (tourism, business, visiting relatives) | Sticker | Five years | Up to 90 days |
Multiple-entry for business people and cultural or intellectual figures | Sticker | 1, 3, 5 or 10 years | 15, 30 or 90 days; the first visit must be for business |
Single-entry to visit friends or relatives | Sticker | Three months | Up to 90 days |
Validity cannot be extended, and paid work is not allowed. The eVISA covers arrival by air or scheduled ferry from Busan or Shanghai, not a cruise; see how to apply for the Japan eVISA . Japan’s separate transit visa was abolished on 2026-07-01.
Single-entry vs multiple-entry Japan visa
A first-time visitor with no recent Japan or G7 travel usually applies for a single-entry visa; a multiple-entry visa needs you to fit one of MOFA’s five categories for Indian nationals (MOFA, Application Procedures for Multiple Visa for Nationals of India, accessed 2026-09-17).
1. Two or more short-term visits to Japan in the last three years.
2. One visit to Japan in the last three years, plus financial capacity.
3. A visit to Japan and to a G7 country (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the US) in the last three years.
4. Sufficient financial capacity.
5. The spouse or children of an applicant in category 4.
It needs an ICAO-compliant machine-readable passport or e-passport, and is never an eVISA. Indian nationals pay the same visa fee for either type. Issue is not automatic; MOFA warns, “we may issue a single entry visa after visa examination.”
The Japan tourist visa application process
You apply at the Japan Visa Application Centre for the state you live in, and the steps are the same whichever visa you get.
1. Find your centre. Residence decides it, not your passport’s place of issue; our photo size guide has the state table. Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata accept passports issued in other states with proof of residence, such as Aadhaar.
2. Get the checklist and form from your centre’s page on visa.vfsglobal.com , and check whether it needs an appointment; Kolkata requires one.
3. Time it. Apply from about three months before travel (Embassy of Japan in India); processing takes at least five working days, so allow two to three weeks.
4. Submit and pay the visa fee and VFS service charge at the centre. Kolkata asks for an authorisation letter if someone submits for you.
5. Track it on VFS Global’s site with your receipt’s reference number and your date of birth.
6. Receive it: an eVISA “visa issuance notice” for single entry, or your passport with the sticker for multiple entry.
Passport rules: six months’ validity and blank pages
Carry a passport valid for at least six months, as the Mumbai and Kolkata centres require, with more than two blank pages, as New Delhi and Chennai ask. Bengaluru’s checklist says three months, and the eVISA FAQ says validity on arrival is enough for Japan, though airlines may refuse boarding; six months satisfies all of them.
An eVISA works only with the passport you applied with, and a passport renewed after issue needs a new visa, so renew first. Our guide on when to renew your passport explains the timing.
Before you fly: check-in and Visit Japan Web
With the visa issued, show your eVISA at check-in and, if you choose, register on Visit Japan Web. The visa issuance notice must be live on your phone, online; a PDF, screenshot or printout is not accepted.
Visit Japan Web is optional, free and not a visa. Japan’s immigration and customs agencies recommend it, and it replaces the paper arrival card and customs form with one QR code, but paper forms are still accepted; there is no fixed deadline, so register before you fly. See our Visit Japan Web guide .
On arrival, the immigration officer grants landing permission and sets your stay; MOFA says a visa does not guarantee entry (MOFA, Visas and Landing Permission, accessed 2026-09-17).
Avoiding a refusal
Japan’s missions do not give reasons for a refusal, and MOFA does not accept a new application for the same purpose within six months of one, unless circumstances have changed significantly or on humanitarian grounds (MOFA, Visa FAQ, accessed 2026-09-17). It may also decline an application with errors or omissions, or too little passport validity or too few pages.
Answer the form’s character questions honestly: “Please tick Yes if you have received any sentence, even if the sentence was suspended.” If no visa is issued, the visa fee is refunded but the VFS service charge is not. See common reasons for visa rejection .
Where travel insurance fits
Travel insurance is not a requirement for a Japanese visa or for entry, but Japan’s Foreign Ministry calls it highly recommended, and its consulates in India advise cover with hospital referrals (MOFA, VISA; Consulate-General of Japan in Chennai, accessed 2026-09-17). Since 2026-04-01, an unpaid hospital bill of JPY 10,000 or more (about INR 6,170 at 1 JPY = INR 0.617 on 2026-09-17) can be reported to Japan’s immigration agency and lead to strict screening on your next visit (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice, in Japanese, accessed 2026-09-17).
Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel plans cover Japan under the Asia geography: Excel, with sum insured up to USD 100,000, and Prime, up to USD 500,000. The Asia plans accept travellers up to age 70, with no Senior Citizen plan on this geography; travellers aged 71 or over can read about travel insurance for senior citizens . See travel insurance for Japan once your dates are fixed.
FAQs
Q: What documents are required for a Japan tourist visa for Indians? A: MOFA asks for a passport, one application form, one photo, a flight itinerary, one proof that you can pay and an itinerary in Japan. Your VFS centre adds items such as bank statements and ITRs, so follow its checklist.
Q: How many months of bank statements do I need for a Japan visa? A: It depends on your centre: 6 months at Kolkata, and at New Delhi if you have no ITR; 3 months at Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. MOFA itself asks for one proof of funds.
Q: Do I need a confirmed flight ticket for a Japan tourist visa? A: Not under MOFA’s rules, which say reservations and payments are not required when you apply. The Mumbai centre’s checklist does ask for confirmed hotel and flight bookings, so follow your centre’s list.
Q: Can Indians get a multiple-entry Japan visa? A: Yes, if you fit one of MOFA’s five categories, such as two or more short visits to Japan in the last three years. It allows stays of up to 90 days at a time over five years, and the mission may issue a single-entry visa instead.
Q: How long is a Japan tourist visa valid? A: A single-entry visa is valid for three months, for one entry, with no extension. The eVISA is issued for a stay of 15, 30 or 90 days; the immigration officer sets the actual stay on arrival.
