MANILA/TOKYO – The Japanese Embassy in Manila has advised Filipino tourists to apply for visas at least two months before their intended travel dates, citing longer processing times due to a surge in applications.
“The number of visa applications to visit Japan has been increasing at an unprecedented rate especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking this into consideration and in order to further revitalize people-to-people exchange between Japan and the Philippines, we are preparing to transition to a new examination system (visa center system) to maintain the quality and enhance the efficiency of visa processing,” the Embassy stated on its website.
“With the transition to this new system, examination of visa applications for tourism purposes which normally took five working days, might now take several weeks—period longer than the standard processing time. Therefore, applicants are recommended to apply at least two months prior to the date of travel,” it added.
The advisory applies to Temporary Visitor visas (for stays of up to 90 days) and Multiple-Entry visas for Temporary Visitors.
Reli Tours & Travel, an authorized travel agency with branches in Metro Manila, announced on its website that it has stopped accepting appointments until Feb. 28 due to full booking.
“Although the turnover time from the Japanese Embassy averages 5-7 working days, your passport may remain with us for 12-20 working days, even longer. This is the reason why it is highly recommended that you submit your application 60 days ahead of your travel date so you will not need the said documents within the time frame,” the agency stated.
Jericho Serrano, a 43-year-old applicant who asked to use a pseudonym, told the Filipino-Japanese Journal (FJJ) that his family’s tourist visa application was denied when they applied in December. They had planned to spend the holiday season in Nagoya, but their trip was canceled after their application was rejected.
“A week after we submitted our applications, we hadn’t received any results, so we called the Japanese Embassy. We were told to wait because the system had changed,” he said.
“We were disappointed when we got the news. We used to have multiple-entry visas, but they expired during the pandemic. Still, we look forward to applying again after six months because we love visiting Japan,” he added.
Another applicant, who identified herself only as Angelina, 32, was also denied a tourist visa when she applied in December. She had visited Japan with her family in 2023 and wanted to return but was disappointed by the rejection.
“Somehow, I expected my application to be denied due to time constraints, but I was still hopeful it would be approved since I had been to Japan before,” she told FJJ.
Japan welcomed a record 818,700 visitors from the Philippines in 2024, a 31.6% year-over-year increase, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). - Florenda Corpuz
(Photo: A street in Shinjuku, Tokyo on Jan. 11, 2025. | Din Eugenio)