Immigration update: Japan enforces border control measures

Japanese authorities have implemented strict controls surrounding the entry of foreign nationals into the country.

Who will be affected?

All foreign nationals traveling to Japan

Impact

Effective from 12:00am 3rd April 2020, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice have announced border enforcement measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as follows:

All single entry visas, multiple entry visas issued by 2nd April 2020 to passport holders from the below countries are invalidated:

【Asia Pacific】
Mongolia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, East Timor, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, Nauru, Niue, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Fiji, Marshall, Micronesia

【Latin America】
Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Uruguay, El Salvador, Guyana, Cuba, Guatemala, Grenada, Costa Rica, Colombia, Jamaica, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominica (co), Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Haiti, Bahamas, Paraguay, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Belize, Peru, Honduras, Mexico

【Europe】
Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Russia

【Middle East】
Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates (including visa-exempt registrations issued to IC passport holders), Yemen, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon

【Africa】
Algeria, Angola, Uganda, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Cape Verde, Gabon, Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Congo (co), Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Djibouti, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Chad, Central Africa, Tunisia, Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, South Africa, South Sudan, Mozambique, Mauritania, Libya, Liberia, Rwanda, Lesotho

Visa on arrival program is revoked to passport holders from the below countries:

【Asia Pacific】
Mongolia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, India, Bangladesh, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Nauru,
Papua New Guinea, Palau

【Latin America】
Argentina, Uruguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Suriname, Dominica
Bahamas, Paraguay, Barbados, Peru, Honduras, Mexico

【Europe】
Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkmenistan

【Middle East】
United Arab Emirates, Oman

【Africa】
Tunisia, Lesotho

Suspension of visa waiver under the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) agreement with Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Peru and Russia.

People who have been living in the below countries during recent 14days are denied entry to Japan:

Asia: Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, China (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau), Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia

Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

North America: Canada, United States

Latin America: Ecuador, Chile, Dominica, Panama, Brazil, Bolivia

Europe: Iceland, Ireland, Albania, Armenia, Andorra, Italy, United Kingdom, Estonia, Austria, Netherlands, Northern Macedonia, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Kosovo, San Marino, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Che Ko, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Vatican, Hungary, Finland, France, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Malta, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Romania, Luxembourg

Middle East: Israel, Iran, Turkey, Bahrain

Africa: Egypt, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, Morocco

Foreign nationals holding a passport issued in Hubei or Zhejiang, China

Foreigners boarding the Westerdam boat from Hong Kong

Quarantine measures

Effective from 12:00am 3rd April 2020, all people entering Japan are required to be quarantined at designated locations by the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare of Japan for 14 days and are not allowed to use public transportations. They must cover all costs of the above measure.

Santa Fe Analysis

Santa Fe Relocation will monitor the situation closely and provide updated information once available.

Should you have any questions, please contact the following:

Aimee Qu
Immigration Services
Santa Fe Relocation
Tokyo, Japan.
D : +(81-3) 3589 4029
E : [e-mail]

Robert Day
Group Head of Immigration Operations
​Santa Fe Relocation
London, UK
M: [phone]
​E: [e-mail]

To read more immigration updates, clickhere

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