UK relative planning a trip to Japan

[JimmyK]

Hi there. I’m a UK National with Japan PR. My mother (also a UK national and living in UK) has visited us here many times, but the ongoing COVID affected travel restrictions present a challenge. Aside from joining a tour group (which she doesn’t plan to do) I believe it’s possible for relatives to visit, but it’s still not straightforward. Still need to provide certain docs and my mother (who’s 80) might even need to make a 2-3hr train journey into London to the Japanese Embassy, among other requirements. Sounds crazy, but seems to be the case at the moment. Apparently things might improve by September, but that’s not clear. Has anyone out there dealt with a similar situation and can shed any more light on it? Embassy info not so clear.

[Beaglehound]

Hi there. I’m a UK National with Japan PR. My mother (also a UK national and living in UK) has visited us here many times, but the ongoing COVID affected travel restrictions present a challenge. Aside from joining a tour group (which she doesn’t plan to do) I believe it’s possible for relatives to visit, but it’s still not straightforward. Still need to provide certain docs and my mother (who’s 80) might even need to make a 2-3hr train journey into London to the Japanese Embassy, among other requirements. Sounds crazy, but seems to be the case at the moment. Apparently things might improve by September, but that’s not clear. Has anyone out there dealt with a similar situation and can shed any more light on it? Embassy info not so clear.

I don’t know but I do think things may well miraculously become more open soon after next month’s election. If I were in your position I would hang on a few weeks before entering into onerous procedures.

[JimmyK]

Thanks for the advice. We’re in a position to wait a little while longer, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for post election improvement.

[Andy.]

Hi Jimmy,

My parents came out last month, and I have PR like you. They had to go to the Japanese Embassy in London to apply for and pick up the visas, but the process wasn't too difficult except for that. The main stumbling block was I had to provide my original birth certificate to prove my relationship to them (a photocopy wouldn't suffice). Rather than post it from Japan, I ordered an 'official copy' in the UK, which took about a week. All the other paperwork wasn't too bad, as they've simplified it recently. Here's the link:

https://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/ ... amily.html

You have to make an appointment with the embassy, but when we applied, appointments were available every day. Hope that helps.

Andy

[Cracaphat]

I read somewhere that if you have a relative living here, you can apply for a "kinship visa" without needing to travel in a tour group.Not sure if it only applies to Japanese nationals tho.

[onionchutney]

I read somewhere that if you have a relative living here, you can apply for a "kinship visa" without needing to travel in a tour group.Not sure if it only applies to Japanese nationals tho.

From what I've read, it's just for Nationals

[RetireJapan]

I've seen people discussing having their parents etc. visit online. Seems to be possible, although as you might expect the paperwork is pretty comprehensive: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/fami ... its-041322

[Tkydon]

There is a Facebook Group that has ongoing updates

https://www.facebook.com/groups/returntojapan

It seems invitees are now receiving Visas and entering without issue.

[KyushuWoozy]

might even need to make a 2-3hr train journey into London to the Japanese Embassy

Twice actually, once to drop off her passport and then five or more days later to pick it up again. However if my memory serves me right the Japanese consulate website in the UK has a list of agents. You might be able to use one of these to save her actually having to visit the consulate in person.

I remember my very first trip to Asia 30 years ago having to queue up at the Thai consulate in London to get my visa. It's pretty disappointing that the Japanese consulate haven't updated their sop over all these decades.

[JimmyK]

Haven’t checked into the site recently. Many thanks for the responses and advice. Ironic that it’s still quite an ordeal for tourists/family members to get into Japan, considering they’re currently more likely to contract COVID here, as opposed to bringing in the virus!