Japan has reopened!
[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”380″ size=”18″ bg_color=”#f93″ txt_color=”#fff”]Reminder:
Japan Tourist Visa application, policies, and requirements are subject to change. If you wish to apply for a visa, you should always do more research about your current case or situation.[/mks_pullquote]
I’ve heard many horror stories about visa refusal in Japan, especially when applying for a tourist visa. Some of them have already booked their hotels and tours, perfectly planned the itinerary, or are excited to meet their family and friends in Japan.
If your application is denied, the Japanese Embassy in Manila won’t disclose the reason for refusal, they will instead stick a barcode of your application with a red highlight if your visa application is rejected. But we’ve heard cases from people and identified possible reasons why their application was unsuccessful.
Stop reading from here if you intend to find ways to illegally stay in Japan.
Recommended: Japan Tourist Visa complete requirements for Filipinos May 2022
Rejected Tourist Visa Cases from Filipinos
Red highlight on denied visas.
Requirements for a tourist visa are available on the Japanese Embassy website. Preparing your documents in the wrong way might lead you to permit denial. Here are some lessons that might help your visa be approved.
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You cannot trick them with your bank balance.
The embassy will look at your ADB/YTD (Average Daily Balance / Year-to-date) from the bank certificate you submitted.
Risky: ADB/YTD – PHP 4,450.00 and your current balance is PHP 124,450.00.
Halata na humiram ka ng 100,000+ somewhere.Good enough: ADB/YTD – PHP 44,650.00 and your current balance is PHP 61,354.00. This shows na nag-ipon ka talaga.
Lesson learned: the embassy will know that you deposited large funds in a single transaction just to show them that you have a huge balance. Be gentle on your deposits. Some banks will give you a certificate without those details but that does not stop the embassy to do more record verification.
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Follow their instruction, not what you think is right.
Check the embassy’s website where you are planning to apply. If it says bank certificate do not submit a bank statement.
I know it doesn’t make sense to get denied by providing a bank statement, but that’s the embassy’s requirement. Agencies will also ask you to give them a certificate instead of a statement. Isn’t it easier to get?
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The Embassy is worried about your safety.
I noticed a high denial rate for ladies traveling alone without a travel history. I guess the embassy is just worried that you might be a victim of human trafficking or maybe they think that you’re not ready to travel this time. If you think they’re wrong, then you have to prove it to them.
All you need is to have a travel history. You can have stamps in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore first before entering Japan. I heard multiple cases of applicants getting rejected and all of them have no travel history.
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They know if your purpose in Japan is to find a job and work.
For OFWs, any embassy will deny your visa application right away if they discover that you are working at your job site using a tourist visa. When applying for a visa, especially to OECD countries like Japan, never declare any employment using a tourist visa.
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They know if you can afford to travel or not
The reason why you need to submit proof of income is to make sure you can sustain your travel in Japan. The embassy is smart enough to know if you can afford to go to Japan or not. So be careful about making an itinerary by writing down affordable places to visit such as Shibuya Crossing or Shinjuku Garden.
After you get your visa, you can do whatever you want naman diba?
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Did you meet your strange boyfriend/girlfriend online? visiting your significant other?
You applied for a visa and wrote this as your purpose of visit.
There is a high chance of visa denial if you do not provide any legit proof of your relationship with that person in Japan.
The strongest evidence you can submit is passport stamps and a picture of you together. Say, two of you traveled to France with the same flight number, and date stamp and had a photo together in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Submit two or more original photos and a copy of your partner’s passport stamp. Make sure that you send a clear and original photo.
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They know if you fake your purpose of travel.
https://www.traditionrolex.com/4
Your visa application will be refused if your Filipino friend in Japan is blacklisted, breached the visa condition, has a criminal background in both countries or illegally working in Japan. Lack of evidence proving your relationship with your friend might also lead to visa denial especially if your friend is Japanese. You can submit supporting documents such as:
- School Year Book – proving that you graduated in the same school
- Company IDs – present both IDs proving that your friend is your coworker before
- Photos – to show that you met him before you arrived in Japan
- Membership cards – to prove that two of you belong to a particular group such as golf clubs
- Passport Stamps and Boarding Passes – to show that you had traveled together
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They can see small details in your application
Some people got denied because of their certificates. Here are some contents on your COE or Bank Certificate that will make your visa rejected:
- The purpose of travel or certification was mistakenly written: “for bank purposes”. Talk to your bank and tell them that you need a bank certificate to get a tourist visa to Japan.
- Your job details do not match your ITR or Application Form
- No company detailed information in the header such as an address, email address, and contact number
Note: As of January 1, 2024, COE or Employment Letter is no longer required. Source: http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/000232573.pdf
Make sure all documents are accurate and match the application form you will submit such as:
- Business licenses and permits should be under your name
- The employer must be the one written in your ITR
- Avoid mistakes in passport details
- Absence of supporting documents
- Unexplained documents
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They can list you as persona non grata
It’s time for you to review your online statements about the Japanese Government of to Japanese People. Make sure you demote them online. This case can happen in every country you are applying to. Facebook is the very first thing you would want to review.
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Unregistered/ expired business license
For people in business applying for a Japan visa, there is a chance of denial if your papers were outdated. Outdated documents are invalid documents.
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Don’t waste your time, masasaktan ka lang
You know you’re ineligible, just don’t apply and wait till your case has a significant change. You’re ineligible if you:
- cannot establish eligibility for the tourist visa category being applied
- were convicted of a crime or has a police record ex. drug violation
- can not demonstrate proof of adequate financial support to travel to Japan
- misrepresented a material fact or committed fraud (don’t you ever do this)
- breached visa conditions in one of OECD countries
- your documents do not match – I strongly recommend updating your documents before applying
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Failure to provide sufficient information
Avoid discrepancies by providing supporting dossiers such as explanation letters. Without these, they’ll see it as gaps or reject your visa application due to discrepancies. The agency will require you to submit an explanation letter if they can see problems that might lead to visa rejection.
I’m sure there are other lessons to tell. We’ll keep the information coming and update this post immediately. Feel free to share your experience with us and help our fellow Filipinos get their tourist visa to Japan.
[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”380″ size=”18″ bg_color=”#129e00″ txt_color=”#fff”] Bonus Tip:If there is a problem with the spelling of names or birth dates in the Birth Certificate and Passport, submit an Affidavit of Discrepancy to avoid problems in your visa applications.[/mks_pullquote]
Next: What to do if your Japan Tourist Visa application is denied?
It is still highly recommended to visit one of the accredited travel agencies as they are specialized in visa applications to Japan. I am sharing other people’s denied visa cases, I have no connection with the Japanese Embassy to tell you if your visa will be approved or denied. Note that we will not answer your questions if you intend to illegally stay in Japan.
701 comments
Thanks for the response for the previous questions. It is much appreciated!
Here’s our situation:
I’ll be traveling with my brother (tourist visa) and we have a family owned corporation as our guarantor.
Questions:
1) Will they process the visa together or separately? Should we put our documents in separate brown envelopes?
2) Since there are just two of us applying together, should we just put our names on the Letter of Guarantee, or just the representative and then attach a list of of applicants using the ‘List of Visa Applicants’ form?
3) For the letter of guarantee, the corporation just wants us to travel to japan and not the ‘inviter’ should we still put the name of the corporation next to the ‘Full Name: (Note)’? Should we also include the full name of the representative and then the representative will just sign it because we don’t have a seal?
4) In the letter of guarantee, for the date of birth of the guarantor, should we just put the date of birth of the representative or when the corporation was established?
5) In the letter of guarantee, the ‘Extension’ means what? Is that where we put the mobile no.?
6) As for the relationship with the visa applicants, what should we put? Family-owned corporation? and then the relationship with the corporation’s representative, which is ‘father’?
Hoping for you prompt reply.
1. The agency collects applications in one group if travelers are family members but won’t divulge what’s going to happen after they forwarded the batch to the embassy.
2. The guarantor will have to write a letter for each applicant.
3. If you are the legal owners of the corporation, you will need to submit business permits and DTI. If those weren’t under your name, ask a letter from the person printed on those permits, it could be your dad perhaps.
4. A guarantor is a person.
5. Extension of the telephone number of the guarantor. It is common for a corporation to have extension numbers.
6. Put children/son/daughter if the guarantor and the legal owner of the corporation are your parents.
Ask your parents to fill out the form. Let them to the writing, to increase the legitimacy of the document.
Hi Mark! Does the invitation letter should be handwritten? or is it okay if it is computerized? with the original signature? may format kasi ang embassy/ agencies eh computerized yung kanila. thanks in advance sa pagsagot sa tanong..
Both will do. 🙂
I seem to have a never-ending questions. Please bear with me.
1) Do we need to change the size of all the documents to A4? Or just the application form and other downloadable forms from the embassy’s site?
2) Do I need to send the original copy of my baptismal certificate and Form 137? If it is a certified true copy, do I let the particular institution to sign the photocopy or I can just have it notarized?
1. Yes all documents must be in A4 size bond paper.
2. Let them sign it, and no need to submit the original copy, only the photocopy of your baptismal and form 137 in A4 size bond paper.
Thanks for all your replies shane!
If the corporation, our guarantor is owned legally by my parents. Do I need to get a new birth certificate of my parents from the NSO to show my relationship with them? Or just the parent that is written on the Letter of Guarantee?
For the Letter of Guarantee, can you please check if this part is correct:
Guarantor
Address: 〒 – (is this the address of the corporation or the address of the representative?)
Occupation/Name of organization:
Full name:
Seal
No need for their Birth certificate, unless if they will go with you.
Just one guarantor needed.
Sorry for double post, the text got deleted after typing ” code sign
If the corporation, our guarantor is owned legally by my parents. Do I need to get a new birth certificate of my parents from the NSO to show my relationship with them? Or just the parent that is written on the Letter of Guarantee?
For the Letter of Guarantee, can you please check if this part is correct:
Guarantor
Address: 〒 – (is this the address of the corporation or the address of the representative?)
Occupation/Name of organization: (Should I put the occupation of my father here?) (Insert Name of Corporation)
Full name: (Insert Full name of Father, should I add his title? like for example if he is an Engineer or Attorney?)
Seal (Insert signature of Father)
Hi Kei, thanks for your questions, it really helps readers to get information and guide, however, I won’t be able to go deeper on those since I personally believe the accredited agencies can help you a lot better in cases like yours.
If you were able to get a visa, please keep us posted. If you don’t mind, we can replace the featured photo with your approved visa just to keep this post updated. Cheers mate!
No need for their Birth certificate, unless if they will go with you.
Just one guarantor needed.
Name of the guarantor, present address, occupation. no need for title.
Hi! Tanong ko lang po sana if may chance bang maapprove yung visa application ko? I got all the requirements except for ITR, I’m currently employed but a minimum wage earner kaya I don’t have an ITR. Im working sa franchised food business ng tito ko. I already made a letter of explanation regarding that. we’ve been planning to go to japan since last year pa so I decided to save money manually sa piggy bank, inopen ko yung piggy bank this october lang and decided to deposit it on my bank acct. I opened my bank acct last year pa may mga deposits ako pero winiwidraw ko din. Ngayon na lang ulit october ako nakapag deposit ng malaking amount since binuksan ko yung piggy bank ko. Nakakuha na din ako ng bank cert. frim bpi but walang ADB/YTB na nakasulat, just the total amount I have on my acct.
Thank you so much po!