Visa information for those attending the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Are you planning on attending the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020? Then you already know that the event will be held in Tokyo, Japan. It is predicted to be a massive event, and about a third of the tickets are supposed to be purchased by foreign citizens. Now, as you can imagine, going to Japan is not as simple as getting on a plane for some people. That is why we believe you should be informed about Japan’s visa policy before planning your trip there.

Visa-exempt nationalities

As almost every visa policy in the world, Japan’s includes a list of countries whose citizens can travel to Japan without a visa provided that their stay does not exceed 90 days. There are 66 nationalities that do not need a visa to enter and stay in Japan. However, what is worth mentioning here is that the citizens of Thailand and Brunei are permitted to stay in Japan without a visa for only 15 days.

Basically, if you are visa-exempt, you do not need a visa for the Olympics because the event is held in July and August, and the exemption covers that timetable. But if you are a Thai or Bruneian citizen, and you plan to stay for more than 15 days in Japan, you have to go to the nearest Japanese embassy and apply for a tourist visa.

To find out whether or not you qualify for the visa exemption we mentioned above, you can Google Japan’s visa policy and search your country of origin on the list of visa waiver countries. Please note that you still need a valid passport. It needs to remain as such for at least another 6 months from the date of arrival in Japan.

Japan’s electronic visa system

The electronic visa system has conquered many visa policies in the last decade. While Japan does not have one at the moment, the Japanese government is planning on introducing it by the time the Olympic and Paralympic Games will start. In fact, they announced that the Japan eVisa will go live in April 2020.

The Japan eVisa will become available for many nationalities. Unfortunately, we do not have much information as to what particular nationalities will be eligible for the Japan eVisa. The Japanese government has been pretty secretive so far about the details of the measure. What we do know is that Chinese people will definitely qualify for an eVisa. They will be able to apply online for the travel document they need. Undoubtedly, more information will unfold as time goes by. After all, 2020 is not that far away into the future.

Since we do not know much about the Japan eVisa, we cannot tell you anything about the requirements either. All we have at the moment is speculation, and we cannot possibly rely on that. Needless to say, all those who will be eligible for a Japan eVisa will need a valid passport. Most visa policies require that the passport should keep its validity for another 6 months from the date of arrival, but we cannot say for sure that Japan’s visa policy will say the same. It is a good chance that that is true, but again, we are not 100% sure.

In case you find out that you are neither visa-exempt nor eligible for a Japan eVisa, but you want to attend the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, then your only option is to go to the nearest Japanese embassy in your country and apply for a tourist visa. For more information about that, we recommend that you check out the embassy’s website.