New immigration procedures will affect visitors from 71 countries and regions.

Travelling to Japan as a tourist has been a breeze for visitors from 71 visa-exempt countries and regions, as there’s no requirement to obtain a short-stay visa at a local embassy prior to travel. However, that’s all set to change in the future, as the Japanese government has announced plans to introduce a new travel authorisation system which will require visitors to declare personal information online in order to enter the country.

The new system is said to run in a similar way to ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) in the U.S., which was introduced as an anti-terrorism measure. Just as ESTA determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, the Japanese version, which the government has tentatively named JESTA, will also screen visitors prior to entry, using a similar online system.

The government says the aim of the new system is to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who come to Japan from visa-exempt countries and regions and remain beyond the valid period of stay, which currently ranges from 14-90 days depending on the passport. Under the current system, international airlines provide the government with passenger information for screening shortly after takeoff, which means travellers who don’t pass the screening still arrive in Japan, and although they are officially ordered to leave the country, many fail to do so.

According to the government, the number of people who abuse the system and stay illegally in the country is considerable — as of January 2024, out of the 49,801 short-term visitors who are currently overstaying illegally, more than 28,000 came from countries and regions with visa exemption agreements.

JESTA will require visa-exempt foreign nationals to declare their purpose of entry and place of stay online for screening by the Immigration Services Agency before they travel. If the application is flagged as an illegal-stay risk, the travel authorisation required to leave the country will not be granted, and the traveller will be encouraged to obtain a formal visa through their local embassy instead.

Travellers from the following 71 visa-exempt countries and regions will be required to declare their details using JESTA when it’s launched.

  1. Andorra
  2. Argentina
  3. Australia
  4. Austria
  5. Bahamas
  6. Barbados
  7. Belgium
  8. Brazil
  9. Brunei
  10. Bulgaria
  11. Canada
  12. Chile
  13. Costa Rica
  14. Croatia
  15. Cyprus
  16. Czech Republic
  17. Denmark
  18. Dominican Republic
  19. El Salvador
  20. Estonia
  21. Finland
  22. France
  23. Germany
  24. Greece
  25. Guatemala
  26. Honduras
  27. Hong Kong
  28. Hungary
  29. Iceland
  30. Indonesia
  31. Ireland
  32. Israel
  33. Italy
  34. Latvia
  35. Lesotho
  36. Liechtenstein
  37. Lithuania
  38. Luxembourg
  39. Macao
  40. Malaysia
  41. Malta
  42. Mauritius
  43. Mexico
  44. Monaco
  45. Netherlands
  46. New Zealand
  47. North Macedonia
  48. Norway
  49. Panama
  50. Poland
  51. Portugal
  52. Qatar
  53. Republic of Korea
  54. Romania
  55. San Marino
  56. Serbia
  57. Singapore
  58. Slovakia
  59. Slovenia
  60. Spain
  61. Suriname
  62. Sweden
  63. Switzerland
  64. Taiwan
  65. Thailand
  66. Tunisia
  67. Türkiye
  68. United Arab Emirates
  69. United Kingdom
  70. United States
  71. Uruguay

The government aims to allocate research costs for JESTA in next year’s budget, with plans for it to be in place by 2030. In addition, another system will be launched on a trial basis during this fiscal year whereby passenger information will be sent to the Immigration Services Agency after boarding procedures have been completed.

These details will be checked against a “blacklist” of travellers, including foreign nationals of interest and those with criminal records, which will then notify the airline so they can refuse boarding and prevent these individuals from travelling to Japan.

While JESTA is designed to keep Japan and its visitors safe, it will no doubt cause a headache for travellers who are used to the ease of entry afforded them under the visa exemption agreement. More details about how the site will work, including timelines for applying and personal information requirements, will be provided closer to the launch date.

Source: Sankei via Yahoo! Japan, Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)
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