In general, to begin with, it is rather strange for me that Japan itself was included in the list of third world countries. Given the rating of passports from Henley & Partners, in which Japan currently occupies an honorable first place, a clear contrast is created. And it is also extremely interesting that the land of the rising sun is not considered safe, although apparently here security is understood as the possibility of asylum, and I do not quite correctly interpret the meaning of the term “third world countries”. Because, in Russia, this term has a slightly different meaning. One way or another, I do not consider the Japanese islands to be a third country, and I see it as an excellent option for emigration.

As far as I am aware, in addition to the Russians, many countries do not have the possibility of free visa-free travel to Japan. Of the English speaking countries, these are for example South Africa, Tanzania, the Philippines and India (where English is also the official language).

I have not studied in detail the situation on the nuances of the visa regime of these countries. However, knowing what difficulties the country of the rising sun creates for Russians based on its traditions, I believe that this may apply to many countries. In this article I will talk about how to get a visa to Japan for Russia. Firstly, I also refer to the Russian Federation as a third world country. And secondly, perhaps the situation of the Russians will be similar to yours, and you will pick up some useful information from this story. These will be excerpts from an article I wrote for the Russian version of the magazine.

In other words, citizens of the above English-speaking countries, as well as Pakistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and other English-speaking countries - this information is primarily for you.


Do Russians need a visa to Japan

In short, yes.

And now a little more details ..

Japan is one of those countries where you cannot go with just one passport. More precisely, you will not fly away. Except, of course, if it is not a passport of one of the countries of the Western world. Without a visa, our Russian foreign passport is only suitable for "transit tourism" in Hong Kong and Singapore. However, this is either for those who have no taste at all, well, or who just need “something Asian”. I don't want to say anything against Hong Kongers with their own interesting cultures, it's just that, firstly, the topic of the article is not about that. And secondly, I sincerely believe that those who replace Japan with Hong Kong or Singapore without distinguishing Japanese women from Chinese or Korean women really have no taste.

A more bearable alternative for a Russian passport would then be Seoul and South Korea. Without a visa with our foreign red book , you can stay there for up to two months without any problems. And this is perhaps a fairly decent period, and not only for tourism but also for immigration. However, it is worth considering that South Koreans are great workaholics. And the Russian person, who is lazy at times, will have to endure the South Korean working day if he immigrates through a job search on the spot.

But let's move away from the preludes and return to Japan.

Japan is one of the most difficult countries to get there. It will be more difficult to get only to the USA. However, if we talk about assimilation, then Japan will give the States a clear head start. Despite the fact that the Japanese language is completely non-tonal, unlike its neighbors - the Chinese dialects, nevertheless, visually any European will be very disoriented in Japan without knowing the language. Much stronger than in any Western countries. And only love for Japanese culture can save the madman.

If a person from Russia plans to arrive in Japan for short tourism, up to 3 days, then a transit visa can be issued. This visa has the least requirements and is issued somewhat easier than a tourist visa. This is the easiest way to get some Instagram photos, take a stroll around Tokyo and spend a couple of nights in a hotel. Just like in "Eagle and Tails" (a popular Russian program about travel, here is its channel). How to get a transit visa for a Russian to Japan is written in this article.


If you want to stay in the country for a long time

If you are planning to move a flight to Japan, then the easiest and perhaps the best way to do this is a student visa, or student visa. Apparently you don't know Japanese. Because if you knew, you would not read this text and would know more about this country than I do. It will be a little easier to obtain a student visa than a tourist one. And such a visa has a more impressive period - up to 2 years. Also, Japan is one of the few countries that allows you to work on a student visa. If you are embarking on a one-way trip to the land of the rising sun, then a student visa is the best option. In addition, if during your studies you find a job, then you simply re-issue a student visa for a work one.

The second advantage of a student visa is that it is issued bypassing the Japanese migration service. Which is like face control in one of the Moscow nightclubs, can keep you in the cold until midnight at the door for no reason, finding fault with documents, certificates and a thousand different formalities. However, getting a student visa is not as easy as it seems, and there are some subtleties. Read more about the stud-visa in this overview.

It is also worth mentioning that a student visa is not the cheapest way to emigrate for a Russian. Because the standard of living in Japan is completely different. A student visa will cost from 100,000 rubles (about $ 1,300), excluding accommodation. That is, this will be the very minimum at which you need to quickly find a job in the very first month if you have little money to emigrate to Japan. Please note that despite the varying rates of occupation, the money from this job may barely be enough to pay for further education and living due to the legislative restriction on working hours per week for students. Therefore, if there is no additional alternative income from the Internet, then you need to create it, or save money in advance. Since in Japan it will be possible to violate the restriction on working hours only by working there illegally, however, Japan is not the United States.

If a student visa is too expensive for you and you are looking for an even cheaper way, it is also the most difficult, then it is described about it - here.

For the remaining types of visas for the Russian, only more specific and narrowly focused options remain, which in practice are quite rare. Especially when you first visit the Japanese islands. However, I have grouped them into sub-items in the list below, with the corresponding information for each case and the corresponding visa.