Arab News Japan

DUBAI: VFS Global, in association with the Embassy of Japan in the UAE and Consulate-General of Japan in Dubai, has opened Japan Visa Application Centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on 1 August 2024.

IMANISHI Jun, Consul General of Japan to Dubai and the Northern Emirates inaugurated the Visa Application Centre in Dubai.

VFS Global’s Japan Visa Application Centres will accept document submission for short-term and long-term visas to Japan, by prior appointment. Appointments will be available online.

Speaking at the inauguration, Imanishi said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce the opening of the VFS Global Japan Visa Application Centre here in Dubai. The Government of Japan has set a target to increase the number of foreign visitors to Japan to 60 million by 2030. In recent years, partly due to the depreciation of the yen, the number of visitors to Japan has continued to increase, with more than 3 million foreigners visiting Japan each month since March this year.

“The urgent task is to respond to the ever-increasing number of visa applications. The Consulate General of Japan in Dubai has therefore decided to partner with VFS Global. With the opening of the Japan Visa Application Centre, VFS Global and the Consulate General of Japan in Dubai will work closely together on visas to encourage more people to visit Japan.

“We hope that those wishing to travel to Japan will benefit from more convenient and faster visa services and that this centre will serve as a base for promoting people-to-people exchanges between Japan, the UAE and Dubai and further develop bilateral relations between our two countries.”

Monaz Bilimoria, Regional Head, VFS Global, said: “VFS Global shares a long-standing relationship with the Government of Japan since 2010 and we are excited to expand our partnership further. These centres will play a crucial role in effectively catering to the growing demand for travel to Japan, one of the most popular destinations in the world. We are confident that these visa application centres will enhance customer experience by making the visa application process even more smooth and seamless, thereby helping us better serve travellers better.”

Effective Sept. 1, travelers eligible for e-visas to Japan will be able to visit VFS Global Japan Visa Application Centers to apply for tourist e-visas to the destination.

The Middle East is a strong growth market for Japan, with the country witnessing a 15% growth since the pandemic, according to Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).

According to the consulate, it will no longer accept visa applications directly, online or physically, with the exception of diplomatic and official visa applications.

The standard processing period, assuming the application content is complete, is 8 working days from the time of application submission to VFS Global to the earliest issuance of the visa.

If the application is submitted with incomplete documents, the processing time will be extended.

The Consulate-General of Japan in Dubai said it will only accept visa applications from the following: Diplomatic passport holders, special/official passport holders, transfers of Japan visa, UAE passports without any reference of the nationality and humanitarian cases.