The Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and the Japanese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City will start issuing single-entry e-visas to groups of Vietnamese tourists for short-term stays of up to 15 days starting in November.

Vietnamese citizens using services of companies designated to organize package tours to Japan will be entitled to the new policy. 

As per the policy, e-visas will be issued to Vietnamese passport holders residing in Vietnam who apply for short-visit visas with single entry for travel purposes with a maximum stay of 15 days.

On arriving at Japanese airports, such visa holders need to show a 'visa issuance notice' displayed on their mobile phones or other devices with an Internet connection. 

Japanese immigration agencies will not accept PDFs, screenshots, or printed copies of the notice.

Japan will not make e-visas available to independent tourists.

Traditional visas will still be issued as normal.

Vietnamese travel companies believe that the new policy will help increase the number of Vietnamese tourists to Japan, especially through the rest of the year.

The number of Vietnamese travelers to the Northeast Asian country has surged after the latter reopened its door to international tourists following the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Japan has imposed stricter requirements on visa applications. 

The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan reached 43,000 last month, up 12.2 percent over the same month in 2019, when COVID-19 had yet to hit the two countries and 39.3 percent year on year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

From January to September this year, 439,600 Vietnamese travelers visited Japan, rising 16.9 percent over the same period pre-pandemic.

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