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LITTLE PEACHES

Hello Cafe!

I have friends coming to visit and I want to prepare them for the paperwork they have to fill out. They are only coming for 9 days to visit. I know they have to fill out a form for a Tourist Visa. Does anyone know what information they need to list on there? I came in on one and I think I had to list an address. I don't really want them to use my apartment address because I'm afriad of it getting back to my landlord. I don't want to be charged more for having guests over. Is this a concern I should really have? Thanks for your guy's help, and sorry for the silly question.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Most people don't have to fill out any paperwork to come as a tourist. Most countries have no official "tourist visa". They only need to bring a passport. Where are your friends coming from?

Sounds like what you filled out as a tourist was a disembarkation card. Pretty standard info. Use a hotel for an address if you don't want them using your home address. (It won't get back to your landlord anyway.)

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Little Peaches, there is no way in the world that Japan Immigration is going to contact your landlord and ask him/her if there are extra foreigners at one of his apartments, unless perhaps your friends are wanted by Interpol. Thousands of foreign tourists arrive here every day- they just want you to write something in that space so it looks like you have a bit of a plan for the trip. Writing the whole address isn't usually necessary anyway. If it really bothers you, have them pick a hotel name out of Lonely Planet.

As Glenski says, people from developed countries don't need visas for Japan. That's just an arrival card they have to fill out- pretty much every country has one of those for visitors. It has nothing to do with visas. They will get a visitors permit of some kind- it's actually a visa waiver, not a visa.

iverin · Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 111 Location: Ontario

When I landed I couldn't remember my new address so I just wrote the city name and immigration was fine with that.

kimsmith · Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Brighton

Sometimes they are a little fussier. Once they insisted that I put a phone number for the friend's address I'd already filled in. I couldn't remember it exactly so they didn't get an accurate number...It's easier just to fill in a hotel address, and they don't seem to question those.

LITTLE PEACHES · Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:00 am Post subject:

my friends made it here safely and listed a hotel as the address, no problems!! thankks everyone!!!