Japan · Visa guide
Japan · Visa guideJapan Family & Friends Visit Visa
A short-stay visa to visit relatives, friends or acquaintances living in Japan.
- ProcessingMinimum about 5 working days from submission at the Embassy of Japan
- Visa categoryFamily & Friends Visit Visa
- Your guideOne consultant
Reading is not the hard part. Knowing if YOUR bank statements and ties will pass is. Call us and tell us your travel month. We tell you honestly if your Japan file is ready.
Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM IST
Start here
Japan Family & Friends Visit Visa — overview
The Japan Family & Friends Visit Visa is a short-stay visa for visiting relatives, friends or acquaintances who live in Japan.
The application is built around the inviter in Japan: an invitation, documents establishing the relationship, and the inviter's residence documents. Applications are submitted through VFS Global in the New Delhi jurisdiction.
Lifeset Overseas coordinates the inviter's documents and your own into one consistent file.
Japan visa to visit relatives or acquaintances from India
A short-term visa to visit a relative, friend or acquaintance living in Japan is applied for through the VFS Japan Visa Application Centres and decided by the Japanese mission with jurisdiction over your state; Punjab applicants fall under the Embassy of Japan in New Delhi. Unlike a tourist visa, the file is built on two sides: yours in India and your inviter's in Japan.
Documents from the applicant
- Original passport valid for at least three months; a photograph with 80 per cent face coverage, 45 × 35 mm, white background; the completed application form.
- An original signed covering letter naming all accompanying persons and stating who pays the expenses.
- An original NOC or leave-approval letter from your employer; GST certificate if self-employed; professional registration for doctors and lawyers; property documents for landlords and agriculturists; a bonafide letter for students.
- Government-issued relationship proof or a family chart, and a day-to-day itinerary.
- Blocked flight tickets or cruise schedule to and from Japan.
- For employees: the latest three months' salary bank statements to the date of submission, three months' pay slips and income-tax return acknowledgements for the last two years.
Documents from the inviter in Japan
- An invitation letter and, where the inviter pays, a guarantee letter.
- The inviter's residence record (juminhyo), residence card and passport copies.
- The inviter's tax certificate, salary certificate and an employment certificate issued within the last three months; relatives who work should add a leave letter on their employer's letterhead.
Family or friends travelling together from the same region must submit their applications together.
Official sources
- Embassy of Japan in India — visa information: https://www.in.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/00_000035.html
- VFS Global — Japan Visa Application Centre, India: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/jpn
Checked against the Consulate General of Japan (Bengaluru) visiting relatives and acquaintances checklist held in our Knowledge Base on 30 September 2026. Fees and rules change; the official page always prevails.
7 items
Documents you need
Visa application form
One completed and signed Japan visa application form.
Photograph & passport
One 45mm x 35mm photo and a valid passport with A4 photocopies of the bio page.
Invitation from Japan
An invitation from the relative, friend or acquaintance in Japan, with the schedule of the visit.
Proof of relationship
Documents establishing your relationship to the inviter, where you are visiting relatives.
Inviter's documents
The inviter's residence documents in Japan and identity proof.
Itinerary & flight booking
A schedule of the visit and a confirmed round-trip flight reservation.
Proof of funds
Bank statements and income-tax returns — yours, or the inviter's where they cover costs.
5 steps
How the process works
Typical processing: Minimum about 5 working days from submission at the Embassy of Japan — indicative only.
Step 1
Free eligibility review
We confirm the visit-visa route and build a checklist for you and your inviter in Japan.
Step 2
Coordinate the inviter documents
The invitation, relationship proof and the inviter's residence documents are prepared and verified.
Step 3
Submit through VFS Global
The application is submitted at a VFS Global centre for the Embassy of Japan.
Step 4
Embassy assessment
The Embassy of Japan assesses the application.
Step 5
Decision & passport return
The decision is made and your passport is returned through VFS.
Transparent
Costs & fees
Item
Amount
Visa fee (Indian nationals)
Single or multiple entry.
INR 500
VFS service charge
Per application.
INR 800
Government and third-party fees change often — we confirm the exact current amounts for your case before you pay anything.
3 answers
Frequently asked questions
A relative, friend or acquaintance living in Japan can invite you, providing an invitation and their residence documents.
Through documents establishing your relationship to the inviter, where you are visiting relatives.
This is a short-stay visa, with the stay period decided by the Embassy based on the purpose of the visit.
Why it matters
Going it alone vs filing with us
On your own
- Guessing the document list — one missing or wrongly formatted paper triggers a refusal.
- Generic cover letters copied from the internet that officers recognise and flag.
- No read on peak rejection windows or what this visa post is strict about.
- Government and VFS fees are non-refundable — money lost if you are refused.
- A refusal stamp follows you and weakens every future visa application.
With Lifeset Overseas
- An honest case assessment before you spend a rupee on government fees.
- A file built to the embassy's exact checklist and in the exact order.
- Weak finances, ties or purpose identified and fixed before submission.
- Previously refused? We can rescue and rebuild the file.
- Every case handled by one consultant, end to end.
Refused before?
A refusal isn't the end
A refusal is not a permanent bar — but it only improves if the actual reason is found and answered, and nobody can tell you a second application will succeed. If a Japan visa has been refused, we:
- Read the actual refusal letter and pinpoint the real gaps.
- Advise whether to pull the officer's notes (CAIPS / GCMS) for the true reason.
- Identify which part was weak — funds, employment, purpose or ties.
- Tell you honestly whether to reapply now or strengthen the file first.
Visa refused? Our consultancy fee is refunded under the Refund Policy. Embassy and VFS fees are never ours to refund. Read the refund policy
Your next step
Start small. Go as far as you need.
Every price is all-in with GST included. Embassy and VFS fees are paid to them, at cost.
- / 01Free
Free readiness check
A few questions, a plain score. See where your Japan file is weak before you spend anything.
Open - / 02₹499
Visa File Readiness Report
A consultant reads your actual papers and writes down what is missing and what an officer will doubt.
Open - / 03Priced per fix
Fix one problem
Checklist, cover letter, financial proof, SOP or a slot — buy only the piece you need.
Open - / 04From ₹3,999
Full filing, done for you
Every form, every document, VFS booking and tracking until the decision — one consultant end to end.
Open
WhatsApp replies within about 60 minutes during office hours; otherwise a consultant calls you back within 24 hours.
Other Japan visas
Japan Tourist Visa
A short-stay visa for tourism, sightseeing and recreation in Japan — for a stay of up to 90 days.
Japan Business Visa
A short-stay visa for business meetings, conferences and short-term business activity in Japan.
Study Visa
Japan's process runs backwards from everywhere else: your school applies to immigration IN JAPAN for a Certificate of Eligibility, and only then do you convert it to a visa in India — usually within days. Choose the school right and the visa follows.
Japan Medical Stay Visa
A visa for travelling to Japan to receive medical treatment.
Start here · One message away
Japan visitor visa: get a straight answer before you pay the fee.
- Honest assessment
- Fixed all-in fees
- No handovers between staff
- Licensed in Patiala
Let’s discuss your case
Message us your travel month and who is paying. A consultant from our Punjab-licensed consultancy checks your ties and funds and tells you what to fix.