In February this year it was announced that Qatari passport holders will be able to travel to Japan visa-free. Going by the recent update, work on the new policy has kicked off in full swing. The latest we hear is that governments of Qatar and Japan have agreed to introduce a mutual visa waiver program. The Department of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Japanese authorities have started the visa waiver procedures for holders of Qatari passports on April 2, 2023. Here are the recent visa rules for Qatari passport holders to travel to Japan.
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rules for qatari passport holders to travel to japan
1- The applicant must submit (by himself or his representative) his passport and the passport registration application form to any Japanese diplomatic mission, provided that the validity of the passport is more than six months.
2- The Japanese diplomatic mission will then return the passport with the visa waiver registration stamp. The applicant will receive his passport on the next working day following the date of application submission.
3. Qatari nationals must preregister at any Japanese embassy or consulate to obtain visa free entry; once registered, Qatari national will be able to enter Japan without a visa for thirty consecutive days for three years.
In addition, Qatari passport holders who plan to stay in Japan for more than 30 consecutive days or for business purposes need to obtain a pre-entry visa. Passport holders in the State of Qatar who have previously registered their passports must register any new passports they receive or any changes to the names of the passport holders.
Applicants who applied for passport registration and got rejected are advised to apply for a regular visa.
On another note, did you know that UAE passport has been ranked the most powerful in the world?
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UAE passport is now the most powerful in the world
The Emirati passport was ranked No. 35 in the 2022 index, but it has since risen to the top spot, thanks to its reputation worldwide, ability to enter 181 countries without a visa, and lack of income taxes.
The Nomad Passport Index evaluates five factors, each with a different score, as opposed to the Henley Passport Index, which ranked the UAE passport at 15 this year based solely on the number of places holders can access without a prior visa. Travel without a visa, taxation of citizens, perceptions around the world, openness to granting dual citizenship, and individual freedom are among them.
There are no other Middle Eastern passports among the top 20, with Ireland and Portugal tied for fourth and Luxembourg and Switzerland tied for second. Germany and Czech Republic came in sixth, while New Zealand secured the 8th position, followed by Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, all ranked in the 9th place.
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Based on data compiled from nearly 20 “unique” sources, Nomad Capitalist ranked the passports according to priorities it believes are significant to current and prospective residents of each country.
Each nation received a score based on at least five factors: visa-free travel (50%), citizen taxation (20%), perception (10%), dual citizenship (10%), and personal freedom (10%).
With visa-free travel to 178 countries, the UAE passport took 16th place in Henley & Partners’ passport index for 2023.
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