India ranks 82 in the Henley Passport Index (2019) at the time of writing this blog. Certainly not a number to be proud of and it requires Indian passport holders to put in more efforts to get a visa. Nevertheless, if your next trip is to Japan then it is relatively easy to get a Japanese visa as a tourist. It takes around 3 working days to get your visa approved. However, if you are a freelancer such as some members of Tripixo, you might need to prepare a little more to get your visa approved. If you are a freelancer, which means that:
You are not a regular employee and you do not get salary slips.
You have clients who pay you directly.
You work from home and you have not registered as a business.
Here is the process that you need to follow if you are a Freelancer and want to visit Japan as a tourist. Once again, not for work, not to study, but as a genuine tourist.
Step 1 - Know the process
Japan Visa is handled by VFS in India. Find your consulate depending on the address of your passport or where you reside and submit your application through VFS. Never go through other travel agents no matter how genuine they sound. We have been through that and it was very very frustrating. If the consulate is far from your city, then travel to that city and submit your application yourself. VFS will allow you to track your passport online. At least you would know that your passport is safe. Visit the VFS website and get to know the overall process. Download links to forms and websites are provided along this read.
Step 2 - Making the reservations
There are three things that you need to take care of before applying for the visa.
Daily Schedule of Stay: Prepare your Japan Itinerary from the date of arrival till the date of arrival. A template for this can be downloaded from the official website of the Embassy of Japan.
Round Trip Confirm Flight Tickets: Book your tickets way in advance for a good deal. You need to book confirm tickets and not a dummy ticket. Our advice, book a refundable ticket with low cancellation charges. We at Tripixo got our round trip tickets for Rs. 35000 from Kolkata to Tokyo-Narita via Bangkok (Duration: 11 hours including layover | Thai Airways | Economy Class). It was an Airbus A380 and we got Upper Deck seats. It was amazing!
Confirm Hotel Bookings: Book your hotels as per the schedule of stay. You need to fill the hotel contact for each day in the schedule of stay. Make sure that your hotel bookings match with the Schedule day by day. Though you need to confirm hotel bookings, you do not need to pay anything. We recommend that you choose the "pay at hotel" option while booking. Our hotel reservations were done through booking.com. Once, our visa was approved we cancelled a few of those bookings and opted for better stays through Airbnb. It is advisable to book hotels which are at proximity to metro stations. Japan has an incredible transport network and more often than not you will take a metro ride.
Step 3 - Filling in the Application Form
The application form is easy to fill in and pretty straightforward. You do not need an agent to fill it up. Do it yourself. The only place where you might get stuck in the “current profession or occupation and position” section. Fill in this field as “Self Employed”. Write your name as the name of the Employer and fill in your home address as the employer’s address. Tip: Keep the state of this address the same as that on the passport. It creates less confusion as to which consulate to apply. Check out this sample application form.
Step 4 - The Cover letter
This is the most important piece of paper that might make or break the deal for you. There are no rules but we recommend it to be a one-page cover letter. Divide it into three sections:
The introduction: Introduce yourself and why you want to travel to Japan. Include the places you would like to visit.
Your situation: Write what you do, how much you make, the savings that you have, the places that you have visited before, since when are you doing this, etc. They need to know that you are a genuine traveller, making good money, paying your taxes, and that you will return to your place after the trip. Explain your nature of work, tell them that you work as a remote developer if you do and be honest.
Supporting Documents: Include a list of the supporting documents attached with the application along with a thank you note.
Here is a sample cover letter. A few details have been omitted from the letter to maintain privacy. Do not copy this. Just use it as inspiration.
Step 5 - Supporting documents
These are the documents that you will need:
Photos as per the specification: The Japanese website says the photo must be 45mm&45mm (2 inches & 2 inches). If you do the math, 2 inches = 50mm and not equal to 45mm. So, which dimension to choose? Well, it does not matter. A few Tripixo members submitted the 45mm photos, while a couple of them submitted the 2inches photos. Everyone got their Visas approved. No questions asked on that. You do not need to worry about the specifications. The VFS people will click it for you.
Client Contracts: If you have any contract with your clients, then provide a copy of that too.
Flight tickets
Hotel Reservations
Letter from clients: Get a letter from your client to endorse you. Stating that you have been working with them and that they do not have a problem with you travelling to Japan. This will help a lot. It's okay if you do not have this but is recommended.
IT Returns for the last 3 years: You are a freelancer and may be tempted to not file your taxes properly, but filing taxes is super important. Not having this will hurt your chances of getting a visa for other countries too.
Bank statements and certificates: Show all your savings, Fixed deposits, and investments. Get a signed and stamped statement from your bank. If you have an account with SBI or any government bank then download your statement, print it, and take it to your branch for them to sign and stamp. This will help you avoid their typical excuses such as “Printer not working“, ”Link is down”, “write an application”, etc. The question is how much money should your account have. A couple of lakhs is enough. Always, try to maintain a healthy savings balance of 6 digits INR in your savings bank account.
Daily Schedule of Stay: Fill the template accurately.
This may sound like a lot of documents but it doesn’t hurt to provide more and boost your chances of approval. After submitting your application, you may be asked for additional documents. Provide those as required. You may also receive a call from the consulate asking you a few questions. Answer them honestly. A few of us did receive a call from the consulate inquiring them about income and savings. In rare cases, they might call you for an interview.
Japan is an incredible country to visit and explore and with the betterment of diplomatic relations between our countries, it is now much easier to land a Japanese Visa. We hope that this will help you get your visa just like how everyone on our trip got. For any further questions or tips write to us at club@tripixo.in Ohh! and do tag us in your photos! #tripixo
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