I’m on a world bicycle tour and would like to spend more than 3 months in Japan so looking into getting a specified activity (tourism) visa.
Everything I can find says I need to get a COE, but as I’m not really “sponsored” so to speak (like I’m not working somewhere or staying with family or whatever) I’m not entirely certain who I would even talk to about getting the COE?
To add to the confusion, this page on the embassy website talks about COE for designated activities and pretty much lists all of them *except* the tourism one.
https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/visa-coe.html#:~:text=Contact%20the%20Immigration%20Services%20Agency,the%20actual%20visa%20you%20receive.
I’d love to pick someone’s brain about how to go about doing this.
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This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**COE for tourist visa?**
I’m on a world bicycle tour and would like to spend more than 3 months in Japan so looking into getting a specified activity (tourism) visa.
Everything I can find says I need to get a COE, but as I’m not really “sponsored” so to speak (like I’m not working somewhere or staying with family or whatever) I’m not entirely certain who I would even talk to about getting the COE?
To add to the confusion, this page on the embassy website talks about COE for designated activities and pretty much lists all of them *except* the tourism one.
https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/visa-coe.html#:~:text=Contact%20the%20Immigration%20Services%20Agency,the%20actual%20visa%20you%20receive.
I’d love to pick someone’s brain about how to go about doing this.
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>looking into getting a specified activity (tourism) visa
That’s not a visa that exists.
Assuming you’re referring to the “Designated activities (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation)” visa…
The first hurdle is money: That visa requires you to show 30 million yen (~$200k USD) in the bank. If you’ve got that, great! Move on to the next hurdle. If you don’t, well… This visa isn’t going to happen.
Hurdle 2: For anything involving a CoE you (almost) always have to return to your home country in order to convert the CoE into a visa.
That said, it’s unclear if that particular visa actually needs a CoE. It *might* be possible to apply directly at your home consulate/embassy.
Honestly, if you’re applying for that particular visa you’re better off talking to an immigration attorney. If you can afford the visa you can afford the consult. There’s not a lot of information available about that particular visa, and we’ve never had anyone come through here who’s *verifiably* used it. Plenty of folks have claimed to use it, or claimed to know a guy, but they’re always suspiciously silent when pressed for details.
But frankly… Why? You’re allowed 180 days a year on a visa waiver. You appear to be American, so you unfortunately can’t renew the visa waiver in-country, but you could easily fly to Korea and back to reset the 90 day clock.
I believe there is a designated activities visa for 1 year if you can show a large amount of money (30 Million Yen).
Reach out to your nearest Japanese consulate/embassy.
Usually you’d only get a 90 day tourist visa waiver, but if you have a specific itinerary you should be able to get them to give you 180 days. The details will be important. They’ll want a lot more than just an estimated arrival and estimated departure.
Why would you need a COE? Can’t you just extend your tourist visa after 3 months for another 3 months? I did it a couple of years ago. Didn’t need to show an itinerary if I remember correctly. But had an address in Japan that I could use.