How to Apply for a Visa

Please read this information carefully

There are two ways to apply for a visa, with or without a Certificate of Eligibility. Most visa categories, such as visas for work or long term stay, require you to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility prior to submitting your visa application. If you apply for a work or long term visa where it is possible to apply without having such a certificate, other supporting documents are necessary for us to process your application. Those seeking a Temporary visitor visa for Tourism or other such activities on the other hand will not use the Certificate of Eligibility.

Further Information:

Important: Please note that the applicant must be in Sweden at the time of application.

Visa Application with a Certificate of Eligibility

Submit the items listed below when you apply for a visa.

  1. Passport (in original with at least two blank visa pages).
  2. Visa Application Form PDF, filled in digitally but signed by hand. (Russian nationals and nationals of NIS (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) should submit 2 Visa Application Forms with photo.)
  3. Photo specifications:
    • Taken less than 6 months before the date of application.
    • Both color and black and white photos are accepted.
    • Approximately 35×45 mm.
    • Facing straight to the camera and with white background.
    • Well centered with room above and below the head.
    • Photo quality, without smears or markings and with no shadow over the face.
  4. Valid Certificate of Eligibility (original or printed copy).
  5. Copy of Swedish residence permit card (if applicable).

Visa Application with Supporting Documents

Submit the items listed below when you apply for a visa.

  1. Passport (in original with at least two blank visa pages).
  2. Visa Application Form PDF, filled in digitally but signed by hand. (Russian nationals and nationals of NIS (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) should submit 2 Visa Application Forms with photo.)
  3. Photo specifications:
    • Taken less than 6 months before the date of application.
    • Both color and black and white photos are accepted.
    • Approximately 35×45 mm.
    • Facing straight to the camera and with white background.
    • Well centered with room above and below the head.
    • Photo quality, without smears or markings and with no shadow over the face.
  4. Supporting documents*.
  5. Copy of Swedish residence permit card (if applicable).

* What supporting documents are needed differs depending on visa category etc. Generally all submitted supporting documents should be originals and will be kept by the embassy. Originals that belong to the visa applicant, such as a university graduation certificate, will be returned to the applicant upon completion of the visa process. For information on what documents are needed follow the link to Temporary Visitor Visas or Long Term Visas.

Submission of visa applications

The earliest you can apply is normally 3 months ahead of your planned arrival in Japan.

All visa applications should be sent to the Visa and Consular Section by post or delivered personally to the Embassy of Japan. Since the embassy cannot be held responsible if your application fails to reach us, we strongly advise you to send your application by registered mail (but do not register an e-mail address). You must send us your passport in original, otherwise your application will not be accepted. Do not staple any of the documents. Do not send old passports. Remove passport covers.

Your application should be sent to:

Embassy of Japan
Visa and Consular Section
Gärdesgatan 10
115 27 Stockholm

Processing Time:

The arrival day of your application is not included in the processing time.

The processing time can differ depending on your application, lack of sufficient documents or during some periods, especially February to March and July to September, when the number of visa applications increases significantly. It is strongly recommended that you submit your application well in advance of your planned departure to Japan.

The embassy will notify you per telephone once your visa has been granted. When you receive this notification, you can collect your passport and visa. Your passport with visa is to be collected in person at the embassy during the Visa and Consular Section's opening hours.

Some applicants need to pay a visa fee when collecting their visa. The embassy only accepts cash payment, and the only accepted currency is Swedish Krona (SEK). Please bring the exact amount specified to you by the embassy. Swedish citizens are exempt from this fee.