Dubai: Japan suspends e-visas; Residents’ travel plans on hold as visits ‘rejected’ – News

Photo: AFP file

Some UAE residents hoping to finally make their dreams of a holiday in Japan a reality face a challenge: obtaining a visa is fraught with difficulties.

Japan recently suspended its e-visa system, a service launched in 2023 to make the application process easier for UAE residents. While Emiratis can visit the country without a visa, many expats must obtain permission before leaving.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp channels.

Now, applicants for a visa to the popular East Asian destination must email the consulate in Dubai to arrange an appointment. However, travelers and agencies that Khaleej Times I spoke to said it was “nearly impossible” to get a place and several requests were “rejected.”

Dubai-based travel vlogger Rafeez Ahmed plans to visit Japan for two weeks in September — but instead of counting down to the big day, he was nervously completing his visa application on Wednesday. This would be his second attempt.

“I worked with the agency to get an appointment but they have been trying to get one for the last two weeks. They sent four letters to the consulate and all four were rejected or rejected,” Rafeez said. The times of Khaleeja.

“I have now spoken to another agency and they said they can give me a July 1 deadline,” said the Indian expatriate, keeping his fingers crossed.

New process after e-visa suspension

With e-visa, applicants only had to log in to the website, fulfill the requirements and pay the fees (Dh80 for most nationalities and Dh20 for Indians).

According to the director of the call center of the Japanese Consulate General in the emirate, the online visa issuance system has been suspended in Dubai since April 27.

To schedule an appointment, applicants must now email the consulate between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on weekdays. The mission has published a guide on its website (www.dubai.uae.emb-japan.go.jp/), specifying the details that must be included in the email.

If the visit is confirmed, the consulate will provide information about the meeting for the next day by 4:00 p.m. If the applicant does not receive a response, this means that the application has not been accepted and will need to send another application by e-mail the next day.

The consulate said in its guide that your application will not be processed if your travel date is “longer than 3 months or less than 2 weeks at the time of application.”

“We just got tired of trying”

Some travel agencies in Dubai have sent countless emails requesting visa appointments – but have never received a response.

Malou Prado, CEO of MPQ Travel and Tourism, said sending those emails didn’t work at all. “At first, we just sent appointment requests to the consulate, but we didn’t get any response. We just got tired of trying.”

A customer service representative from another agency, Akbar Travels UAE, said they used to help residents apply for visas to Japan. “But after the e-visa was suspended and because of the many rejections, we simply stopped offering this service.”

Even travel platform Musafir.com has faced the same challenges, according to Rashida Zahid, vice president of operations for the agency.

But they managed to process visas two days ago, Zahid said. It’s a touch-and-go game — some get a spot, others aren’t so lucky.

Rafeez also heard of travelers who managed to get an appointment, but “it was very rare.”