Japan visa from the UK: what British passport holders need

No. A holder of a full British citizen passport does not need a visa for a holiday or a business trip to Japan: you are given permission to stay for up to 90 days when you land, with nothing to apply for before you travel, and you can extend it to a total of 6 months once in Japan.

GOV.UK calls this a visa on arrival; the Embassy of Japan in the UK describes the same rule as the visa exemption agreement between Japan and the UK. In practice the result is identical: you board the plane with your passport, an immigration officer stamps your period of stay at the airport, and that stamp sets the date by which you must leave or apply for an extension.

This page covers what a British passport holder leaving from the UK needs to know before going to Japan: the stay allowed, the passport rule, what happens at the border, the visas for longer stays, Visit Japan Web, the pre-travel authorisation Japan has voted into law, and the customs and medicine rules. Every fact comes from GOV.UK, the Embassy of Japan in the UK and the Japanese authorities (Immigration Services Agency, Digital Agency), read on 29 October 2026. It is part of our entry requirements guide for British passport holders.

For a trip of up to 90 days, Japan asks a British citizen for a passport valid for the whole stay with one blank page, and nothing else in advance. The table sums up the rules that change with the length and purpose of your trip.

Up to 90 days on arrival, and up to 6 months in all if you obtain an extension in Japan. The 90 days are counted from the date stamped in your passport by the immigration officer, not from the date on your ticket.

The purposes allowed are those of a temporary visitor: tourism, business meetings and conferences without payment from a Japanese organiser, and short study. Paid work is not one of them. GOV.UK is plain about it: working in Japan without the correct visa is illegal, however informal or temporary the work.

Extending your stay beyond 90 days

The Embassy of Japan in the UK confirms that a British citizen can stay up to 6 months without a visa. To go past the first 90 days, you apply for an extension of your period of stay at a regional immigration bureau in Japan, before the original period ends. GOV.UK adds that your passport must be valid for the whole extension.

Since 1 October 2026, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan has charged 10,000 yen (about £48), paid in revenue stamps, for an extension granted for 3 months or less when you apply in person. Applications filed up to 30 September 2026 kept the former fee of 6,000 yen (about £29).

Leaving and coming back

If you plan to leave Japan and return within the same trip, for a few days in Korea for example, GOV.UK says to ask the immigration officers for a multiple-entry permission when you arrive.

Your passport must be valid for the length of your stay in Japan, with no extra margin required, and it needs one blank page for the stamp.

The Embassy of Japan in the UK nevertheless recommends a passport valid for longer than your planned stay: if it expires while you are in Japan, you would have to renew it there, and not every country's embassy in Japan offers that service. A passport reported lost or stolen, even one you have found again, will be refused at the border.

• ✕
  Other types of British passport: British overseas territories citizens, British Overseas citizens, British subjects and holders of a passport issued by a British overseas territory are not covered by the exemption, even if the passport says British citizen: they must obtain a visa before travel.
• ✕
  Convention travel documents: Holders must also apply for a visa before travel.
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  Passport reported lost or stolen: Entry is refused, according to GOV.UK.
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  Dual nationals: To come back to the UK, a British citizen needs a valid British passport or a certificate of entitlement.

The immigration officer decides whether you may land, and can ask for proof that you will leave Japan, what you plan to do and how you will pay for your stay. The Embassy of Japan in the UK strongly advises carrying a return or onward ticket and documents showing your plans and funds.

There is no fixed amount of money to show: the embassy states it does not decide on funds alone, and that the purpose and length of the trip count as much. A visa or an exemption never guarantees entry, since landing permission stays at the discretion of the Japanese immigration authorities.

• Return or onward ticket
  Printed or on your phone, with dates that fit inside 90 days.
• Where you are staying
  The address of your first hotel or host.
• Your plans
  An itinerary, a conference invitation or a letter from the people you visit.
• Your funds
  Evidence that you can pay for your stay, with no set minimum.

For anything other than a short visit, you need a visa issued before you leave the UK, applied for at the Embassy of Japan in London or the Consulate-General of Japan in Edinburgh, depending on where you live (each office lists the area it covers). Since 1 July 2026, a single-entry visa has cost £77 and a multiple-entry visa £154.

Working holiday

British citizens aged 18 to 30 at the time of application, living in the UK, can stay up to one year on a Working Holiday Visa and take work to fund their travels. Since 1 December 2024, the scheme can be used twice, in a row or on two separate trips, and 6,000 visas are issued per Japanese fiscal year.

You apply in person by appointment, with an outward and return ticket or the funds to buy one, enough money for the start of your stay, and the documents on the embassy checklist. Processing takes at least 5 working days, and the visa must be used within 12 months of issue. Bars, nightclubs and other premises covered by Japan's entertainment business law are off limits to working holiday participants.

Work, long-term study and family

Work, long-term study or joining a spouse in Japan needs the visa of that category, usually with a Certificate of Eligibility obtained in Japan by your employer, school or family. The embassy warns against entering as a tourist to look for work and changing status afterwards: you may be refused entry, and a change of status is not guaranteed.

Processing takes 5 working days in most cases once an application in person is accepted. Applications must be booked in advance on the embassy's appointment system.

No, it is recommended, not compulsory. Visit Japan Web is the Japanese government's online service for the immigration and customs procedures on arrival, run by the Digital Agency of Japan. You register your details and trip online before you fly, for use at the immigration and customs desks when you land.

Neither GOV.UK nor the Embassy of Japan in the UK lists it among the entry requirements for British passport holders, and the paper arrival forms are still accepted: it is a service that speeds up arrival, not a permission to travel. It also handles tax-free shopping. How to register and use it on arrival is explained step by step in our Visit Japan Web guide for UK travellers.

Yes, but not yet. On 29 May 2026 the Japanese Diet passed a law creating JESTA, an electronic travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, promulgated on 5 June 2026. Its provisions take effect on a date to be set by Cabinet Order, no later than 31 March 2029.

No start date has been published, and there is nothing to apply for today: GOV.UK still says a British citizen does not need to apply before travelling. Be wary of any website offering a JESTA now. The Embassy of Japan in the UK already warns against fraudulent sites, social media accounts and emails that try to take payments from visa applicants.

Japan has strict customs rules: you must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to duty, and meat products such as sausages, bacon and ham are illegal to bring in without permission from the Animal Quarantine Service, with a heavy fine and a possible prison sentence.

Medicines

Most everyday medicines can travel with you in small quantities, but two cases need permission from the Japanese authorities before you go. The Embassy of Japan in the UK sets them out as follows.

• ✕
  Narcotics, whatever the amount: Medicines such as codeine or morphine need permission from the Narcotics Control Department in Japan, even for one tablet.
• ✕
  More than one month's supply: For any other medicine, you need an import certificate (Yunyu Kakunin-sho) if you bring more than a one-month supply.

• ✓
  Up to one month's supply without permission: Mild painkillers such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin, salbutamol inhalers, statins, blood pressure tablets, antibiotics, vitamins, eye drops and contact lens solution.

Five checks cover the Japanese entry rules for a British passport holder: the passport type, its validity and pages, your return ticket, the length of your stay and any medicines in your bag.

1. Check your passport type
   The no-visa rule is for a full British citizen passport. Other British passports need a visa.
2. Check validity and pages
   Valid for the whole stay, with one blank page; a longer margin is safer.
3. Carry a return or onward ticket
   With proof of where you stay and what you plan to do.
4. Plan within 90 days
   Or plan the extension at a regional immigration bureau before day 90.
5. Check your medicines
   Codeine-based products and more than a month's supply need permission first.

Rules change: GOV.UK lets you sign up for email alerts on its Japan travel advice, the simplest way to hear about a change such as the start date of JESTA before you leave.

• Do British citizens need a visa for Japan?

  No. With a full British citizen passport you get permission to stay for up to 90 days on arrival, for tourism or business, with nothing to apply for in advance (GOV.UK and the Embassy of Japan in the UK, checked on 29 October 2026).

• How long can I stay in Japan on a British passport?

  Up to 90 days from the date stamped on arrival. You can apply for an extension at a regional immigration bureau in Japan before those 90 days end, up to 6 months in all.

• How much does it cost to extend a stay in Japan?

  10,000 yen (about £48) for an extension of 3 months or less applied for in person, the fee charged by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan since 1 October 2026.

• How many months must be left on my passport for Japan?

  No extra validity is required: your passport must be valid for the length of your stay and have one blank page. The Embassy of Japan in the UK recommends a passport valid for longer than your trip.

• Do I need a return ticket to enter Japan?

  It is not listed as a formal requirement, but the Embassy of Japan in the UK strongly advises carrying one, with proof of your plans and funds, as immigration officers may ask for it.

• Is Visit Japan Web compulsory?

  No. It is recommended, not compulsory: the Immigration Services Agency and Japan Customs encourage it, and the paper arrival forms are still accepted. GOV.UK and the Embassy of Japan in the UK do not list it among the entry requirements.

• Do I need JESTA to travel to Japan?

  Not today. Japan passed the law creating JESTA on 29 May 2026, and it starts on a date to be set by Cabinet Order, no later than 31 March 2029. No start date has been announced.

• Can I work in Japan without a visa?

  No. Paid work is illegal without the correct visa, however informal or temporary. British citizens aged 18 to 30 can apply for a Working Holiday Visa of up to one year before they travel.

• How much is a Japanese visa for a British citizen?

  Since 1 July 2026, the Embassy of Japan in the UK has charged £77 for a single-entry visa and £154 for a multiple-entry visa. A holiday of up to 90 days, or up to 6 months with an extension obtained in Japan, needs no visa at all.

• Can I take paracetamol or codeine to Japan?

  Paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin are fine up to a one-month supply. Codeine is treated as a narcotic and needs permission from the Narcotics Control Department in Japan before you travel, whatever the amount.