Act on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
出入国管理及び難民認定法第二条第五号ロの旅券を所持する外国人の上陸申請の特例に関する法律
An Act (法律) that lets visitors holding a passport issued by the authorities of a region, rather than of a government Japan recognises, land in Japan without a visa for a short stay such as tourism, where they belong to the class a Cabinet Order (政令) sets.
- Text in force since
- Promulgated
- Articles
- Not divided into articles
- Amendments on the way
- 1
What this law does
- A foreign national other than a crew member (乗員) who holds a passport issued by the competent authority of a region a Cabinet Order names under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act — Taiwan, or the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — and who wants to stay in Japan for a short time for tourism or a similar purpose needs no visa from a Japanese consular officer (日本国領事官等) to land, if they belong to the class a Cabinet Order under this Act sets. This sets aside the rule in Article 6(1) of that Act that a person landing must hold a passport with a visa.((1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 2(1)(v)(b), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Enforcement Order Art. 1(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 6(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Read the full overview
- The Cabinet Order under this Act (Cabinet Order No. 302 of 2005) sets that class as residents of Taiwan who hold such a passport issued by Taiwan's competent authority and intend to do in Japan the activities of the status Temporary Visitor (短期滞在) — sightseeing, recreation, sports, visiting relatives, tours, attending lectures or meetings, business liaison and the like during a short stay.((1), Order for Enforcement of the Act on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport Specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Appended Table 1) (the provisions it rests on)
- Only the visa is waived: the immigration inspector still examines the landing under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, including that the passport is valid, that the intended activity is genuine and is a Temporary Visitor's, and that none of the grounds that bar landing apply.((1), Order for Enforcement of the Act on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport Specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1)(i), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1)(ii), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1)(iv)) (the provisions it rests on)
- On a day a Cabinet Order sets, no later than 31 March 2029, the people this Act exempts from a visa are also treated as visa-exempt persons (査証免除対象者) for the landing condition in Article 7(1)(v) and for Article 7-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, as Act No. 32 of 2026 amends that Act.This is the rule from a day still to be set, 31 March 2029 at the latest.((2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Amendments
A Japanese law is changed by another law or order that rewrites it — an . This law has 1 amendment on the way — , but . Its latest amendments are below. This law's amendments page lists every amendment e-Gov records and, for those whose changes this site has read, shows them provision by provision, in Japanese and English.
By 31 March 2029
at the latest, in 2 years
Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Act on Special Provisions for Applications for Landing by Foreign Nationals Holding Passports Referred to in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
出入国管理及び難民認定法及び出入国管理及び難民認定法第二条第五号ロの旅券を所持する外国人の上陸申請の特例に関する法律の一部を改正する法律
On a day set by , no later than 31 March 2029. The exact day is not fixed yet.
2 amendments already in force
5 June 2026
The text on this site
Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Act on Special Provisions for Applications for Landing by Foreign Nationals Holding Passports Referred to in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
出入国管理及び難民認定法及び出入国管理及び難民認定法第二条第五号ロの旅券を所持する外国人の上陸申請の特例に関する法律の一部を改正する法律
1 December 2023
Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Special Act on the Immigration Control of, Inter Alia, Those Who Have Lost Japanese Nationality Pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan
出入国管理及び難民認定法及び日本国との平和条約に基づき日本の国籍を離脱した者等の出入国管理に関する特例法の一部を改正する法律
e-Gov's record of amendments also lists the day this law as first made came into force, 26 September 2005. That is not an amendment.
Who it applies to
It applies to
- Residents of Taiwan holding a passport issued by Taiwan's competent authority who come to Japan for a Temporary Visitor's short stay, as the Cabinet Order under this Act sets.((1), Order for Enforcement of the Act on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport Specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (1)) (the provisions it rests on)
It does not apply to
- Crew members of ships and aircraft (乗員).((1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 2(1)(ii)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it is enforced (3)
- The Act has no penalties and no procedure of its own: it only lifts the visa requirement, and landing is examined and decided by the immigration inspector as the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act provides.This is the rule until the change takes effect, 31 March 2029 at the latest.((1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The Act has no penalties and no procedure of its own: besides lifting the visa requirement, it treats these visitors as visa-exempt persons (査証免除対象者) for Article 7(1)(v) and Article 7-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act as Act No. 32 of 2026 amends it, and landing is examined and decided by the immigration inspector as that Act provides.This is the rule from a day still to be set, 31 March 2029 at the latest.((1), (2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Who among the holders of such passports is covered is for the Cabinet to set by Cabinet Order, not fixed in the Act itself.((1), Order for Enforcement of the Act on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport Specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Enacting Stmt. 1, Order for Enforcement of the Act on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport Specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (1)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it connects to other laws
Where the translation comes from
- 11
The Ministry of Justice's translation is shown only where the Japanese it translates matches the law in force today. Everywhere else the English is a machine translation, marked on the paragraph itself.
Only the Japanese is the law, and no lawyer has reviewed the machine translation.
Sources
Everything this page rests on
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)出入国管理及び難民認定法第二条第五号ロの旅券を所持する外国人の上陸申請の特例に関する法律 — the text in force from 2026-06-05Original
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)出入国管理及び難民認定法第二条第五号ロの旅券を所持する外国人の上陸申請の特例に関する法律 — revision historyOriginal
- Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of JusticeAct on Special Measures concerning the Application for Landing by Foreign National in Possession of Passport specified in Article 2, Item (v), (b) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act — Ministry of Justice translationOriginal
- Machine translation, not official
- Machine translation, corrected on review, not official
- Written for this site with AIEnglish titles of amending laws, written for this site
- Written for this site with AIDescriptions of each law, written for this site
- Worked out by this site from e-Gov's text