Do Austrian passport holders need a visa for Japan?

By Aarush Chopra · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated August 27, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

No, and Austria sits in a group of seven countries with a better deal than the usual ninety days. Under its bilateral arrangement Japan permits Austrian citizens to stay up to six months. The catch is that the second half is not given at the border: you are admitted for ninety days and must apply to a Regional Immigration Bureau inside Japan, before that period runs out, to get the rest.

Quick facts

Visa-free

Visa required: No, for a temporary visit
Stay on arrival: 90 days
Maximum stay: Up to 6 months, by extension
The other six countries: Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland, the UK
Extension applied for: At a Regional Immigration Bureau, before day 90
Extension fee: A 4,000 yen revenue stamp, bought separately
Purpose: Tourism, visiting family and business meetings. Not paid work

Entry requirements

An Austrian passport valid for the duration of your stay.
Proof of onward or return travel, and of funds for the visit.
A completed Visit Japan Web registration, which covers immigration and customs.
Nothing to apply for in advance. There is no visa, no fee and no form before you fly.
For a stay beyond 90 days, an extension application made inside Japan before the initial period expires.

How the six months actually works

Land and be admitted as a temporary visitor. The stamp will say 90 days. That is normal and not a mistake about your nationality.

If you want longer, apply to extend at the Regional Immigration Bureau covering the area where you are staying, before the 90 days expire. Leaving it until day 91 is not a late application, it is an overstay.

Pay the fee with a 4,000 yen revenue stamp. It is bought separately rather than at the counter, often at a convenience store and often in cash, which surprises people who arrive expecting to pay by card.

Treat the extension as a procedure with a decision at the end, not a formality. It is the Ministry of Justice granting an extension of your period of stay, and the bureau can ask what you will be doing.

Good to know

For once, you can borrow your German, Swiss and British friends’ advice, and that is the opposite of the usual rule. Almost every page we write about visa policy warns against taking a neighbour’s experience as your own, because the lists differ country by country. Here they genuinely do not. Japan’s arrangement covers exactly seven: Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. An Austrian, a German and a Swiss traveller are in the same position, which makes German-language forums unusually reliable on this specific question.
The six months is a ceiling you have to reach for, not a stay you are handed. This is the single most common misunderstanding of the arrangement and it is easy to see why: the country is described as having a six-month exemption, so people book five-month trips. What Japan’s foreign ministry actually says is that nationals wishing to stay more than ninety days must apply for an extension of the period of stay to the Ministry of Justice, through a Regional Immigration Bureau, before the permitted period expires. Plan the trip so that the extension window falls somewhere convenient rather than while you are on a remote island.
What "extension" means for you is not what it means for everyone else, and the gap is wide. For most nationalities Japan grants an extension of temporary visitor status only where there is a genuinely exceptional circumstance, described in official guidance as excusable from the standpoint of humanity or comparable. For the seven countries it is an ordinary procedure with an ordinary form. If you read advice saying tourist extensions in Japan are almost never granted, that advice is accurate and it is not about you.
The bureau you go to is decided by where you are staying, which is an awkward fit for a tourist. Applications go to the Regional Immigration Bureau with jurisdiction over your address in Japan, a system built around residents rather than visitors. In practice that means the office covering wherever you are actually based at the time, so a trip planned as a continuous loop around the country needs a deliberate pause somewhere with a bureau. Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya are straightforward; a village in Hokkaido on day 88 is not.

Frequently asked questions

Do Austrian citizens need a visa for Japan?

No. Austria has a visa exemption arrangement with Japan for temporary visits, and it is one of only seven that allow up to six months rather than the usual ninety days.

How long can Austrians stay in Japan?

You are admitted for 90 days on arrival. Up to six months is possible, but only if you apply to extend at a Regional Immigration Bureau inside Japan before the initial 90 days expire.

Which countries get six months in Japan?

Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Every other visa-exempt nationality gets 90 days.

Is the six-month stay automatic?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. The border stamp is 90 days. The rest exists only if you apply for an extension of your period of stay before that runs out.

What does the extension cost?

A 4,000 yen revenue stamp, bought separately rather than paid at the counter, commonly at a convenience store and often in cash.

Can I work in Japan on the visa exemption?

No. It covers tourism, visiting family and business meetings. Any paid activity needs an appropriate status of residence arranged beforehand.

Other passports for Japan

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 27 August 2026.

Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs — visa exemption arrangements: nationals of Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland and the United Kingdom may stay up to six months, and those wishing to stay more than 90 days must apply for an extension of period of stay to the Ministry of Justice through a Regional Immigration Bureau before the permitted period expires (mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/novisa.html). Read 2026-08-27.
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Visas and Status of Residence, section 2.10 — extension of period of stay for temporary visitor status is in principle granted only where there is a truly excusable circumstance from the standpoint of humanity or a comparable special circumstance, which is the general rule the seven-country arrangement sits outside (jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/section2/page10.html). Read 2026-08-27.
Extension applications are made to the Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over the applicant’s address in Japan, before the current period of stay expires, and the fee is paid by a 4,000 yen revenue stamp purchased separately. Read 2026-08-27.

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

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