Do Saudi passport holders need a visa for Japan?
By Arun Singh · Destinations Writer, Tripmojo · Updated · Reviewed by Simran Raheja
Yes, but you can apply online, which most nationalities needing a Japanese visa cannot. Saudi Arabia is one of the places whose residents may use the JAPAN eVISA system. The important qualifications are that it is keyed to where you live rather than to your passport, and that it covers tourism only, so a business trip or a family visit still goes through the embassy or the consulate.
Quick facts
Visa required- Visa required
- Yes, for a tourist visit
- Apply online
- Yes, through the JAPAN eVISA system
- Eligibility follows
- Country of residence, not nationality
- Purposes covered
- Tourism only
- Entries
- Single entry, up to 90 days
- Arrival
- By air only
- Diplomatic and official passports
- Mutually visa-exempt since 2 January 2026
Entry requirements
- A Saudi passport valid for the stay.
- An approved visa. For a tourist trip that can be an eVISA obtained online; for anything else it is a visa from the embassy in Riyadh or the consulate-general in Jeddah.
- A flight booking, since the eVISA is honoured only on arrival by air.
- Accommodation and an itinerary, plus evidence of funds for the trip.
- For an eVISA, a device to display the digital issuance notice at check-in and at immigration. There is no sticker in the passport.
How Saudi residents apply for a Japanese visa
Decide the purpose first, because it decides the route. Tourism can go through the eVISA system. Visiting relatives or friends, a conference, business, study, work or transit cannot, and those all go to the embassy or consulate.
Apply on Japan’s own eVISA system rather than through a lookalike site. What you receive is a digital visa issuance notice shown on a phone, not a label in the passport, which is itself a useful way to tell the real service from a reseller.
Book a flight, not a ferry or a cruise arrival. The eVISA is valid only for arrival by air, and that condition catches people combining Japan with a cruise itinerary.
Allow for it being single entry and for tourism up to 90 days. A trip that leaves Japan and returns, or that runs longer, is a different application.
Good to know
- Most people who need a Japanese visa cannot apply online, and you can, which turns the usual advice on its head. Our pages for Georgian, Jamaican and Vincentian travellers all have to warn that the JAPAN eVISA exists but is not open to them, and that sites offering it anyway are the ones to avoid. Saudi Arabia is on the list. If you have read that Japan’s online visa is a mirage for most applicants, that is accurate and it is not about you.
- Eligibility follows where you live, not the passport you hold, and nowhere does that matter more than here. Japan’s wording is residents of the listed countries, of any nationality. In a country where a large share of the population holds another passport, that cuts both ways: a non-Saudi resident of Riyadh or Jeddah may use the same online route, while a Saudi national living somewhere not on the list may not. Check your residence against the list rather than your nationality, which is the opposite of how every other visa question works.
- Tourism only is a harder limit than it sounds, and the exclusions are where this goes wrong. The eVISA does not cover visiting relatives or friends, attending a conference, business of any kind, study, work or transit. A great deal of Saudi travel to Japan is business or family, and those applications belong at the embassy in Riyadh or the consulate-general in Jeddah. Applying online for a trip that is really a conference is not a shortcut, it is the wrong visa.
- Diplomatic and official passports moved onto a completely different footing at the start of this year. From 2 January 2026 Japan and Saudi Arabia operate a mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official or special passports on short stays. That is a separate instrument from everything above and it changes nothing for an ordinary passport, but it is recent enough that advice written last year does not mention it.
Frequently asked questions
Do Saudi citizens need a visa for Japan?
Yes, for tourism and for every other purpose on an ordinary passport. What is unusual is that a tourist visa can be applied for online through the JAPAN eVISA system.
Can I apply for a Japanese visa online from Saudi Arabia?
Yes, for tourism. Saudi Arabia is one of the places whose residents may use the JAPAN eVISA system, which most nationalities requiring a Japanese visa cannot.
Does the eVISA depend on my nationality or where I live?
Where you live. Japan opens it to residents of the listed countries of any nationality, so a non-Saudi resident in Saudi Arabia can use it and a Saudi living in a country not on the list cannot.
Can I use the eVISA to visit family or for business?
No. It is for tourism only. Visiting relatives or friends, conferences, business, study, work and transit all go through the embassy in Riyadh or the consulate-general in Jeddah.
Can I arrive by sea on an eVISA?
No. The eVISA is valid only for arrival by air, which matters if you are combining Japan with a cruise.
Is there any visa exemption between Japan and Saudi Arabia?
Only for diplomatic and official or special passports, mutually exempt for short stays since 2 January 2026. Ordinary passport holders still need a visa.
Related pages
- Do Georgian citizens need a visa for Japan?
- Do Jamaican citizens need a visa for Japan?
- Check visa requirements for any passport
Other passports for Japan
- Mauritius passport holders visiting Japan
- Finland passport holders visiting Japan
- Greece passport holders visiting Japan
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines passport holders visiting Japan
- Lebanon passport holders visiting Japan
- Iraq passport holders visiting Japan
- Austria passport holders visiting Japan
Other destinations for Saudi Arabia passport holders
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on .
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the JAPAN eVISA system: eligibility is extended to residents of listed countries of any nationality; the system covers short-term tourism only and cannot be used for visiting relatives or friends, conferences, business, study, work or transit; it is single entry for stays of up to 90 days, valid only on arrival by air, and the approval is a digital visa issuance notice rather than a passport label (mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/visaonline.html). Read 2026-08-27.
- Newland Chase, JAPAN eVISA extended: the system is residence-based rather than nationality-based, Saudi Arabia is among the listed countries of residence, and the eVISA is for short-term tourist visits only and only for arrival by aeroplane (newlandchase.com). Read 2026-08-27.
- Embassy of Japan in Saudi Arabia and Consulate-General of Japan in Jeddah — Saudi nationals require a visa for tourism; from 2 January 2026 Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implement a mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official or special passports on short-term stays (ksa.emb-japan.go.jp, jeddah.ksa.emb-japan.go.jp). 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.
