I will be transferring between two international flights at Tokyo Narita airport. I'm scheduled to depart the same day I arrive. I am planning to stay within the airport during the layover. Does anyone know if I will require a transit visa at Narita?
82.5k 85 85 gold badges 384 384 silver badges 741 741 bronze badges asked Aug 18, 2012 at 10:23 Varun Vats Varun Vats 293 1 1 gold badge 2 2 silver badges 5 5 bronze badges Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 4:25No visa is required for transiting in Japanese airports if you have immediate flight connections regardless of nationality.
Anyway, there is a Japanese transit visa which is intended for people who have longer layovers before transiting and want to go sightseeing or resting in Japan for few days (up to 15 days).
79.5k 54 54 gold badges 275 275 silver badges 631 631 bronze badges answered Aug 18, 2012 at 11:10 Nean Der Thal Nean Der Thal 98.4k 38 38 gold badges 336 336 silver badges 436 436 bronze badges Apparently, if you have an overnight layover, you will need a transit visa. See SSS's comment below. Commented Dec 29, 2012 at 1:53@VarunVats The OP is not having an over night layover so I answered according to that. He is having an immediate connection flight and he does not need visa for that.
Commented Dec 29, 2012 at 3:32I am an Indian passport holder working in the US on H1B. I was supposed to fly LAX-Narita-KL-Bangalore on 23rd December 2012 with a 14 hour overnight layover in Narita.
I received a call from the airline 2 days before my scheduled departure, stating that new rules at Narita dictate that travelers absolutely need a transit visa for overnight layovers in Narita, even if the arriving and departing flights are from the same terminal.
Because of the short notice, there was no time to apply for a Japanese transit visa (the Japanese consulate takes 3 working days to issue one). I had to cancel my ticket and book a flight with Cathay, transiting thru' Hong Kong which has no transit visa requirements.
12.6k 15 15 gold badges 67 67 silver badges 110 110 bronze badges answered Dec 23, 2012 at 6:54 161 1 1 silver badge 2 2 bronze badges what is the definition of "overnight"? Commented Jul 24, 2013 at 2:55Narita is closed to flights between 11 PM and 6 AM. While officially 'closed' to passengers as well -- hence the overnight visa requirement -- in practice passengers are allowed to stay in the terminal though.
Commented Jul 11, 2014 at 1:12 "overnight" simply means not within the same calendar day. Commented Nov 17, 2023 at 12:08A stopover is typically a stay in one city of 24 hours or more. In your case, you actually have just a connection in Tokyo. Connections can even go across airports in the same metropolitan area, such as between London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
Very rarely are visas required for connections in the same airport, since you do not need to clear immigration and customs. One exception is in the USA, where all passengers must clear immigration and customs, so check with your travel agent or local Embassy/Consulate for more information.
From my experience, you will not need a visa for this connection, since you are probably flying Japan Airlines and American Airlines, which are located in the same terminal (T2) at Narita. (Even if you're on Air India, they fly into T2 as well.) You will be required to show your boarding pass for NRT-DFW and clear security upon arrival in Tokyo, but you will not clear immigration and customs.
As MeNoTalk mentioned, if you do have a stopover in Japan, you can get a Japanese Transit Visa.