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Japan for Costa Rican passport holders: Visa-free

Your circumstances

Passport:
🇨🇷 Costa Rican
Lives in:
Not specified (general rule)
Going to:
🇯🇵 Japan
Purpose:
Holiday

Route summary

Visa-free

Visa-free entry to Japan for up to 90 days

Costa Rican passport holders are covered by Japan's reciprocal visa-exemption arrangements: up to 90 days (period of stay granted on landing).

Conditions

No conditions recorded for this route — check the official source.

About this route

Route type
Visa-free: no visa application needed.
Documents
Document list not published by the official source.
Fee
No visa fee (as published).
Processing
Processing time not published by the official source.

Next step

Steps not published by the official source — use the official link to start.

Official sourcemofa.go.jp ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Last checked 10 Oct 2026 against mofa.go.jp · Checked live on official MOFA page 2026-10-04

Documents

Document list not published by the official source.

Fees

Official government fee
No visa fee
Visa-centre / service fee (not a government fee)
None stated by the official source
Notes from the source
No visa needed (visa exemption).

Visa-centre, service or other third-party charges are never official government fees.

Processing and validity

Processing time
Not published by the official source
Validity
Not published by the official source
Maximum stay
Up to 90 days (period of stay granted on landing)

Requirements for all visitors to Japan

These apply on top of the visa rules above, whatever your passport, unless an item says otherwise.

  • Tax or feeInternational Tourist Tax JPY 3,000 per departure

    Applies to: everyone departing Japan (usually in ticket price; infants under 2 exempt). In force from 1 Jul 2026.

    Official source: mlit.go.jp · Last checked 25 Oct 2026

Quick answers

Do Costa Rican passport holders need a visa for Japan?

Visa-free entry to Japan for up to 90 days. Costa Rican passport holders are covered by Japan's reciprocal visa-exemption arrangements: up to 90 days (period of stay granted on landing). Source: https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/novisa.html

Business, work or just passing through?

The rules above are for a holiday: tourism and visiting family and friends. Business visits, paid work and transit are covered separately below.

Business visits to Japan

Not verified yet (not yet covered). We haven't verified the business rules for Costa Rican passport holders, and we don't publish rules we haven't checked against an official source. A rule that is awaiting verification or not yet covered is not a negative visa decision: it only means we haven't confirmed it on an official source yet. Until then, see mofa.go.jp.

Working in Japan

Main work visa routes for Japan

These are the main routes and what they require. Whether you qualify depends on your circumstances; the official page decides.

Working visa (e.g. Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Business Manager, Researcher, Medical, Nursing care)

For: Professionals with a job in one of Japan's working status categories

  • Certificate of Eligibility (COE) issued by a regional immigration authority (Immigration Services Agency) – usually obtained via the employer in Japan
  • Visa application at a Japanese embassy or consulate with passport, form and photo
Length
Period of stay 5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan – Working visa (mofa.go.jp).

What the source says

"(Professor, Artist, Religious activities, Journalist, Business manager, Legal/Accounting services, Medical services, Researcher, Instructor, Engineer/Specialist in humanities/International services, Nursing care)" … "5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 3 months" … "A Certificate of Eligibility, which is issued by a regional immigration authority under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, certifies that the foreign national conforms to the conditions for landing in Japan"

Specified Skilled Worker (i)

For: Workers aged over 18 in one of 16 specified industry fields (e.g. nursing care, construction, agriculture, food service, accommodation)

  • Over 18 years old
  • Pass the skill exam for the industry field
  • Pass JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 or higher (Technical Intern Training (ii) completers exempt)
  • Not more than 5 years already spent as SSW (i)
Length
Up to 5 years in total

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan – Procedures Required Before Working as a SSW (mofa.go.jp).

What the source says

"○over 18 years old ○Has passed a skill/Japanese language test (foreign nationals that have satisfactory completed Technical Intern Training (ii) are exempt) ○Has not stayed for more than 5 years as Specified Skilled Worker (i)" … "it is necessary to pass the "Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic)" or acquire the N4 certificate for the "Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)"" … "After April 2024, there are 16 industrial fields."

Highly Skilled Professional (points-based)

For: Researchers, specialists/engineers and business managers who score 70 points or more

  • At least 70 points in the official points table (education, experience, salary, age, etc.)
  • For specialised/technical and business management activities: annual remuneration of at least 3,000,000 yen

Source: Japanese Law Translation (Ministry of Justice) – Ministerial Order on Highly Skilled Professional criteria (japaneselawtranslation.go.jp).

What the source says

"scores 70 points or more when the points in the right-hand column of the same table are added up" … "is 3,000,000 yen or more"

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Overview: MOFA Japan – Work or long-term stay. Requirements, fees and thresholds change; confirm on the official page before applying.

Transit through Japan

Option 1
Visa-freeAirside transit (changing flights without entering)

Airside transit: no visa or exemption needed

If you stay airside and don't pass through passport control, you don't need a visa or visa exemption to transit Japan. If you will enter Japan during your transit you need visa-exempt status or a visa obtained in advance.

Conditions

  • Check with your airline whether your connection lets you stay airside; if you must clear immigration (e.g. to collect baggage or change terminals/airlines) the normal entry rules apply.
Government fee
Fee not officially published
Processing
Not verified yet
Validity
Not verified yet
Max stay
Not verified yet
Steps, documents & where to apply

How to apply

Steps not verified yet — follow the official source below.

Documents checklist

Document list not verified yet — check the official source.

✓ Checked on the live official page

Official wording

“Embassy of Japan in Australia – Transit Information (1 Jul 2026): 'If you will remain airside and not enter Japan (not pass through Immigration or passport control), you do not need a visa or exemption to transit.'”

Alert me if this route changes

Get an email when we update the guidance for Costa Rican passport holders going to Japan, after we've checked the change against the official source. Nothing else.

Tell me about changes to

We send a confirmation email first. Unconfirmed sign-ups are deleted after 7 days.

Before you go to Japan

Customs cash limits and the scams official travel advice warns about in Japan.

Cash you can bring in and take out

Bringing cash in
Declare cash (yen or foreign), cheques, securities etc. exceeding JPY 1 million on the "Declaration of carrying of means of payment" form.
Taking cash out
Same declaration when leaving Japan with more than JPY 1 million (JPY 100,000 if bound for North Korea).

Official source: customs.go.jp · Last checked 2 Nov 2026 · Details

Common tourist traps

  1. Street touts ("kyakuhiki")

    How it works: Touts approach you in English and lead you to a bar where drinks are spiked and huge sums are charged to your card.

    How to avoid it: Never follow street touts into bars or clubs.

  2. Spiking and card fraud

    How it works: Victims wake up with no memory and find hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds billed to their cards.

    How to avoid it: Do not accept drinks from strangers, carry only what you need and leave spare cards at your hotel.

  3. Bar-bill disputes

    How it works: Arguments with staff over excessive bills have ended with foreign visitors arrested.

    How to avoid it: Look at a priced menu before going in, track what you order and confirm the entry charge.

All 5 traps for Japan →

Emergency numbers in Japan

  • Ambulance & fire 119
  • Police 110

Other traps paraphrased from official travel advice: gov.uk · FCDO page updated 28 Aug 2026 · Last checked 2 Nov 2026.

Explore Japan

Planning more than the paperwork? Our Japan guide picks out places to visit, things to do and where to shop, with a source for every tip.

Places to visit:
Nara Park · Asakusa, Shibuya Crossing and Shinjuku
Things to do:
Free city views from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building · Walk the torii tunnel at Fushimi Inari Taisha · Free temples, shrines and parks
Shopping:
100-yen shops · Ginza department stores
Read the full Japan guide
Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo
Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo© Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Sensō-ji, Asakusa, Tokyo
Sensō-ji, Asakusa, Tokyo© Tak1701d · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto
Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto© Basile Morin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi
Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi© Midori · CC BY 3.0

Stay alert in Tokyo

Theft and scam hot-spots from official travel advice and Wikivoyage.

Costa Rican passport: of the 149 destinations with a rule verified from an official source, 86 visa-free, 14 visa on arrival, 32 eVisa or travel authorisation, 17 embassy visa.

Japan: rules verified from an official source for 197 of 198 passports. Japan guide and every passport →

Where else can Costa Rican passport holders travel? See every destination we cover →

Optional travel offers

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Plan your trip to Japan

Verify with the embassy before you book. Visa rules change without notice. We link every rule to its official source and last checked it on 10 Oct 2026, but the embassy, official e-visa portal and your airline have the final say. MyVisaPort is not a visa agent and is not affiliated with any government.