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JESTA, Japan’s electronic travel authorization, is now law; the start date is still to be set

Published 5 June 2026 · Last checked 24 October 2026

Entry

Act No. 32 of 2026 was promulgated on 5 June 2026. JESTA takes effect on a date set by cabinet order no later than 31 March 2029; no fee amount has been announced.

What happened

Act No. 32 of 2026 was passed by the Diet on 29 May 2026 and promulgated on 5 June 2026. It amends the Immigration Control Act to create JESTA, an electronic travel authorization, and to raise the statutory ceilings on residence permit fees.

Who it affects

• Visa-exempt foreign nationals who come for a short stay such as sightseeing. Authorization is needed for each new entry.
• By special act, a group designated by cabinet order, which currently means residents of Taiwan. Cruise-ship sightseers and some people transiting Japan are also covered.
• Exempt from the authorization requirement: registered Trusted Travelers, people invited by the head of a national agency, and others the ministerial ordinance treats alike.

Dates

The JESTA provisions take effect on a date to be set by cabinet order no later than 31 March 2029; the agency’s page gives only that outer limit and no start date. The act has three separate commencement clauses: the fee-ceiling amendments for residence permits (Article 67 and Supplementary Article 5) by a cabinet-order date no later than 31 March 2027, the main JESTA provisions by a date no later than 31 March 2029, and the preparatory provisions on authorization (Supplementary Article 2) by a date no later than 31 October 2028. The government’s comprehensive measures set a goal of putting JESTA into operation within fiscal year 2028.

How authorization works

• Once JESTA starts, authorization becomes a landing condition. A foreign national with neither authorization nor a visa is prohibited from entering.
• Under the new Article 7-2, a visa-exempt person who plans a short stay obtains authorization by providing, in electronic form, the items set by ministerial ordinance. They must show a valid passport, a genuine planned activity, a stay within the permitted period, and no landing-denial ground under Article 5(1). The application channel and processing time are not yet fixed.
• A traveller who could not obtain authorization may still land if the visa in the passport is valid.
• Travellers who will arrive on or after the start date may supply the information and be authorized before that date. Such an authorization counts as a regular one once the provisions take effect.
• Registered User Cards will no longer be issued, which the agency lists among the changes that take effect with the JESTA provisions.

Fee

The fee is a cabinet-order amount charged when a person submits information (cost-based) and, for visa-exempt travellers and cruise passengers, again when authorization is granted (cost plus the expense of fair immigration management). No amounts are in the law, and none has been announced.

What to check

Check the Immigration Services Agency’s page on the 2026 amendment for the start date and the application procedure once they are announced.

Sources

• ISA: The 2026 amendment to the Immigration Control Act ↗ moj.go.jp
• ISA: About the 2026 amending act ↗ moj.go.jp
• ISA: Outline of the amending act (JESTA) ↗ moj.go.jp
• ISA: Outline of the amending act (summary) ↗ moj.go.jp
• ISA: The amending act and its commencement ↗ moj.go.jp
• Cabinet Secretariat: Comprehensive Measures (summary, English) ↗ cas.go.jp

Last checked 24 October 2026

Related rules

Information only. Not legal advice and not an official service. Check the official source and consult the Immigration Services Agency or a licensed administrative scrivener (行政書士) before you decide.