Visit Japan Web: Japan’s online arrival card, explained

Checked against official sources on 2 August 2026. Arrival procedures change — confirm on the Digital Agency, Immigration Services Agency and Japan Customs pages linked at the foot of this page before you fly.

If you have searched for a Japan arrival card, landing card, immigration form or customs declaration form, they all lead to the same place: Visit Japan Web. It is the government service that lets you complete Japan’s arrival paperwork online in advance, then scan one code on arrival instead of writing out forms on the plane.

What Visit Japan Web is

It is run by the Digital Agency of the Japanese government. In its own words it is a service that lets you perform “arrival procedures(immigration, customs)” and tax-free shopping registration online. It is not only for tourists: the Digital Agency notes it can also be used by “those returning to Japan”, so residents coming home use it too.

It works entirely in a web browser. There is no official app — a point worth remembering, because fake ones exist (see copycats and fake apps below).

“Arrival card”, “landing card”, “ED card” — what the form actually is

Travellers use a lot of different names for Japan’s immigration form. Officially there is one: the Immigration Services Agency calls it the 外国人入国記録 — the ED card — and states that it is required of every foreign national newly entering Japan. Visit Japan Web is simply the electronic way to submit it; the agency explicitly recommends doing so for smoother entry.

Who does not need the ED card. The Immigration Services Agency lists exceptions: people re-entering Japan (including special re-entry), those granted special landing permission, and people covered by the Japan–US Status of Forces Agreement, the UN forces agreement, or the Reciprocal Access Agreement. If that is you, see residents and re-entry permits below.

One QR code, not two — since 25 January 2024

This trips people up because older guides still describe two codes. The Digital Agency unified them: before the change, immigration clearance and the customs declaration “required the use of separate 2D codes”; after it, both procedures work from one unified code. The menu you look for in your account is now “Immigration clearance and Customs Declaration”.

Before you fly: the registration steps

The official guide breaks it into four steps.

Do this before you depart. Everything is typing on a phone or laptop — the point is that arrival becomes a scan.

At the airport

Step 4 is simply to display the code. Per the official guide, it is used at the immigration counter for immigration clearance, and at the electronic declaration terminal or inspection table for customs. Once you have finished the declaration at the terminal, you can go through the electronic declaration gate.

Japan Customs states that these Electronic Customs Declaration Gates (e-Gates) are available at seven international airports:

• New Chitose
• Narita
• Haneda
• Chubu Centrair
• Kansai
• Fukuoka
• Naha

Two practical requirements from Japan Customs: you need an IC passport for the e-Gate, and at the terminal a face photo is taken to check against the photo stored in the passport chip. You hold the IC passport and the 2D code over the terminal scanner and follow the on-screen guidance.

If you live in Japan: re-entry permits

This is the part most guides written for tourists miss. The official Visit Japan Web guide states that immigration clearance — the foreigner entry record — does not need to be registered by Japanese nationals or by those with a re-entry permit; only the customs declaration is needed. That matches the Immigration Services Agency’s own list of exceptions to the ED card.

In practice, if you hold a residence card and left Japan on special re-entry permission, you still register — but only the customs half.

Copycat sites and fake apps

Because “Visit Japan Web” is a heavily searched term, imitators exist, and the Digital Agency has issued two warnings worth knowing:

Paper forms still work

Registering online is a convenience, not a condition of entry. Japan Customs confirms that “the existing paper version of the Customs Declaration Form can still be used”, and that it can be printed on A4 in advance. If you skip Visit Japan Web, you fill in the paper immigration form and customs form as travellers always have.

What you cannot skip is the paperwork itself. Japan Customs requires all passengers entering Japan to submit a declaration of accompanied and unaccompanied articles, and the Immigration Services Agency requires the ED card from every foreign national newly entering. Online or on paper is your choice; submitting is not.

Tax-free shopping uses a different code

Visit Japan Web also issues a separate tax-free 2D code for duty-free shopping inside Japan. Two limits are worth knowing from the official guide: eligibility is restricted to foreign nationals whose status of residence is Temporary Visitor, Diplomat or Official, and creating the code requires scanning the landing permit stamp in your passport. The guide also states plainly that screenshots cannot be used for this code — show it live in the store.

That system is separate from both arrival procedures and import allowances. See tax-free shopping in Japan for how the in-store refund works, and duty-free allowances on arrival for what you may bring in.

What has changed recently

Note on travelling companions: the Digital Agency announced that the substitute entry function — entering procedures on another person’s behalf — was discontinued on 2 June 2025. The current official guide describes registering your own passport and your own schedule. If you are travelling with family, check the official site for how companions are handled before you rely on any older guide that describes filling in everyone from one account.

FAQ

General information, current as of 2 August 2026. This is not immigration advice. Procedures, airports and features change — always confirm on the official pages below before you travel.