Japan to issue visas to Iraqis through offices in Baghdad, Erbil

People with an Iraqi passport will soon be able to apply for a Japanese travel visa through the country’s embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil, Japan’s mission in Baghdad recently announced.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – People with an Iraqi passport will soon be able to apply for a Japanese travel visa through the country’s embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil, Japan’s mission in Baghdad recently announced.

“[T]he Embassy of Japan in Iraq and the Consular Office in Erbil will start issuing all categories of Japanese visas,” the statement released Sunday said. It added that the move came amid “numerous requests from Iraqi nationals who would like to visit Japan as tourists” and to commemorate 80 years of Iraqi-Japanese ties.

The statement noted that their offices in Erbil and Baghdad would directly accept applications should individuals be travelling for “diplomatic and official purposes,” invited by Tokyo or an independent Japanese institution, Japanese government awardees, or “those who need imminent humanitarian assistance.”

Such applicants previously had to seek to obtain a travel document through Japan’s missions in Jordan or Dubai. However, as the country’s Baghdad embassy noted in the statement, from Aug. 20, those offices would “no longer be accepting visa applications of Iraqi nationals unless they have proper resident visas for Jordan or the UAE.”

“The Embassy of Japan in Iraq and the Consular Office in Erbil will charge a “Visa Fee” once a visa is granted. In addition, said agencies will charge an “Application Fee”” for all applicants, the statement added. 

Editing by Nadia Riva