ROSCon VISA support (JTB) experiences and difficulties

Joe_Dinius · 2022-09-16T17:41:39.039Z

Thanks much @smac for sharing the eVISA link. I got a serious case of glassy eyes after reading the unnecessarily verbose, and yet still unhelpful, email from JTB’s visa support “service” containing my generated documentation, including the ERFS completion certificate. It’s my understanding now that the fee assessed was to copy-paste user data to generate an ERFS entry from a template. Considering I had to fill out all of the information myself into an excel file first (after having to reach out directly to the visa_support email address because they didn’t send me anything for over a month after I registered initially), I find the expense incurred was certainly not worth it.

Just curious: did anyone go it alone and not use the JTB visa support service? Is/was this even possible?

rolker · 2022-09-16T18:11:20.413Z

Unfortunately, I don’t remeber exactly which documents I chose to send. I certainly sent the ERFS one. I probably sent the top 4 on your list?

smac · 2022-09-16T18:33:59.067Z

I decided to drop the last two myself. Seemed like the least important.

Details of Company, Organization
Written pledge

gbiggs · 2022-09-16T21:35:28.950Z

Joe_Dinius:

Just curious: did anyone go it alone and not use the JTB visa support service? Is/was this even possible?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. JTB is making an application to the Japanese government using the details you provide. This is the registration into the ERFS system, and it is not possible for someone outside of Japan to do.

vmayoral · 2022-09-17T08:43:49.584Z

An update from my side on this topic, might be especially useful for those of you in Spain:

After insisting (many) many times, over multiple days in a row with the public contact details (^[1] seems to be completely saturated and didn’t work for me, ^[2] however got me to reach out to someone after insisting repeatedly) of the embassy in Madrid, I managed to speak with them over the phone. They explained to me that they did receive my application but never answered due to the workload that they’re under. They also clarified that they’re not attending applications by order-of-arrival, which justifies why some are getting answered, and some don’t. They seemed to be doing the best they can.

After exposing my situation and insisting, they agreed to provide me with a next-day urgent date and I made a trip to their location in Madrid. The embassy seemed terribly saturated, with long queues of people waiting. I can confirm they are low on staff. Having made the application before, I delivered my passport and some extra documents required^[3] (face-to-face) during the morning and picked up my VISA in the afternoon and received some additional information to speed up quarantine procedures and reduce waiting times at the airport^[4].

A few tips for those trying it in Spain:

submit your application as stated in ^[1:1] immediately and then
(don’t wait for the e-mail response) use ^[2:1] (and/or ^[1:2], though never worked for me) and speak with someone over the phone to request a date
make the trip to Madrid (yes, this is terribly annoying, but seems to be the only effective way) and expect to spend a day there
before making the trip, make sure to follow additional information to speed up quarantine procedures and reduce waiting times at the airport ^[4:1]

Visado para estancias cortas por Negocios, Intercambios u otros | Embajada del Japón en España ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
EMBAJADA DE JAPÓN EN ESPAÑA | Embajada del Japón en España ↩︎ ↩︎
On top of the e-mail application they ask you to bring a) a recent photo for the VISAs, b) the application form printed and signed, c) your passport ↩︎
japan_fasttrack_quarantine.pdf (2.2 MB) ↩︎ ↩︎

130s · 2022-09-19T01:38:51.451Z

JonM:

Japan might drop all VISA restrictions for individual travel to the country in October. I wonder how this will affect the folks going to the con?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Japan-set-to-announce-restart-of-visa-free-tourist-travel

While that’s a good news, nothing seems to be set in stone as of today 9/18. And some sources read that whether you’d need visa or not after the visa requirement is lifted depends on your nationality. Since both the prospective visa lift and ROSCon 2022 will be in October, you must not count on the visa waiver IMO.

vmayoral · 2022-09-20T09:08:23.319Z

Another update coming from JTB’s IROS support service:

Starting from 7th September 2022, Japan NO longer requires a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test for boosted travelers who have had three vaccine shots. Please check more details about this at the IROS2022 Health and Safety page: Health and Safety – IROS 2022.

Due to a recent change in the Japanese government policy, installation of the COCOA (Covid close-contact tracing) application is not requested by the IROS2022 SC2 Committee anymore. For further details, please check: https://iros2022.org/2022/08/25/for-attention-of-iros2022-onsite-participants/.

KartikeyaWalia · 2022-09-20T19:28:25.785Z

Visa experience for people in UK

I am in UK and sharing my experience. I am attending both IROS and ROSCon. I opted for visa support for IROS and later ROSCon said if you have already opted then you do not need to opt again for ROSCon. I got the documents from the IROS JBT (I assumed that they would be the same team in JBT, but apparently its not the case). I received the documents from them over the email after filling out an initial excel form but that only specified attending IROS and also the invitation letter was just for IROS. I contacted both ROSCon organisers and JBT if they could provide me with an invitation letter for ROSCon as I provided them with the registration receipt for ROSCon.

ROSCon organisers replied that JBT will be the ones who should provide it. JBT said that they are only providing it for IROS (at least the contact I had for JBT). I was a little sceptic but, JBT people suggested that it shouldn’t be a problem as I would get the visa for a 90-day period so it should cover the ROSCon dates as well.

Here in the UK, I booked an appointment in August (currently it’s only possible to book 30 days in advance), So my appointment was on 2 September 2022 and I got the visa on 9 September 2022.

I am happy to advise anyone from my experience of the visit to the consulate in London if needed.

Footnote-
I couldn’t find any easy medium to interact with the on-site attendees of the ROSCon’22 or IROS2022 for the purposes of socialising, so I made one. Join and spread the word if you are attending on-site. PS: #unofficial #justforfun ( WhatsApp Group Invite )

destogl · 2022-09-20T19:42:05.641Z

Just short update for the Germany.

Since we didn’t get any answer from the embassy we have called multiple times and finally came through. The short answer: “They expect that visa will be dropped on the Oct. 1st and they don’t let us make appointment. If restrictions are not dropped, we have to be there from 7:45 AM and wait for an appointment”.

This could be fun. Nevertheless, I am sleeping with my lucky coin every night with the hope that restrictions we be dropped. So don’t have to go on camping to Munich to get visa…

adityakamath · 2022-09-21T08:20:11.164Z

To add to this list, here’s my experience from the Netherlands. It was much faster compared to some other countries.

23rd August: I sent the filled questionnaire to JTB
29th August: Received documents from JTB
5th September: submitted documents at the embassy in the Hague. No appointments needed, and a 3 person long line at the embassy. One of my documents was incorrect, was asked to email them the correct version.
6th September: emailed correct document to the embassy, received confirmation in an hour. Was asked to pick up my visa on the 12th.

Maybe for some of you, it could be easier/faster to travel to the Hague and apply from here, if you are allowed to do so. I’ve heard about people in Belgium having to wait a long time for an appointment at the Japanese Embassy in Brussels.

adityakamath · 2022-09-21T08:22:38.839Z

Thanks for making this group @KartikeyaWalia, joining now. I’m attending ROSCon alone, and for the first time, so this is very helpful.

gbiggs · 2022-09-22T14:39:54.454Z

Good news for all those still waiting for a visa! The Prime Minister of Japan has just said that restrictions on individual tourists and the need for a business visa will be removed from the 11th of October. However it is not yet known which countries will get the visa waiver programme; it might not be the same list as it was pre-pandemic. Check with your local Japanese embassy!

smac · 2022-09-26T19:19:10.478Z

Its not a primary source, but here’s “a” list of countries that will not need visas for ROSCon

Time Out Tokyo

These countries and regions are eligible for visa-free travel to Japan

Who's ready for October 11? Independent travellers from these 68 countries and regions can visit Japan without a visa

alexs · 2022-09-26T21:51:21.342Z

here is the official list of countries and visa requirements: VISA | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

BASHEER_ALTAWEEL · 2022-09-27T11:13:54.000Z

Japanese consulate in is asking me for the inviter company paper that shows it is registered in Japan .Also ,it asked for inviter resident card,or they won’t give me the Visa.
However, I contacted with **JTB ,**they are not going to provide me these documents .
Did you face such a problem like this?

Dima_Tisnek · 2022-09-27T11:47:58.549Z

The organiser can probably steal the visa workflow from some larger conference, e.g. like this: Entry to Japan｜ICMFS-2022

tfoote · 2022-09-27T16:40:00.719Z

Dima_Tisnek:

The organiser can probably steal the visa workflow from some larger conference, e.g. like this: Entry to Japan｜ICMFS-2022

This is a good summary of the Japanese visa application process. In that description steps 1, 2 and 3 are offered to ROSCon attendees as a service by JTB. This part is applying for and getting each applicant a personalized ERFS from the Japanese MOFA which is required for your visa application. Because this requires applying for and receiving the ERFS it takes at least 5 business days. Unfortunately the Japanese MOFA and JTB are both quite busy these days and there’s no ability to accelerate the process.

BASHEER_ALTAWEEL:

Japanese consulate in is asking me for the inviter company paper that shows it is registered in Japan .Also ,it asked for inviter resident card,or they won’t give me the Visa.
However, I contacted with **JTB ,**they are not going to provide me these documents .
Did you face such a problem like this?

The paperwork that JTB provides will include all of the required supporting documents necessary to apply for your visa, including documentation of the inviting organization, the letter of invitation, a letter of guarantee, and a written pledge, with your ERFS and schedule of travel. All of which are personalized for your visa application.

A request for the resident card sounds like you might be applying for a personal visit instead of a business visit. If you’re still having trouble please continue your thread with Kate.

Jitka_Hodna · 2022-09-29T10:42:58.486Z

I sent all requested information to JTB company for VISA and their reply is

Dear Dr. Jitka Hodna,

Thank you very much for your royal patronage.
This is the JTB VISA support desk of ROSCon2022.

Thank you for sending questionnaire and copy of passport.

Currently, the visa exemption measures for ordinary passport holders of 68 countries/regions are temporarily suspended, as border measures against novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Meanwhile, the abovementioned visa exemption measures will be resumed from 0:00 am (JST) on October 11, 2022.
Please see more detailed information on the following website.

https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/novisa.html

My country is in the list for non-visa requirement. Does it mean, that I do not to request any visa, right? So JTB company does not have to do anything to me.

alexs · 2022-09-30T10:39:38.994Z

hello, did anyone receive login to conference portal (either ROScon or IROS or both)?

there was no link in ROScon registration confirmation.

and for IROS i have a sponsor seat and so far I got only JTB email asking for visa assistance money but no links to conference portal.

vmayoral · 2022-09-30T11:17:49.219Z

alexs:

hello, did anyone receive login to conference portal (either ROScon or IROS or both)?

AFAIK, IROS’s portal (if you can call it that) is at https://amarys-jtb.jp/iros2022/. As for ROSCon, I don’t think there’s any portal available to anyone right now. Past ROSCon years had remote opportunities over Swapcard but I’m not sure if this trend is going to continue. We’ll need to wait and see.