It is expected that from July 1st, 2020, Japan will introduce Tuberculosis screening for citizens applying for Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) or Japanese visas from the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Nepal and Myanmar. These individuals will need to provide a tuberculosis (TB) clearance certificate as part of their application process. Failure to provide this document will lead to the rejection of their CoE or Japanese visa application.
What has changed?
Until recently, Japan has not required any medical exams as part of their immigration application process. However, as part of their efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus, the country recently introduced Covid-19 testing for entrants. Now, pending formal confirmation from the Japan Immigration Services Agency (ISA), foreign nationals holding passports from Philippines, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Nepal and Myanmar will be required to obtain a TB clearance certificate as part of their CoE or Japanese Visa application process. The document will need to be obtained from a specially designated medical facility and submitted to either the ISA in Japan, or during the visa application process at a Japanese consular post.
Exemptions to the TB clearance certificate will be made for passport holders of the above-mentioned countries if their current place of residence is outside of their country of nationality.
For further information on country specific medical checks required for immigration applications, please contact the Sterling Lexicon immigration team.