Source: Zhejiang Online
Citizen Ms. Zhang and her friend were preparing to travel to Japan in early June. When applying for a single tourist visa to Japan through a travel agency online store, the two encountered different situations: they both did one thing, and the price difference was ten times; the situation was similar, but their friend was asked to provide more personal information; Ms. Zhang's visa was completed, but her friend's still had no news... They are both agents for tourist visas to Japan, why are the differences so big? What information do you need to submit for a single tourist visa to Japan? How much is the visa fee? Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News launches an investigation.
package with various conditions
reporter found that the online visa package with low online prices basically has additional conditions, including designated bank deposits, personal property under the name, full-time air tickets and hotel orders, etc. At the same time, the lower the price, the more additional conditions or the more detailed the requirements, such as the full English air ticket and hotel ticket issuance, and the number of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries with a single visa within two years.
Two monsters
The first monster: the price difference is huge
The cheapest one is twenty or thirty, and the expensive one is more than three hundred
Recently, a reporter from Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News conducted an experiment in an online store. It is also an agent to apply for a single tourist visa to Japan, but the price difference is as high as ten times. The lower-priced tier includes 38 yuan, 28 yuan, and 24.99 yuan; the slightly higher ones include 69 yuan, and 88 yuan; followed by 200 yuan and 300 yuan.
is at the price of 200 or 300 yuan. The reporter saw in the online store that the materials required by in-service personnel to apply for a single tourist visa to Japan include passports, photos, visa application form, ID card, household registration book, on-the-job certificate, and any asset information; while the information required by retirees, current students, and freelancers is different due to their identity and personal information, and the asset certificate is also available in any of the corresponding 4 to 5 items.
In a store with a price of less than 100 yuan, the reporter saw that in addition to the above information, there were other requirements. For example, the hotel payment form for the full flight ticket, two properties under their name (each unit is more than 100 square meters in the city), a bank freeze deposit form for 100,000 yuan per year, a business license (the legal representative is himself) + a tax payment certificate of an annual income of 100,000 yuan, and having been to two OECD countries with a single visa within two years. Some of the conditions are accurate to designated bank deposits, and the entire English air ticket and hotel ticket issuance.
When the reporter asked the customer service as a consumer why it was necessary to provide additional similar information, one customer service said, "Because the guarantee is required, the conditions must be met before the application can be handled"; several other customer service said, "If you want to apply for this package, you need to provide those information." Is it necessary to exchange additional information because of the low price? A customer service directly answered: "Yes." When the reporter asked whether the information provided more would be used for other purposes, the other party said "no".
The second monster: the information is different
No air ticket hotel reservations can also be "made"
In addition to the price difference of nearly ten times the high and low, the Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter also found during the inquiry that even if the price is around 300 yuan, the information required by different platforms is also significantly different. Take Taobao store as an example. The price of about 300 yuan is basically the passport, photo, visa application form, ID card, household registration book, in-service certificate, and asset information that chooses any of the four or five asset certificates.
On the official websites of Ctrip and Mafengwo, the reporter saw that the necessary information included the full-time air tickets (ship tickets) and hotel reservations. The reporter called the consultation number on the website, and the other party said that the air ticket and hotel reservation orders must be needed. If there is, you can choose a package of more than 200 yuan; if there is no, it will be several dozen yuan. If it is a package of more than 300 yuan, the other party can "make" one.
reporter asked if he did not actually buy air tickets and book a hotel, will it have any impact? The other party said that it doesn't matter, they can "do it". If tourists want to book air tickets and hotels in advance, it is OK to provide relevant information, but they will also face the loss caused by failure to pass the visa, and some air tickets and hotels cannot be refunded.
Regarding the reporter's question that the embassy's official website did not require air ticket hotel reservations, the customer service staff said that it is actually necessary, and the conditions given by the embassy are only a basic requirement. In order to increase the visa pass rate, the travel agencies that actually handle this business will formulate more detailed requirements.
Embassy instructions
About visa handling fee
Single visa 200 yuan
What is the visa fee for a single tourist visa to Japan? What information do you need to submit?
In terms of visa handling fees, the official website of the Japanese Embassy in China shows that a single visa is 200 yuan. Visiting Okinawa Prefecture or visiting any of the three northeastern prefectures ( Iwate Prefecture , Fukushima Prefecture , Miyagi Prefecture , Miyagi Prefecture ) will be exempted from visa fees; multiple visas are 400 yuan, staying overnight in Okinawa Prefecture or visiting any of the three northeastern prefectures (Iwate Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture) will be exempt from visa fees. At the same time, no visa fee will be charged when no visa is issued. In addition to visa fees, the embassy designated travel agencies charge visa agency fees (including round-trip air tickets and accommodation fees, etc.), and consult the embassy designated travel agencies for details.
reporter learned that Chongqing City, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province and Yunnan Province are the jurisdiction of the Japanese Consulate General in Chongqing. The reporter logged into the official website of the Japanese Consulate General in Chongqing. The "Other" column on the homepage of the visa application is displayed. It is recommended to purchase air tickets after obtaining the visa (except for transit visa). If the air ticket has been purchased but cannot be issued a visa or the visa review is still in progress, the consulate will not bear any responsibility.
Regarding the required information
No air ticket hotel reservation order
The reporter inquired about the information required for the application of tourist visa and detailed instructions on the official website of the Japanese Embassy in China. Among them, personal information is basically consistent with the above situation, and information that proves financial ability, including the gold card level of international credit card (including UnionPay card), information that can confirm the validity of the card, on-the-job certificate [including position, working period, wage amount (annual income), etc.], and information that can confirm the annual income [bank statement (the last six months), etc.], as well as information that can confirm the formation of assets (pension certificate, real estate certificate, stock delivery order, etc.).
In addition, among the precautions, the reporter saw that the tourist visa must be applied for through the travel agency designated by the Japanese Embassy in China. Especially for multiple travel visas, applicants must submit an application directly to the travel agency designated by the embassy. No agency applications in the form of travel agencies not designated by the embassy are allowed. At the same time, for tourist visas (excluding multiple visas for five years), the travel agency designated by the embassy must manage the entire journey of tourists, so the travel agency designated by the embassy must book the round-trip air tickets and accommodation hotels for tourists.
Industry insiders reveal
A air ticket hotel reservation orders, do you need it?
"In order to improve reliability, the travel agency will ask for air tickets and hotel certificates"
Then, the reporter interviewed two relevant industry insiders on the above issues. Both of them are qualified to apply for visas to Japan.
"Round trip air tickets and hotel reservations are indeed required." An industry insider in charge of visa processing in a travel agency said that although the embassy's official website did not clearly state that the above two items must be included in the application materials. In the actual operation process, all travel agencies designated by the embassy with visa qualifications will ask for these information, "These information will definitely increase the visa pass rate."
reporter learned that travel agencies with visa application qualifications pay more attention to the visa pass rate. If the applicant's materials are not credible or the information is not perfect, the visa pass rate will drop significantly, the embassy may withdraw the travel agency's qualifications for visa application. "So, in order to improve reliability, qualified travel agencies generally ask tourists for supporting supporting documents such as air tickets, hotels, itinerary orders, etc. to supplement them. The embassy also gives them due responsibilities while delegating the processing qualifications to travel agencies, so the actual procedures implemented by travel agencies will be different from the official website."
B low-price vicious circle, what is the pitfall?
" Merchants may make up for the difference by 'replacement of information'"
" The cost of applying for a visa is mainly the visa fees, guarantee fees and the travel agency's manual service fees collected by the embassy. The price on the official website of the embassy is equivalent to a starting price, and the additional costs vary depending on the service required by the sign-in applicant. "Related industry insiders said that there are two main routines for outrageously low prices like dozens of yuan: the first is also the most likely one - first attract the visa applicants with low prices, and then attach various difficult conditions - such as designated bank deposits, and the bank is not a common bank, and many cities may not have it yet, and then "force it back" to the normal price.
Another routine is to "break down the east wall and repair the west wall." "The official website of the embassy clearly stipulates that the visa fee is 200 yuan, and it will definitely be a loss below this price." Industry insiders said, "The merchants may make up for the loss of money by exchanging information and helping banks to get deposit rebates. In short, ‘the wool comes from the sheep’. "He also said that the merchants are all travel agencies behind them, and it is impossible for capital to subsidize and earn traffic, because e-commerce at this stage is no longer attracting new traffic, but basically converting retention rates.
What made him feel helpless is that, except for the list of the embassy's official website, even travel agencies with visa qualifications do not have the same proof documents as "business license", so the daily visa market is currently mixed. He suggested that everyone go to formal and qualified travel agencies to apply for visas, "After all, you get what you pay for."
Application of a tourist visa to Japan
This must have
Personal information and credit card, on-the-job certificate and other information to prove financial ability
This also requires
Industry insiders say that round-trip air tickets and hotel reservations are indeed required, "will increase the visa pass rate"
This cannot have
The Japanese Embassy in China: No agency application in the form of non-embassy-designated travel agencies will be allowed
