Due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the number of Ukrainian citizens that fled the country has now reached over 6 million people, we would like to inform you that Japan also began receiving Ukrainian refugees.

1. Current situation regarding receiving Ukrainian refugees

According to the data gathered until 2022 May 22nd, Japan has received 1,040 Ukrainian refugees. Part of the data shows whether they have any guarantor, and most of them have someone they know who lives in Japan, so they decided to evacuate to Japan.

Japan will aim to receive more refugees from Ukraine and continue to make sure there are enough places to accommodate and support the refugees while they are in Japan.

The procedures regarding entering Japan

Currently, Embassy of Japan in Ukraine is closed. Therefore, for Ukrainian refugees who wish to evacuate to Japan, they must firstly go to the countries near Ukraine, such as Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Hungary, and then apply for visa from the Embassy of Japan in those countries. For refugees who wish to evacuate to Japan, a 90-day short term visa can be issued.

Usually when applying for visa to enter Japan, information about the guarantor while staying in Japan is compulsory, however, exception has been made for Ukrainian refugees.

2. For refugees who wish to stay more than 90 days after entering Japan

After entering Japan, for refugees who wish to stay longer than the 90 days period, visa can be switched to “Designated activity” visa, which grant the person to seek employment and can stay in Japan for one year.

Regarding the designated activity visa
・When applying, guarantor is needed.
・Apart from sex industry, there are no restrictions on the type of occupation and working hours.
・Currently, whether visa can be renewed after one year has not been decided yet.

Because whether visa can be renewed after one year is undecided, for those who have received the refugees (including companies who wish to hire the refugees), it is advised to switch to another visa as soon as possible.
　
We can help refugees with the above situations who wish to change to another visa.

Regarding evacuation, the first step is to evacuate to other countries nearby, however, for those refugees who wish to come to Japan, and considering the life while in Japan, the most important part is to secure employment.

For companies who wish to support the refugees, please refer to the above and we hope the information can be useful.