I am a Nigerian citizen. I am traveling to Auckland in New Zealand via Tokyo Narita airport. I am arriving at Narita Airport via Etihad airlines on Wednesday 29th July at 4:20 pm and will be departing the next day via Air New Zealand at 3:30 pm. I am planning to stay at the airport and I do not have any luggage to check-in. Does anyone know if I will require a transit visa at Narita or if I can transit free? Does the one calendar day rule mean the same day you arrive or 24 hours from the time of arriving at Narita?
1 Answer
Transiting through Narita without passing immigration requires the flights to be on the same calendar day. The next day is not the same calendar day. Narita is not open 24 hours, which is why you cannot do this.
You will need to go to immigration, request a shore pass, and leave the airport. This is allowed if your connecting flight is within 72 hours.
Note that this does not cover coronavirus related travel restrictions. There is currently a long list of countries from which Japan will refuse entry if you have been to them within the previous 14 days. See IATA Travel Centre for the most current coronavirus travel information.