Italy Consulate General — Local services in Osaka

This will be a detailed explanation, but I hope you find it useful for preparing your visa application.

In summary, I applied for a two-week Schengen visa (tourism) for a departure in August. My appointment was on July 2nd (Tuesday), and I received my passport back on July 12th (Friday) via mail.

Here are some important points you need to consider:

Preparing Documents

You can visit this website: https://consosaka.esteri.it/en/visti/ and download the document titled "Outline for Visa Application." Although it is not updated yet, here are some updates:

a) "Passport valid for at least 3 months after the planned return date and with at least 2 blank pages, and its copy" The guidelines don’t mention that you need two copies of your passport, but the embassy staff will ask for 2 COPIES of your passport. I only brought one copy, and the embassy staff kindly made another copy for me, but of course, after scolding me saying that I didn’t read the requirements carefully and wasted their time, smh.

b) "Application fee - NO CREDIT CARD (cash only in Yen)" The amount is not specified, but I paid EUR 90 (which was about Yen 15,100 at the time).

c) "Regular size ordinary envelope with Yen 575 postage attached" It is listed as Yen 575, but the cost has now increased to Yen 625 (an additional Yen 50).

d) Starting from July 1st, the application form was updated. If you can’t find the form online, it’s better to arrive early at the embassy on the day of your appointment so you have time to complete the form they provide there.

Making an Appointment at https://prenotami.esteri.it/

Create an account and make the booking. Some points to be noted:

a) In the list of countries, if you’re looking for Japan, it will not be listed. Instead, select "Giappone" (Japan in Italian).

b) You will be asked to upload two documents: "Documents proving foreign residence." Here, you can upload your residence card (front and back as a PDF), and you MUST upload your ITINERARY as well.

Bring Your Passbook

It’s a good idea to make transactions on the day of your appointment to show the most recent balance. In my case, I had not printed my transactions for a year, so there were gaps in my passbook. You can ask your bank to print it for you, and they will do it for free.

Helpful Review

I found the review by "S.Maria del_foreign" very helpful. You can check it out here: https://goo.gl/maps/5aCgFkncq551oR8k9?g_st=ac

I wish you good luck with your visa...

I applied here for the Schengen visa to visit Europe and applied here. If any official is reading this, if think you better change the two USELESS ladies in the office ( 1. the Japanese lady who is at the reception & 2. the Italian Lady who is said to be her supervisor). They are totally not meant to be there and not fit for the job. The lady at the reception, she is an arrogant and useless person who does not deserve the job. The lady at the reception does not have any interest/courtesy to provide any information to people who have even scheduled their interview. My purpose of the Application was to visit the Vatican, Rome and hence applied to this embassy. All required documents were prepared from my end in a very systematic manner. The lady at the reception just wanted to find out problems and accused me saying my flight tickets are cooked up. I showed them my account proof and immediately she accused me and said I cannot apply here. Even after showing the special invitation with seats reserved for the papal visit from the Vatican, they were not convinced. It's a pity to see these people treat Catholic pilgrims who have been dreaming to visit the Catholic country like terrorists. If anyone here is thinking / or have scheduled an interview at this place. Read this, listen to me and cancel your schedule. Apply at Tokyo Italian Embassy. This is a total waste of time and will make you lose all your money or would just get you frustrated and make you sick. In the end, I got my visa only because after my interview I send them a copy of a letter that I received from the Nuncio ( Ambassador of the Vatican in India ) which they could not reject. I wondered what would be the condition of the people who did not have any recommendation and therefore searched the place on google. Reading other reviews I thought I need to share my experience. I have reported this case to the concerned officials of their character. Hope this was helpful for people who have found...

Reviewing for tourist visa application. If you bring all the required documents, there’d be no problem at all.

Aside from bringing all your original documents AND the copy, don’t forget to print your bankbook at least one day before your appointment (note: you need to withdraw any amount of money before you print it so it has the date of last transaction printed). There are branches of major banks on the first floor of the building, so you’ll be fine.

If you live far away, you can buy a long brown envelope (封筒長3) and 570 yen worth of stamps, they will send your passport back using the envelope. The post office is also available on the first floor.

Bring cash AND small change, or they’d ask you to go to the first floor and get the exact amount of money, which will make your application considerably longer.

The whole application takes about 45 minutes give or take (after going back and forth to the first floor to buy the envelope and get an exact change) so people with an early appointment seem to be able to start their process on time (my appointment was 10:30 and I was called at 10:29), while the same can’t be said for people after me.

When you arrive to the Visa Waiting Room, you will see a phone which you can use to announce your arrival. Do so only after you sort all your documents.

No one was rude, and the whole experience was good. I hope more people who had a good experience here could also review, not only those who had a...