When a foreigner who does not have Japanese nationality (including stateless persons) enters Japan, he/she must apply to the immigration inspector at the port of entry/departure to obtain authorisation for landing. In doing so, they must do it with a valid passport with, in principle, a visa obtained from a Japanese embassy abroad. When leaving the country, you must also obtain confirmation of your departure.
Immigration Control in Japan
CONTENTS
１．Immigration (landing) inspection procedures for foreign nationals
２．Certificate of Eligibility
３．Application for Permission
４．exception period
１．Immigration (landing) inspection procedures for foreign nationals
Immigration (landing) inspection
When an application for landing is made by a foreigner and the foreigner concerned (excluding special permanent residents) has fulfilled the obligation to provide personal identification information (fingerprints and photograph) under Section 6, paragraph 3, Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (herein after referred as Immigration Act), the immigration inspector examines whether the foreigner meets the following conditions for landing (Sectio 7, paragraph 1, Immigration Act). In cases where the foreigner is found to be in compliance, his/her status of residence and period of stay are determined and a seal of permission for landing is affixed to his/her passport.
Required conditons;
| ① | Possession of a valid passport |
| ② | Possession of a valid visa for the passport unless the visa is exempted |
| ③ | The activity applied for and intended to be carried out in Japan is – not false, and; – that it corresponds to one of the Status of Residence listed in the Annex to the Immigration Control Act, and; – that for some Status of Residence, it conforms to the landing permission criteria stipulated in the Landing Criteria Ministerial Ordinance. |
| ④ | The period of stay applied for conforms to the provisions of the Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice. |
| ⑤ | Not fall under any of the grounds for refusal of landin |
The provision of personal identification information (fingerprints and facial photograph) at the time of landing inspectation was made mandatory by 2006 amendment to the Immigration Act (effective 20 November 2007).
Filing of an Objection
If you are found not to comply with the conditions, you have the option of either accepting or appealing the decision. If you accept it, you will be ordered to leave Japan. If you wish to appeal, you must file an objection with the Minister of Justice within three (3) days from the receipt of the notice (Section 10(11) and 11(1), Immigration Act).
For those who do not provide personal identifying information, there is no procedure for a decision by the Minister of Justice, and the person will be ordered to leave Japan in an oral hearing (Section 10, paragraphs 7, 10, 11 and 11(1) Immigration Act).
２．Certificate of Eligibility
Approval for VISA
In principle, foreign nationals must obtain VISA from a Japanese embassy or other Japanese establishment overseas (overseas diplomatic mission) before coming to Japan.
Certificate of Eligibility
Except for VISA issued only at the Japanese embassy or consulate abroad, such as those for short-stay VISA,
- VISA application documents received at the diplomatic mission abroad need to be sent to Japan, and;
- Examined in Japan, and then;
- an opinion that the VISA can be issued is circulated.
As a visa cannot be issued until these steps have been taken, it usually takes a considerable number of days from the application to the VISA being issued.
Therefore, the Immigration Act was amended to establish the Certificate of Eligibility System with the aim of simplifying and speeding up immigration inspection procedures.
Under this system, when foreigners themselves or their representative apply for a Status of Residence other than Temporary Visitor or Permanent Resident in Japan in advance, it is examined in advance to see;
- whether they are eligible for the Status of Residence, and;
- whether they are found to conform to the landing permission criteria or not in cases where they intend to carry out certain activities, etc.
Then, in cases where the foreigners are found to be eligible for Status of Residence and conform to the criteria, a certificate to that effect is issued, and the foreigners can promptly receive VISA issuance and landing permission by presenting or submitting the certificate (Section 7-2, Immigration Act).
As all pre-screening procedures are carried out in Japan, the time required for sending documents, etc., is greatly reduced and procedures are carried out more quickly.
Note that when a Certificate of Eligibility is issued, VISA application is required even in visa-exempt countries.
You can check more detail here, the website of Immigration Services Agency of Japan.
３．Application for Permission
Application for Permission
When foreigners residing in Japan wishe to stay for a new purpose different from the original purpose of residence or to continue to stay beyond the period of stay originally granted, etc., they must apply for and obtain the prescribed permission under the Immigration Act.
Types of permission include like below:
| 1 | Permission to change status of residence | Minister of Justice※1 |
| 2 | Permission to extend period of stay | Minister of Justice※1 |
| 3 | Permission for permanent residence | Minister of Justice※1 |
| 4 | Permission to obtain status of residence | Minister of Justice※1 |
| 5 | Re-entry permission | Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency※2 |
| 6 | Permission to engage in activities other than permitted | Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency※2 |
※1 Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency delegated by the Minister of Justice or Director of a regional immigration services bureau delegated by Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency （Section 69-2, Paragraph 1, Immigration Act）
※2 Director of a regional immigration services bureau delegated by Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency（Section 69-2, Paragraph 2, Immigration Act）
1 Permission to change status of residence
If you wish to change the activity that is the purpose of your stay, you must apply for permission to change your status of residence before starting the new activity and obtain permission to change your status of residence to one that corresponds to the new activity (Section 20 of the Immigration Act).
2 Permission to extend period of stay
If you wish to continue staying after the expiration of your period of stay without changing your current status of residence, you must apply for permission to extend your period of stay and obtain permission to extend your period of stay by the expiration date (Section 21 of the Immigration Act).
3 permission for permanent residence
Applications for permission of permanent residence by foreign nationals residing in Japan under other statuses of residence, and applications for permission to acquire a status of residence on the grounds of birth or renunciation of Japanese nationality will be granted in cases where certain conditions are deemed to be met (Section 22, Immigration Act).
4 Permission to obtain status of residence
If those who were born in Japan or became foreign nationals by renouncing Japanese nationality, or foreigners who have lost their status as U.S. military personnel as stipulated in Section 1 of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, who are not required to have status of residence, intend to continue staying in Japan for more than 60 days from the date on which the relevant reason arose, they must apply for permission to acquire a status of residence within 30 days from the date on which the relevant reason arose and obtain a status of residence (Seciton 22-2,Immigration Act).
5 Re-entry Permission
When foreigners residing in Japan temporarily leave Japan and wish to re-enter Japan, they may enter and leave Japan with the status and period of stay they currently have, without having to apply for a visa or go through other procedures, by obtaining a re-entry permit in advance (Section 26, Immigration Act).
As of 9 July 2012, it is not necessary, in principle, to obtain re-entry permission in advance in the following cases (Section 26-2, Immigration Act, Section 23 of Special provisions of Immigration Act).
| Medium and Long tern Resident | In cases where you have a valid passport and residence card and re-enter Japan within one (1) year after leaving Japan |
| Special permanent resident | In cases where you have a valid passport and special permanent resident certificate and re-enter Japan within two (2) years after leaving Japan |
6 permission to engage in activities other than permitted
Foreigners who have been granted status of residence are required to obtain permission in advance to engage in activities other than those corresponding to their status of residence if they wish to engage in ‘activities of operating a business that involves income or receiving remuneration’ (work activities).
Permission is only granted if the activity is deemed to be carried out within the scope that does not interfere with the performance of the activity that is the original purpose of residence (Section 19(2) of Immigratiion Act).
As of 9 July 2012, those whose status of residence has been determined as ‘studying abroad’ at the time of landing examination (excluding those whose ‘three-month’ status of residence has been determined and those who entered the country with a re-entry permit) can apply for permission to engage in activities other than those permitted by the status of residence on the spot following landing examination.
４．exception period
If you apply for permission to change your status of residence or extend your period of stay, and if the application is not processed by the expiration date of your period of stay, you may be worried that you will be staying illegally.
In this case, you can continue to stay in Japan with your previous status of residence until two months have passed since the expiration date of your period of stay or until the time when it has been dealt with/decided, whichever comes first (Section 20(6) of Immigration Act).
You should note that you will not be able to stay in Japan if two months have passed since the expiration date of your period of stay without being dealt with/decided.
Please note that those who have been granted a period of stay of 30 days or less are not eligible for this special provision and there is no grace period.
This article is based on information available at the time of writing. Please make sure to check the latest legislation.
If you have any inquiry, please feel free to contact us.