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VISA Q and A on FM COCOLO 76.5 MHz Amendment on Re-entry permits On Aired Data: May.2,2000 |
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Summary of the On Aired Program Today’s theme is about the amendment of the immigration law that occurred on February 18, 2000. It features the change in the “re-entry permit”. Article 26, number 3 of the immigration law was amended stating that the term of re-entry will be extended from “less than one year” to “less than three years”. Once a foreigner leaves Japan, the previous visa he/she holds because invalid so you must apply for a new visa. But for those who plan to come back to Japan after a short stay abroad, they are eligible in applying for a re-entry permit. This way, the applicant does not have to apply for a new visa each time they temporarily leave the country. Up until the amendment, you where only allowed the term of one year before the re-entry, but now you are legally allowed a 3-year term. There are two types of re-entry permits. One is the Single type where you are only allowed re-entry once, and the multiple type, where you are allowed to re-enter multiple times until the expiry. You are allowed to re-enter during the 3-year term, as long as you don’t overstay your visa period. This amendment occurred due to the increase of foreigners going in and out of Japan. Thanks to this amendment, the formalities necessary to re-enter Japan became easier, and simpler. At the same time, this decreases the necessary paper work for the Japanese immigration officers, since their number of officers is also decreasing. The handling fee for the multiple re-entry is probably 6,000yen, the same as it is before the amendment. Since Mr. Nakano has not handled any cases after the amendment, he is not sure though. So as soon as we get more information on the fee, we will let you know in this program. Last but not least, let us go through the necessary documents needed to apply for the re-entry permission: 1)Application for Re-entry Permit; 2 copies 2)Materials supporting the reason for travel (ex. Letter of Invitation, Order to take a business trip, signed contract with a travel agent, etc.) 3)In case of application for a multiple re-entry permission, materials supporting the necessity of multiple re-entry; 1 copy each Next, the tips to apply for permission are; 1)to apply at the local immigration office that is in charge of your district *if you decide to apply to a local immigration office that is not in charge of your district, they may not accept your documents, or it may take too much time, and you will not be permitted in time of your departure. 2)Expect that it may take time for the procedures *Basically, you will be permitted the day you turn in the application. But in some cases it will take 10 days or more after you submit your application. So always keep in mind to apply beforehand of your departure. 3)Take time to check again how long you are eligible to stay in Japan. *The re-entry permit is only allowed according to the term of your eligibility to stay in Japan. If you don’t have much time left to stay in Japan, you had better apply for your extension of stay first. Also, keep in mind the term of permit starts the day you are permitted, not the day of your first departure from Japan. |
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