You are obliged to take care of visa-related APPLICATION and NOTIFICATION according to the Law (Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act) once you obtain RESIDENCE CARD and become a resident in Japan.
For example, you are required to process an application or notification when;
- you want to extend the period of stay of your current visa status to continue your activity >> EXTENSION of PERIOD of STAY
- you need to change your current visa status to a different one since you would like to change your activity >> CHANGE of VISA STATUS
- you would like to re-enter Japan under the same visa status after taking trip to other countries >> RE-ENTRY PERMIT
- you would like to apply for PERMANENT RESIDENT visa status >> PERMANENT VISA STATUS
- you are an employee – you quit current employment contract and you plan to enter into other contract with different company >> NOTIFICATION of AFFILIATED ORGANIZATION
- you lost your RESIDENCE CARD >> APPLICATION FOR REISSUANCE of RESIDENCE CARD DUE TO LOSS
- you obtain SPOUSE of JAPANESE visa status, but you have divorced from a Japanese spouse >> NOTIFICATION of RELATIONSHIP with SPOUSE (divorce/death), etc.
In this page, you can find what types of application / notification you have to be submitted to the Immigration Office.
INTRODUCTION WHAT IS VISA STATUS? LIST OF VISA STATUS COE Application (Application for CERTIFICATE of ELIGIBILITY) is a certificate that the Immigration Office acknowledges your eligibility for one particular visa status which you claimed by the application. It certifies you are eligible to stay in Japan under the visa status for specific period stated on the COE. In case you are outside Japan and plan to stay in Japan for the purpose which is not applicable to Temporary Visitor Visa, you have to apply for COE of a VISA STATUS appropriate for your intended activity. Basically, COE application must be done through a visa sponsor/proxy living or staying in Japan. INTRODUCTION In case you are beginner of the Japanese immigration system, it is efficient to check INTRODUCTION page to know about overview of VISA, VISA STATUS and VISA SPONSOR etc. before you learn about COE application. >> Jump to INTRODUCTION FIND VISA STATUS TO APPLY FOR THE COE VISA STATUS There are around 30 categories of VISA STATUS. It is categorized by the activity and purpose for stay in Japan and each VISA STATUS has the requirements. You need to certify your eligibility for the VISA STATUS by the documents, ...
INTRODUCTION WHAT IS VISA STATUS? LIST OF VISA STATUS In case you are staying in Japan under a specific VISA STATUS and have a RESIDENCE CARD already but you wish to change/switch your activity to which is not allowed under your current visa status, you must apply for CHANGE of VISA STATUS before you start engaging in the new activity. Your new VISA STATUS will not be active until your CHANGE of VISA STATUS Application is approved and you receive new RESIDENCE CARD. Before quitting your current activity, you should confirm whether there are a particular VISA STATUS for the activity and you and your situation can satisfy the requirements. EXAMPLE of SITUATION Here's some example of situations you need to apply for CHANGE of VISA STATUS; You are currently holding STUDENT visa status, but you want to look for a job without leaving Japan after graduation from the school/university or you want to find a employer who is willing to hire you in Japan. You are currently holding ENGINEER/HUMANITIES (Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services) visa status, but you are wishing to quit your current job in order to set up a company in Japan and start ...
INTRODUCTION WHAT IS VISA STATUS? LIST OF VISA STATUS If you have been staying in Japan with a RESIDENCE CARD, you are allowed to stay in Japan and engage in the activity based on the VISA STATUS until the date of expiry stated on your RESIDENCE CARD. In case you want to continue to stay in Japan to engage in the same activity allowed under VISA STATUS, you can extend the period of stay by applying EXTENSION of PERIOD of STAY (VISA RENEWAL) before the expiry date of your current visa status. If you fail to submit the application before your current visa status has been expired, your visa status will be invalid any more and your status will be considered as “illegally overstaying” in Japan. WHEN and WHERE TO APPLY When to Apply You may apply for EXTENSION of PERIOD of STAY from 3 months before the expiry date of your current visa status. Once you submit the application, you can keep staying in Japan under your current visa status until the EXCEPTION PERIOD ends. For details of EXCEPTION PERIOD >> EXCEPTION PERIOD The Immigration Office may accept your application earlier than that (earlier than 3 months before the ...
INTRODUCTION WHAT IS VISA STATUS? LIST OF VISA STATUS RESIDENCE CARD holders (* see EXCEPTION) can travel outside Japan and reenter Japan during the period of stay granted under the visa status.However, in order to reenter Japan while your visa status is still active, you must be sure to obtain a permit to reenter before you leave Japan and bring your Residence Card with you when you travel outside Japan. (* EXEPTION: Temporary Visitor and those who has 3 months or less of period of stay.) There are 2 types of permit depending on how long you are going to stay outside Japan; SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT RE-ENTRY PERMIT SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT What Is It? This permit is applied to cases you (a residence card holder) wish to reenter Japan until the following period whichever comes first; the day one year passed from the date of departure from Japan. the date of expiry stated on your current RESIDENCE CARD. In case you are planning to stay over a year outside Japan and re-enter Japan, you must apply for RE-ENTRY PERMIT at the Immigration Office within your resident area in advance of the departure. NOTE: You cannot convert Special Re-enter Permit to ...
INTRODUCTION WHAT IS VISA STATUS? LIST OF VISA STATUS PERMISSION to ENGAGE in OTHER ACTIVITY ("SHIKAKUGAI KATSUDOU KYOKA / 資格外活動許可" in Japanese) is a special permission to engage in other activity which is not allowed under your current VISA STATUS within the limits of the permission constantly. However, you should note that type of activity and period of work under this special permission is limited case by case. There are 2 types of permission according to the situation; INCLUSIVE permission and EXCLUSIVE permission. Based on your current VISA STATUS and situation, the immigration grants you either INCLUSIVE permission or EXCLUSIVE permission (or both in some rare case). Basically, work visa holders cannot obtain this permission in order to engage in a simple job (e.g. cashier, waiter/waitress and packing etc.). THOSE WHO NOT REQUIRED THIS PERMISSION Those who obtain the following VISA STATUS don't need this special permission since they are able to engage in working any types of job at any time; Permanent Resident Long-term Resident (Teiju-sha) Child or Spouse of Japanese Child or Spouse of Permanent Resident CASES NOT REQUIRED THIS PERMISSION Here's some examples the activity NOT required this permission; Your intended activity is allowed under current visa ...
There are no expiration of period of stay for PERMANENT RESIDENT and HSP2 visa status since these visa status are given with indefinite period of stay. You don't need to apply for EXTENSION of PERIOD of STAY (Visa Renewal) any more. However, Residence Card for Permanent Resident and HSP2 visa status (hereinafter referred to as "PR Residence Card") has its validity period. You need to renew the Residence Card in every 7 years. IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH VISA PROCEDURES IN JAPAN, JUMP TO INTRODUCTORY PAGES BELOW FIRST: INTRODUCTION WHAT IS VISA STATUS? LIST OF VISA STATUS PERSON SUBJECT to the APPLICATION Those who obtain a visa status with indefinite period of stay, such as PERMANENT RESIDENT status or HSP2 visa status. PERIOD of VALIDITY PR Residence Card is valid for certain period as listed below; Residence Card issued on/from November 1st, 2023 AgePermanent ResidentHSP216 or older 7 years from Date of Issue of the card Under 16 Until the day before 16th Birthday Residence Card issued on/by October 31st, 2023 AgePermanent ResidentHPS216 or older 7 years from Date of Issue of the card Under 16 Until 16th Birthday You can confirm the expiry date of PR Residence Card on your residence card. You need ...
There is a list of all the necessary application / notification on the website of the Immigration Office >> Procedures related to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
