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
Contents
  1. SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT
  2. RE-ENTRY PERMIT
  3. IMPORTANT NOTE
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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 Re-entry Permit while you are staying outisde Japan. You must apply for Re-entry Permit in advance of departure from Japan.

How to Process

You can receive this permit at the airport when you leave Japan – you don’t need to apply for it at the Immigration Office in advance of your departure.

You need to present your RESIDENCE CARD at the departure immigration counter and check the column on ED card for Special Re-entry Permit (Embarkation Card for Re-entrants / 再入国EDカード) indicating your intention of reentry into Japan within the period above.

It’s free of charge.

Those Who are NOT Eligible

Those who fall under one of the following items are NOT eligible for SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT;

  • those who is in the process of revocation of VISA STATUS.
  • those who are subject to being on hold of confirmation of departure.
  • those who have been issued a written order of detention.
  • those who are applying for Designated activities visa status as a refugee.
  • those who are recognized by the Minister of Justice that; they are at risk of committing acts that may harm the interests or public security of Japan or that they are deemed to have reasonable grounds to be subject to RE-ENTRY PERMIT.

If you fall under one of the above, you are required to apply for RE-ENTRY PERMIT instead of SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT.

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RE-ENTRY PERMIT

What Is It?

This permit is applied to cases you wish to stay outside Japan more than a year and reenter Japan until the following period whichever comes first;

  • the day 5 years passed from the date of departure from Japan.
  • the date of expiry stated on your current RESIDENCE CARD.

There are 2 types of RE-ENTRY PERMIT; Single and Multiple.

Single; to reenter Japan only once within the valid period of RE-ENTRY PERMIT (5 years or by the expiry date of your VISA STATUS).

Multiple; to repeat reentering and leaving Japan within the valid period of RE-ENTRY PERMIT (5 years or by the expiry date of your VISA STATUS).

How to Process

You need to apply for RE-ENTRY PERMIT at the Immigration Office within your residence area in advance of your departure. Generally, you can get the permit on the same day of application.

Immigration Tax

  • Single: 3,000 yen
  • Multiple: 6,000 yen

What to bring

  • Residence Card and Passport
  • Completed Application form (you can find and fill in the application form at the Immigration Office)
  • Money or Revenue Stamp for the Immigration Tax

For more details, jump to the webpage of the Immigration Office;

>> APPLICATION for RE-ENTRY PERMIT

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IMPORTANT NOTE

  • You cannot apply for SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT or RE-ENTRY PERMIT outside Japan. If you fail to obtain either one of the permit before your departure from Japan, you cannot reenter under your current visa status and your RESIDENCE CARD will be invalid.
  • You cannot extend the period of SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT or convert from SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT to RE-ENTRY PERMIT outside Japan once you departed from Japan.
  • In case you depart from Japan with a valid RE-ENTRY PERMIT (not SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT) and you have reasonable grounds, it is possible to extend it up to 6 years maximum (7 years in case of Special Permanent Resident) without going back to Japan by applying for Extension of Re-entry Permit at the Japan Embassy/Consulate-General in the country you are staying.
  • In any case, your SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT or RE-ENTRY PERMIT will be invalid after the expiry date of your current VISA STATUS. You must return to Japan in advance of the expiry date of your current VISA STATUS stated on your RESIDENCE CARD and extend the period of stay for your visa status if you would like to keep engaging in your current activity in Japan. Or, you should extend the period of stay of your VISA STATUS in advance before leaving Japan with SPECIAL RE-ENTRY PERMIT or RE-ENTRY PERMIT if the expiry date will soon come.