PR - Successful Application!

[adamu]

Checked the law

The Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency may grant re-entry permission to a foreign national ... who is to depart from Japan with the intention of re-entering Japan prior to the date of expiration of their period of stay

Which would seem to exclude people who have already departed. Oh well, was worth a thought...

[Tkydon]

Checked the law

The Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency may grant re-entry permission to a foreign national ... who is to depart from Japan with the intention of re-entering Japan prior to the date of expiration of their period of stay

Which would seem to exclude people who have already departed. Oh well, was worth a thought...

https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/inc ... ermit.html

states,

"How can I extend Re-entry permit?

It is not possible to obtain a re-entry permit at an Embassy or Consulate-General after departure from Japan. However, if a foreign national who departs Japan after acquiring a re-entry permit and is unable to return to Japan due to unavoidable reason, such as illness, travel interruption, or continuation of studies, can apply, even after the period of validity of the re-entry permit expires, for an extension of the re-entry permit's period of validity at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate-General."


This does not apply to a Special Re-Entry Permit.

https://www.sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_ ... 01_08.html

States,

"Re-entry Permit Related Questions
Q What is a“Re-entry Permit”（再入国許可証）?
A A re-entry permit is a permit granted by an immigration office (the Ministry of Justice) before departure from Japan for foreign nationals living in Japan who wish to leave Japan temporarily and re-enter before the date of expiry of the period of stay. If you leave Japan without obtaining a re-entry permit, your status of residence and period of stay will cease at the time of departure, and you will be required to obtain a new visa at an Embassy/Consulate-General of Japan and undergo immigration inspection at a port of entry again as a new entrant. On the other hand, if you embark with a re-entry permit, you do not need to obtain a new visa before you re-enter Japan, and your original status of residence and period of stay is deemed to continue while you are abroad. There are two types of re-entry permits: single re-entry permit and multiple re-entry permit which can be used repeatedly up to the expiry date. You can apply for a re-entry permit at a regional immigration bureauhttps://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/files/000062250.gif.

Q What is the "Special Re-entry Permithttps://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/files/000062250.gif”（みなし再入国許可証）?
A Foreign nationals in possession of a valid passport and resident card who will be re-entering Japan within 1 year of their departure to continue their activities in Japan will, in principle, not be required to apply for a re-entry permit. (This is called a special re-entry permit.) When you leave Japan, be sure to present your residence card and tick the box on your embarkation card indicating for within one year in the intended period out of Japan column for the Special Re-entry Permit. Foreign nationals who have departed from Japan on a special re-entry permit will not be able to extend that permit while abroad. Please note that such foreign nationals will lose their resident status if they fail to re-enter Japan within 1 year of their departure or before their status expires.

Q I have a special re-entry permit（みなし再入国許可証） and it will expire soon, may I extend my special re-entry permit in your office?
A No, you must go back to Japan before your special re-entry permit or your status expires.

Q I have “Permanent Resident” status and am now staying in the U.S. with a re-entry permit. I cannot re-enter Japan by the expiry date of the re-entry permit. What should I do?
A We may extend the period of validity of your re-entry permit for a maximum of 1 year, and not exceeding 6 years from the issue date of your re-entry permit (7 years in the case of “Special Permanent Resident”), as long as you are judged to have a genuine reason why you are unable to re-enter Japan within the validity period of your re-entry permit. However, we cannot give you an extension beyond your original period of stay. Please note that if you wish to extend your re-entry permit, you should ensure that you apply within the period of validity of your original re-entry permit.
However, those persons leaving Japan on a "Special Re-entry Permit" cannot extend the period of validity outside Japan."

[adamu]

Checked the law

The Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency may grant re-entry permission to a foreign national ... who is to depart from Japan with the intention of re-entering Japan prior to the date of expiration of their period of stay

Which would seem to exclude people who have already departed. Oh well, was worth a thought...

links, and quotes from links

None of that addresses the issue I was hypothesising about, which is that it might be possible to get a new re-entry permit issued from inside Japan while outside Japan, by sending your passport to Japan and getting a proxy to do it for you.

However, the law clearly states that re-entry permits are issued to a foreign national "who is to depart from Japan" (in Japanese 出国しようとするとき), which seems to rule out issuing one to someone who has already departed.

[Tkydon]

Checked the law



Which would seem to exclude people who have already departed. Oh well, was worth a thought...

links, and quotes from links

None of that addresses the issue I was hypothesising about, which is that it might be possible to get a new re-entry permit issued from inside Japan while outside Japan, by sending your passport to Japan and getting a proxy to do it for you.

However, the law clearly states that re-entry permits are issued to a foreign national "who is to depart from Japan" (in Japanese 出国しようとするとき), which seems to rule out issuing one to someone who has already departed.

The back of the Departure Card, states,

"[Points to note]
1. If your scheduled departure period exceeds one year (or two years for special permanent residents), you will need to obtain a re-entry permit at a regional immigration bureau.
2. Departure procedures for a person with a multiple re-entry permit valid for one year or longer (two years or longer for special permanent residents) who will leave Japan with the intention of re-entering will be carried out based on the multiple re-entry permit.
3. When a person who has not obtained a re-entry permit will leave Japan with the intention re-entering satisfies the relevant legal requirements, the departure procedures will be carried out based on a special re-entry permit.
4. In the case mentioned in 3. above, if the person does not re-enter Japan while his/her special re-entry permit is valid, the person will lose his/her status of residence, etc..
5. A special re-entry permit may not be extended."

And the back of the associated Arrival Card, states,

"When departing with special re-entry permission, the permission is valid for one (1) year from the departure date or until expiry of the period of stay, whichever comes first.
(For special permanent residents, the permission is valid for two (2) years from the departure date.)"

If the person used the Special Re-Entry Permit, and did not use the Automated Gates, then the passport would be stamped with the 出国 Departed Stamp, and would not have an associated 上陸許可（再）Stamp. In any case, both the Serial Number of the Departure Card and the Zairyu Card to which the 1 Year Special Re-Entry Permit was tied would still be open in the database, not be recorded as closed, and on expiry would result in the automatic cancellation of the Juminhyo, Right to Remain, Visa, PR and Zairyu Card.
Therefore, the only way to close out the Departure Record is to return to Japan within the 1 year period of the Special Re-Entry Permit and present the Arrival Card portion of the Departure Card to Immigration on return to Japan.
It would be clear from the lack of stamp, and from the Open Departure Record in the Zairyu Database that the person was not in Japan at the time.

Even if it were possible to send the passport and Zairyu Card to Japan and have a proxy apply for a new Re-Entry Permit at Immigration, which I doubt, the expiry of the open 1 Year Special Re-Entry Permit would result in the automatic cancellation of the Juminhyo, Right to Remain, Visa, PR and Zairyu Card in the Zairyu Database, and therefore the new Re-Entry Permit as well...

[kuma]

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/Re-entry_per ... ry_permits

A wiki article on re-entry permits is now live; edits and improvements are encouraged.

[adamu]

[OwenM]

Just to follow up on this. for anyone doing an application with Shigaku Kyosai. I ended up submitting my pay sheets for the months of February trough July. I also attached an explanation from nenkin which explains that data is only shared once per year (in February) between the kyosai and nenkin. This seemed to be enough for them to approve my application. Not bad only took about 6 weeks in total to process my application.

[Roger Van Zant]

¥6000 is so cheap once every 5 years that you might as well get it. You never know if you'll need to make an emergency trip abroad, and not come back for a while. It's not likely, but it's much cheaper than anything you'd pay to insure against such an event.

Spot on. I will happily pay the 6000 yen for peace of mind.

[Teflon]

Spot on. I will happily pay the 6000 yen for peace of mind.

Same here!

Also, does having the re-entry permit obviate the need to fill out those annoying departure cards that they staple to the inside of your passport? Frankly, I fly enough that that alone would be worth the 6000 yen.

[Roger Van Zant]

Spot on. I will happily pay the 6000 yen for peace of mind.

Same here!

Also, does having the re-entry permit obviate the need to fill out those annoying departure cards that they staple to the inside of your passport? Frankly, I fly enough that that alone would be worth the 6000 yen.

Answered on page 6 of this thread by adamu.