Identity Crisis!

Some people just know how to plan nothing!

And I am apparently one of them. 

So here is a story about getting your new identity card as well as what to do when renewing a visa in Japan while simultaneously being outside of Japan when your visa expires. 

Let me preface this that two days before I took an amazing European backpackers tour, I realized that my visa would expire while I was gone. Actually, that is not entirely correct. Two weeks before is when I realized that, but when I went to immigration to inquire about it, the man thought I wanted a re-entry permit so I to tell him that no I had one of those, so then he asked when I got it and I told him last December. Well he told me that I would be fine since those permits last a year. No, in fact they do not. Not if your visa expires before the re-entry permit does. In that case, your permit expires the same times as your visa does. 

For example, in my situation, my visa for Japan was validated August 19th 2011 (the day I moved to Japan). I got my re-entry permit in December (sometime near Christmas). These things are good for a year or until your visa expires. So in my case, it was good until August 19th of 2012. I had a one year visa because I had a teaching contract that was for ...well actually it was for 7 months at the time, but since I renewed, it was extended, allowing me to extend my visa in turn. Regardless~! They give you a one year visa, and they don't really give you ones longer than that unless your contract expressly says that you will work for multiple years. I suppose they don't really want us gaijins running amuck in their country. Understandably so!

Ok moving on now that you have the background information! So then looking at my passport days before departure, I realize that the immigration person must have been wrong (he never saw my passport or I am sure he wouldn't have told me such)! My re-entry permit expired when I was away. So THE DAY, that I left Japan, I went to immigration again to try to get a new visa or at least to do what must be done to enable myself to re-enter the country on an expired visa. 

So here is what happened, I went there first with a few documents and explained my situation. I had to use baby words, because despite what you might think, the Kyoto immigration officers speak English at a very minimal amount. I think my students are more knowledgeable...Well after discussing it and looking online and then in the end, calling my company and seeing what I had to do, I figured out I needed, 

• passport
• alien registration card
• tax slip (OR your the last 3 pay stubs you received - it should show that you are paying tax on them)
• a signed version of the contract with your company 
• visa application form
• 
  

Keep in mind that I am renewing for the first time. I heard that it is a bit different the second time, with residency taxes and all...

So I raced home and frantically searched for all of these things. Bare in mind, I had just moved out of Leopalace, so my new abode was looked like the unloading of a wharf in a port city in the 1800's.

Documents in hand, I biked back to the Kyoto immigration office (also note, there is a center in Osaka but that is hella far away from me, but they do speak more English there, I know because I got my re-entry permit there, but this would also not be at all feasible if I were going back and forth between my home and the Osaka office). I got everything turned in no problem. 

What they did was stamp my passport with a sign that said application in process and gave me a slip of paper that looks like a regular arrival card that you see on airplanes except it said for special re-entry permission and also read departure card instead of arrival. Later that same day, when I was going through immigration at the airport, they ripped the card n half, stapled it to my passport, and stamped it returning the passport to me and allowing me to re-enter the country upon my return. 

pretty much just like the one here. And on the back smaller featured part
 is where they put their little special stamp.

So what happened when I got back?

Well at immigration when I got back, I got lead to the side room by an official, where they proceeded to stamp my passport as per usual, or at least something of a similar nature (They had me sit on a sofa while they did big boy job stuff, so I did not really see what they did). They ripped out the little stamped departure slip and sent me on my way. The whole process perhaps took all of 2 minutes. 

When I got back to Kyoto to my storage unit apartment, both in size and current nature, I went to immigration to get my new visa. I thought that they were supposed to send me something in the mail, but I also thought that about getting my ARC card the first time and lets face it, THAT never happened. Well this time there could have been a different reason about not receiving any mail, so if they mailed me of not, I could not tell you (new addresses and having to confirm that yes, you are living there and all, I missed that while being abroad and they only keep the mail for so long before they send it back). Apparently they were not able to tell me whether they mailed me or not either when I asked them...

Regardless, I got my new visa, which turns out is not a visa at all. It is a new alien registration card. This card is supposedly very similar to the Japanese version and will act as a visa and allow a gaijin for multiple re-entries. It also is supposed to make contractual agreements (as in for cell phones and apartments) much easier to acquire. I would not know that. Not yet at least. Also it is supposed to allow for a longer term between renewals (3 years or something)...well mine only lasts for a year, so, so much for thinking that. But it makes me wonder how the renewal process for this will go, since no one has had to renew theirs yet, as they have implemented this ID card as of July, they might change the renewal requirements for gaijins as well...
In addition to my lovely new card, an extra special stamp for me was my cancellation stamp. They stamped my passport atop my original multiple re-entry stamp, which was expired, and added a mark of their own reading CANCELED. A bit over the top considering it was already expired, but on the other hand I like getting my passport stamped. 

Other things they told me about the new identity card was that they were supposed to mail it to me (that is what my company said...really...-___-). "You don't have to worry about it, they will just grandfather you into the clause." That is actually what someone else's company told them. They do not need to renew their visa but were asking about re-entry permits and their company pretty much told them, that they did not need a permit because the new ARC said you don't need one. And if you don't have the new card, well since you got your other one so recently, it should count anyways. I don't think you need me to comment on this logic.

Or that you just do not have to get one, which is true, you don't have to get one right away at least. But getting a new ID card is actually cheaper than buying a multiple re-entry permit. 

A re-entry permit costs 6,000 yen whereas a new ARC card and everything will run 4,000 yen, plus whatever you pay to get your photos, for me it was 700 yen at a machine just outside the building. So if you are looking to go out of the country on your old visa, it might be worth your while to hassle your company to provide you with the necessary documents to upgrade your ID card.

Japanese Certificate of Eligibility

Certificate of Eligibility, or COE is something that essentially allows you to get a visa for a longer stay in Japan. Typically, if you are a tourist, the stay is only 90 days. This is stamped in your passport upon arrival at the immigration counter. With this document all things are ensured to go smoothly.
The certificate of eligibility permits one an extended stay. Since I work for Interac, who applied for my certificate in lieu of myself, my 'extended stay' is only for one year. However, there is no problem getting extensions of your visa once you are here. I have heard those that work for JET might have a 5 year visa and I might assume any foreign national who is attending school in Japan might have an extended visa as well.

What you need for your COE:

• application form for the Certificate of Eligibility
• 2 passport sized photos
• a sponsor or organization who has agreed to hire you and sponsor your visa application
  (there is paperwork that they must submit as well that details your position, such as your Certificate of Emplyment)
• an addressed return envelope
• a copy of your passport 
• your diploma or official transcripts
• possibly letters of recommendation?
• possibly a criminal background check?
  (for US residents, a statewide background check is sufficient, though I believe it must be fingerprinted...not like the online things that South Carolina does!)

I believe that is all. I am not sure about the last two More or less it is everything that you should be obtaining to apply to your desired company. Though the minimum requirement is the application and two passport photos, I believe that the rest of these documents are either important to speed up the processing time or are specifically required for teachers. This information can be found at the Japanese immigration website. The cost of the COE is free. So please do not get scammed to pay money to someone who says they will sponsor you and that it costs to obtain one.

The COE takes about 22 working days to be returned via post. Working days means that weekends and holidays are not included. So essentially it is a little over a month. Mine was sent off the 7th of July and was expected to be received by August 9th; however luck was on my side, and it was received by Interac on August 2nd, and later by myself on August 5th. During this time I was super worried. What if my Certificate of Eligibility was rejected? What if something was wrong? What if it was weird that I was coming from Korea and I was teaching English? Well for anyone who has any worries, I have determined that as long as an organization is sponsoring you, I do not believe you have anything to fear.

Once you have the COE, you are clear to apply for your visa. At the time I was living in Korea and therefore went to the Japanese consulate in Seoul. The procedures here evidently take a lot less time than in America and if you apply before 11am I believe you should have you passport and accompanying visa back by 4pm that day. As for myself, I wanted no room for error and was there at 9am applying, (there is a sheet you must fill out here) and had my passport-visa combo back to me by 3pm. They also returned my COE, which is to be expected as they take it for keeps at the immigration counter.

If you want to bring a spouse or children over to Japan, you need everyone's photos, copies of their passports, your marriage certificate, and birth certificates for the children.