Visa/COE Question

[nullpointer]

I have just applied for a certificate of eligibility for my baby daughter and the lady at the window told me that it may take 4-6 weeks for it to arrive. My daughter will be here on a 90-day visa by that time. Will she have to leave the country at that time or will we able to get her passport stamped with the visa/re-entry without leaving Japan? I would appreciate if someone with knowledge about this can let me know.

[BakaSan]

I also came in on a 90-day tourist visa while waiting on the CoE to arrive. A trip to the local immigration office for a change of status to a spousal visa was all it took. No idea if it works differently for children as all mine were born here.

[omae mona]

Don't forget to check with a lawyer or ask immigration directly if you are concerned.

My amateur take: the Certificate of Eligibility is not a prerequisite for a visa. It's optional. All it is is a statement from the immigration folks that they will probably approve your visa application when you actually apply, and furthermore, the application will go faster than if you started from scratch. Basically it is just a way to get part of the application process done earlier than you would otherwise. That's my understanding.

If the certificate of eligibility is not ready when your child arrives, I don't think that precludes you from applying for your daughter's new visa at all. Just apply. And typically when you apply for a new visa, they extend your current period of stay until the visa is approved or denied. Just out of curiosity, what is your visa status?

[GomiGirl]

Sorry but I am unsure as to the issue here. Surely if you have a valid visa, then all you are doing is adding a dependant to your visa.

You didn't mention what nationality your child was. Or how old?

To be honest, immigration always cover their butts with timing questions, but if this is a straight dependancy visa for a minor and you are valid, it will not take too long. Plus you have good grounds for extending the temp visa once she is here.

But at the end of the day, free advice from the internet is only worth what you paid for it. When in doubt, talk to a specialist.

[nullpointer]

Thanks for the answers folks. I should have been more clear. I have an 'engineer' visa good for another couple of years and it is indeed, a simple matter of adding my daughter's name as a dependent and getting a visa for her. My daughter is American so she would not need a visa to come here initially. I hope once the COE arrives and we go to get it stamped, they would not ask us to leave the country to get the new dependent visa stamped.