Visa expiration date question

[irishpacker]

If you have a Working Holiday Visa and it runs out on say July 2010, does this mean you have to leave the country by the end of July 2010, or simply that you can no longer work in Japan by the end of July 2010?

The way I currently understand it is that when your Working Holiday Visa runs out, you can still stay in the country for 90 days as a normal tourist would after that date. Am I right or wrong?

Cheers!

[Mike Oxlong]

I think you need to apply to the immigration authorities before the visa expires to get the 90-day tourist visa deal. Without the update, you'd be an overstayer, and potentially in trouble. Best to double-check the requirements with the embassy officials before coming here.

[FG Lurker]

If you have a Working Holiday Visa and it runs out on say July 2010, does this mean you have to leave the country by the end of July 2010, or simply that you can no longer work in Japan by the end of July 2010?

Generally WHV are 6 month visas and you can then apply for a single 6 month extension before your first 6 months runs out. So, let's say you arrive on August 15th 2009 and receive your 6 month extension in January 2010. Your WHV would expire on July 14th 2010 -- not the end of July.

(Australians can get up to two 6 month extensions for a total of 18 months. Irish citizens (and I believe all other countries in the program) get only one extension.)

The way I currently understand it is that when your Working Holiday Visa runs out, you can still stay in the country for 90 days as a normal tourist would after that date. Am I right or wrong?

Wrong. When your visa expires you have to leave and don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise. Overstaying by even a few days will really piss off immigration and could land you in a world of trouble.

When I had my WHV it was not possible to apply for a 90 day tourist visa "extension" from inside the country. This may have changed but even if it has there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get the extension.

You can leave the country after your WHV and then return after a week or two for a 90 day visa upon entry but this is not guaranteed either. When I did this I got the "taken to a small room for 2 hours of questions" treatment. I did get my 90 day visa but only because I had US$5k in travelers cheques and a detailed itinerary of where I wanted to go and why I hadn't done that travel during the one year "holiday" I had just completed. Not everyone has this happen to them but it is important to realize that just showing up on a plane does not guarantee that you will receive a visa.

[irishpacker]

Thanks for the reply.

I just got my Visa on Friday and it's valid from July 09 to July 10. I didn't realise it only took a week to get, so I didn't expect to have it this early. Planning on heading out in October once work commitments are done. 8/9months will do me fine for a first time visit I think anyways so not too bothered about that.

Although, I think I'll take your advice and try apply for the 90 day extension here before I go. Doesn't cost anything so why not have it just in case.

Cheers for the tips, they don't really make these things very clear.

[omae mona]

Irishpacker, please be careful about the dates. I suspect they do not mean what you think.

Technically speaking, your visa is a one-time permission to enter Japan. Once you arrive in Japan, if everything is in order, the immigration officer will cancel your visa and give you "landing permission" which is actually your permission to stay in the country. Of course the visa and landing permission are very closely related, so we laymen tend to use the terms interchangeably.

I don't know the specifics of a working holiday visa, but I have a strong feeling your July 9 - July 10 window is really the validity of the visa itself. In other words, you can enter Japan any time between July 9 this year and July 10 next year. Your landing permission will start the day you arrive in Japan. And most likely, as FG Lurker pointed out, it will be exactly 6 months from the day you arrive. Your time is not running out while you are waiting at home.

That's my best guess anyway. Read the documentation carefully, and for heaven's sake please read the official Guide to Japanese Visas before you get yourself in legal trouble by overstaying.

[irishpacker]

That makes sense alright. Thanks for the link.

The embassy here in dublin weren't much help in explaining it, it was more a case of "here's your visa, enjoy!" They didn't explain this immigration stuff. Eugh... why can't the EU just take over the world so we wouldn't have to deal with any of this Visa nonsense?

[kusai Jijii]

Read the documentation carefully, and for heaven's sake please read the official Guide to Japanese Visas before you get yourself in legal trouble by overstaying.

Amen to that.

[omae mona]

Oops! Just realized I only posted a link to a small part of the document. The rest of the visa guide is at http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html. Happy surfing!

[TFG]

Legal trouble by overstaying...Sure.

I know someone who overstayed their visa by 15 years, this person turned themselves into immigration 6 months ago and last week was given a visa.

I heard from NUGW last week that the law has changed on overstayers a few weeks ago and it is now even easier to get a visa after ovestaying.