Documents Needed to Renew Visa

[Samurai_Jerk]

Since I just extended my period of stay (i.e. renewed my visa) without any issues or requests for additional documents, I thought I'd list what I submitted here since there seems to be some confusion since the new system was implemented.

- Application for Extension of Period of Stay (在留期間更新許可申請書) with the last page stamped by your company.
- Most recent nouzeishoumeisho (納税証明書) and kazeishoumeisho (課税証明書) which are tax documents from your local city office that prove your income and that you've paid your residence tax.
- Document from your employer called a kyuuyo shotoku no gensen choushuu hyoutou no houtei chousho goukei hyou (給与所得の源泉徴収票等の法定調書合計表).
- One passport-sized photo.
- 4000 yen revenue stamp

The photo is for your Residence (AKA Zairyu) Card and when you extend your period of stay they give you the card when the extension is granted so there's no need to submit a separate application at the Residence Card counter. You do that when you're only applying for a Residence Card.

The Resident Card is also your visa so you will no longer get a stamp in your passport. It is the only proof of your right to reside in Japan that you will get.

FYI, I'm on a Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa.

[omae mona]

Cool, thanks SJ.

Has anybody gone through a conversion of old ARC to Zairyu Card, independently of visa renewal? This would happen if your card expiration falls between visa renewals, or if you have PR and are converting just your card (believe deadline is summer 2015). I wonder if any documents at all are required besides the passport.

[wagyl]

I don't know if it was independent of visa renewal as such, but Choko seemed to describe the process like he had approached it independently here:

Tangent: Got my new fucked gaijin residency card yesterday...oooh, fancy!

Do you have to take your own photo in? What forms as well? Or did you just rock up and get it?

Brought in a nice passport sized photo, only one. Nooooooowhere did they request any form or say what you need to bring other than your current card and pic...so naturally I had everything possible with me. There was a very simple 1 page from they gave me (took all of 1 minute) and they took my passport (verifying visa status) and I had the new card within 20 mins. To be honest, despite the amount of people there, things went pretty fast and smooth. Only thing that would have been better is something saying exactly what you need to bring.

[omae mona]

I don't know if it was independent of visa renewal as such, but Choko seemed to describe the process like he had approached it independently here:

Ooh, thanks wagyl (and, belatedly, choko). I had forgotten about that gem of information buried in the CJ thread. It does indeed sound like it was a card-only renewal, and quite simple.

[GomiGirl]

Cool, thanks SJ.

Has anybody gone through a conversion of old ARC to Zairyu Card, independently of visa renewal? This would happen if your card expiration falls between visa renewals, or if you have PR and are converting just your card (believe deadline is summer 2015). I wonder if any documents at all are required besides the passport.

I haven't but I will need to do it around September or October as I need to get a new passport before Feb next year. I will wait until we have arrived back from holidays and get it done before Christmas. I will get the Zairyu card at the same time.

BTW what is the official word on keeping it with you at all times? What happens if you lose your wallet? I never have but can be certain that as soon as I have something I can never lose, I will surely lose it.

[Samurai_Jerk]

BTW what is the official word on keeping it with you at all times? What happens if you lose your wallet? I never have but can be certain that as soon as I have something I can never lose, I will surely lose it.

You can get it replaced for free but if you somehow managed to get stopped by the pigs in the meantime, I'm sure it'll be a royal PITA. Plus they could fine you. That's why I made a photocopy to keep at home just in case.

[yanpa]

BTW what is the official word on keeping it with you at all times? What happens if you lose your wallet? I never have but can be certain that as soon as I have something I can never lose, I will surely lose it.

You can get it replaced for free but if you somehow managed to get stopped by the pigs in the meantime, I'm sure it'll be a royal PITA. Plus they could fine you. That's why I made a photocopy to keep at home just in case.

Thanks for the reminder, I forgot to do that...

[omae mona]

I haven't but I will need to do it around September or October as I need to get a new passport before Feb next year. I will wait until we have arrived back from holidays and get it done before Christmas. I will get the Zairyu card at the same time.

BTW are you planning to visit immigration purely to get your visa transferred from the old passport to the new passport? If so, I think you can save the time and skip it. You can carry both passports together and return to Japan; the new passport is the actual travel document, but they will accept your visa / residence status info and reentry permit from an expired passport. They will urge you to visit immigration to get the info transferred as soon as possible "for your own convenience". But I never quite understood how wasting a day at immigration could be more convenient than carrying around an extra document that probably weighs about 50 grams. So last time I had a passport expiration, I waited until I had an actual visa renewal deadline (nearly a year later, I think) to get the update. I think I reentered Japan 3-4 times during that period, using two passports, and they mentioned the transfer most of those times, but never really gave me a hard time about it.

BTW what is the official word on keeping it with you at all times? What happens if you lose your wallet? I never have but can be certain that as soon as I have something I can never lose, I will surely lose it.

Yeah, as I whined in another thread, this scares me too. The old system has redundancy; proof of residence status is on my card *and* in my passport. Pretty unlikely both get lost, even in event of stupidity, theft, fire, earthquake, etc.

[yanpa]

I haven't but I will need to do it around September or October as I need to get a new passport before Feb next year. I will wait until we have arrived back from holidays and get it done before Christmas. I will get the Zairyu card at the same time.

BTW are you planning to visit immigration purely to get your visa transferred from the old passport to the new passport? If so, I think you can save the time and skip it. You can carry both passports together and return to Japan; the new passport is the actual travel document, but they will accept your visa / residence status info and reentry permit from an expired passport. They will urge you to visit immigration to get the info transferred as soon as possible "for your own convenience". But I never quite understood how wasting a day at immigration could be more convenient than carrying around an extra document that probably weighs about 50 grams.

Unless you are planning a trip to India on the new passport, in which case they want to see your current Japanese visa in the current passport if you are applying for an Indian visa in Japan.

[wagyl]

Unless you are planning a trip to India on the new passport, in which case they want to see your current Japanese visa in the current passport if you are applying for an Indian visa in Japan.

We all expect omiyage. Gut microbes will not be accepted.

Plus how does this tally with the information from SJ that they no longer stamp your passport? Although I am still on the old style ARC, the last few times the check in staff overseas on my flight back have asked to see ARC (not that they understand what they are looking at) which I suppose has come about because of this change.

[GomiGirl]

[ I waited until I had an actual visa renewal deadline (nearly a year later, I think) to get the update.

Have PR so I don't have renewals anymore.

So yes I will have to troop out to Shinagawa - aka the pit of hell - when I get the new passport and zairyu all in the same time. Hopefully Husband and No 1 son's PR will be through too by then so I can kill a whole flock of seagulls with stone. And I ran......

[yanpa]

Unless you are planning a trip to India on the new passport, in which case they want to see your current Japanese visa in the current passport if you are applying for an Indian visa in Japan.

We all expect omiyage. Gut microbes will not be accepted.

This is ancient history from 2 years ago...

Plus how does this tally with the information from SJ that they no longer stamp your passport? Although I am still on the old style ARC, the last few times the check in staff overseas on my flight back have asked to see ARC (not that they understand what they are looking at) which I suppose has come about because of this change.

I can only hope the company which processes visas on behalf of the Indian Embassy is aware of the new system and will accept the ZRCs in lieu of the passport stamp.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Take a copy of whichever card you hold along with the non-national form.
The company that does the Indian visas is a huge scam. Check their variable pricing for non Japanese. The on-line system has made the turn around quicker but you better not make a mistake as you cannot make any alterations.

[Coligny]

Unless you are planning a trip to India on the new passport, in which case they want to see your current Japanese visa in the current passport if you are applying for an Indian visa in Japan.

Why would you go there ? Tired of life and civilization ? Urge to get raped on a bus ? Bored with indoor plumbing ! Scared of electricity ?

But hey, at least this sad excuse of a country got nukes...

[Samurai_Jerk]

[But hey, at least this sad excuse of a country got nukes...

Why are you so hard on your motherland?

[wagyl]

Take a copy of whichever card you hold along with the non-national form.
The company that does the Indian visas is a huge scam. Check their variable pricing for non Japanese. The on-line system has made the turn around quicker but you better not make a mistake as you cannot make any alterations.

I don't know the details in that case, but I do know that many countries have processing fees which differ greatly depending on the nationality of the applicant. It is called reciprocity in the diplomatic world, and tit-for-tat elsewhere, and is very common.

[Coligny]

[But hey, at least this sad excuse of a country got nukes...

Why are you so hard on your motherland?

Dood, we got indoor plumbing and electricity...

[wagyl]

[But hey, at least this sad excuse of a country got nukes...

Why are you so hard on your motherland?

Dood, we got indoor plumbing and electricity...

But those buses! Whoa!!!

[Coligny]

Dey are on strike...

[yanpa]

Take a copy of whichever card you hold along with the non-national form.
The company that does the Indian visas is a huge scam. Check their variable pricing for non Japanese. The on-line system has made the turn around quicker but you better not make a mistake as you cannot make any alterations.

I don't know the details in that case, but I do know that many countries have processing fees which differ greatly depending on the nationality of the applicant. It is called reciprocity in the diplomatic world, and tit-for-tat elsewhere, and is very common.

Yeah, I remember there being some totally other (higher) price for US citizens

[yanpa]

Unless you are planning a trip to India on the new passport, in which case they want to see your current Japanese visa in the current passport if you are applying for an Indian visa in Japan.

Why would you go there ? Tired of life and civilization ? Urge to get raped on a bus ? Bored with indoor plumbing ! Scared of electricity ?

Well, the main reason why I went there was to install a server. Tragically my changed circumstances mean I now no longer have to deal with that wonderland of technical prowess and renowned English proficiency.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Take a copy of whichever card you hold along with the non-national form.
The company that does the Indian visas is a huge scam. Check their variable pricing for non Japanese. The on-line system has made the turn around quicker but you better not make a mistake as you cannot make any alterations.

I don't know the details in that case, but I do know that many countries have processing fees which differ greatly depending on the nationality of the applicant. It is called reciprocity in the diplomatic world, and tit-for-tat elsewhere, and is very common.

Yeah, I remember there being some totally other (higher) price for US citizens

Yeah, we defenders of all your freedoms get that a lot thanks to "reciprocity". Leave to the diplomatic community to take a nice word like that and give it a negative spin.

[wagyl]

It doesn't have a negative spin looking from this side of the chain link fence. Topped with razor wire. Past the dirt graded each day to make it easy to check for footprints overnight.

[yanpa]

Yeah, we defenders of all your freedoms get that a lot thanks to "reciprocity".

*All* of our freedoms?

[legion]

FYI, I'm on a Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa.

I'm waiting for the little postcard right now, rang yesterday cos it's taking a while, the office I use (Tachikawa) seems a lot busier than it used to be but the guy on the phone was very polite & friendly. I hadn't taken in the certificates for residence tax and sent them later, hence the delay. In my case I needed two separate certificates to show I'd paid residence tax for the past two years.

I'm on a spouse visa so I need the certificates from the shiyakusho which now show me to be the head of the household rather than some random addition in the margin.

Bit weird if they don't put the visa in your passport, might make people's lives complicated if they need to prove where they have been for the past few years if they decide to return to their own country permanently.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Bit weird if they don't put the visa in your passport, might make people's lives complicated if they need to prove where they have been for the past few years if they decide to return to their own country permanently.

I'm sure it's all recorded in the IC chips in our passports. In fact, if they wanted to, I'm sure they could probably tell us all what we're going to do before we've even done it.

[wagyl]

Bit weird if they don't put the visa in your passport, might make people's lives complicated if they need to prove where they have been for the past few years if they decide to return to their own country permanently.

I'm sure it's all recorded in the IC chips in our passports. In fact, if they wanted to, I'm sure they could probably tell us all what we're going to do before we've even done it.

I doubt that the nation which issued the passport permits other nations to write data into the chip. Japan still religiously and very neatly stamps you in and out, you will just no longer have the QR code sticker I suppose.

[omae mona]

Bit weird if they don't put the visa in your passport, might make people's lives complicated if they need to prove where they have been for the past few years if they decide to return to their own country permanently.

I'm sure it's all recorded in the IC chips in our passports. In fact, if they wanted to, I'm sure they could probably tell us all what we're going to do before we've even done it.

I doubt that the nation which issued the passport permits other nations to write data into the chip. Japan still religiously and very neatly stamps you in and out, you will just no longer have the QR code sticker I suppose.

FYI very easy to skip the stamping, at least in the way out, if you are a foreign resident of Japan. If you signed up for the automated gate program they introduced a few years ago and actually use one, the default is for them not to stamp your passport. You explicitly have to request it. But it's quite optional. I can only speak from experience on departures out of Japan though; the automated gate has never been available in the arrivals area of any of my return flights.

[Coligny]

Bit weird if they don't put the visa in your passport, might make people's lives complicated if they need to prove where they have been for the past few years if they decide to return to their own country permanently.

I'm sure it's all recorded in the IC chips in our passports. In fact, if they wanted to, I'm sure they could probably tell us all what we're going to do before we've even done it.

Pretty sure that rfid chip is readonly... Already too easy to tweak as it is anyway...

[wagyl]

FYI very easy to skip the stamping, at least in the way out, if you are a foreign resident of Japan. If you signed up for the automated gate program they introduced a few years ago and actually use one, the default is for them not to stamp your passport. You explicitly have to request it. But it's quite optional. I can only speak from experience on departures out of Japan though; the automated gate has never been available in the arrivals area of any of my return flights.

Thank you for reminding me. It is interesting to hear your experiences. I have never experienced enough delay at immigration either leaving or entering (exclusive reentry permit lanes for the win!) Japan to go to the effort of signing up. It sounds like there is little enthusiasm for the system within Immigration either.