Do I need a re-entry visa to go on short trip outside Japan?

[wangta]

I am thinking of taking a short trip outside of Japan, to maybe China or Korea when I have a little time off. The trip would be around 3 days or so.

I am not up with re entry regs these days - will I need to get a re-entry visa from Immi or has that been scrapped now as long as I take my gaijin card with me and have it when I come back? Thanks.

[IparryU]

I am thinking of taking a short trip outside of Japan, to maybe China or Korea when I have a little time off. The trip would be around 3 days or so.

I am not up with re entry regs these days - will I need to get a re-entry visa from Immi or has that been scrapped now as long as I take my gaijin card with me and have it when I come back? Thanks.

If you have a gaijin card you need a reentry permit.

If you have a zairyu card, then someone needs to explain the process to you. I am getting a zairyu card soon... but i dont know the ins and outs of it yet.

Sent from my SC-03E using Tapatalk 2

[Mock Cockpit]

Even if you only have the old gaijin card you don't need a re-entry visa.

[GomiGirl]

Even if you only have the old gaijin card you don't need a re-entry visa.

Really? I was just scolded on my last trip to Thailand this month as I have PR (old ARC) and my rentry had expired. The guy said I was on a "Special rentry" and ticked a box on the embarkation card. He said it was only good for one time.

He also reminded us that both Husband and Child (both PR and both on Zairyu cards) were going to have their rentries expire soon too.

I am totally confused.

Anyone care to decipher the new rules?

[Mock Cockpit]

Who knows what's going on. All I know is that the last time I entered the country (in January at Nagoya, PR) I had an old gaijin card and no re-entry permit and nothing was said. As usual those button punchers don't appear able to differentiate their arseholes from a hole in the ground.

[CrankyBastard]

You only need a re-entry visa if you're going to stay out of Japan for longer than one year.
You do however, need to fill out an embarkation card and present it to immigration when you depart Japan.
Page one it's entitled "EMBARKATION CARD FOR REENTRANT"
There's a box to check/tick which states "Departure with Special Re-entry Permission."
And at the bottom in red an explanation:- Special re-entry is valid for 1 year from the departure date or until expiry of the period of stay, whichever comes first. This period of validity cannot be extended.

[omae mona]

Even if you only have the old gaijin card you don't need a re-entry visa.

Really? I was just scolded on my last trip to Thailand this month as I have PR (old ARC) and my rentry had expired. The guy said I was on a "Special rentry" and ticked a box on the embarkation card. He said it was only good for one time.

He also reminded us that both Husband and Child (both PR and both on Zairyu cards) were going to have their rentries expire soon too.

I am totally confused.

Anyone care to decipher the new rules?

Sounds like a miscommunication. He was probably just scolding you for not checking the checkbox. The point with the other Gomi family members was probably that if you did not check the box, they could only stay out of the country until their reentry permits expire. By checking the box, they get a full year (presumably longer than they'd have otherwise).

BTW, IParryU is mistaken above when he mentions a difference in rule depending on the card you have. If you read the rules on the MOJ website, the "special reentry permission" has nothing to do with your card type. And I can also speak from experience. I have an old ARC, a very much expired re-entry permit, but I've left Japan and returned several times using the special re-entry checkbox, with no problem.

[GomiGirl]

Maybe he was saying 1 year and I thought in his mumbling Engrish I thought he was saying 1 time?

[wagyl]

Another vote for the "omae mona is correct" party. My guess is that your "friendly" Immigration Officer had someone piss in his coffee earlier, and was wanting to give you a lesson so that nobody had to explain the new rules to you again. He failed at that. The "one time" concept is probably that you have to tick the box each time, it only is valid for that one reentry. Read the bignose comic!

[Russell]

Immigration reform creates problems for foreign residents

Japan’s immigration control reform has proved to be fraught with pitfalls that could cause unwitting foreign residents to be expelled or face other serious problems.

The immigration control law was revised in July 2012, primarily to bolster the crackdown on cross-border terrorism-related activities. However, during its first year in force, the reform has caused various unexpected quandaries.

In January, a woman from Myanmar married to a Japanese man lost her permanent resident status after temporarily returning to her home country, because of a paperwork problem related to the reform.

Previously, foreign residents who left Japan for a temporary overseas stay were required to obtain prior permission for re-entry if they were to maintain their resident status. The reform has abolished this requirement, in principle, if the overseas stay is less than one year. Now, foreign residents only need to indicate their intention to return to Japan by ticking the appropriate box on the embarkation form submitted to passport control upon their departure.

However, the paperwork presents a pitfall.

The form filled in and submitted by the hapless Myanmar woman was one she had obtained previously, so it did not have the necessary box to tick.

When she submitted her travel documents and showed her return ticket to passport control on her departure, it was not pointed out to her that she needed to indicate on the embarkation card that she was planning to return.

When she arrived back at Haneda airport in Tokyo from Myanmar, the woman was denied re-entry. Thanks to her husband’s intervention, she was spared deportation and later regained her permanent residency.

Nonetheless, the couple emphasized that immigration officials should remind foreign residents of the risk they face if they do not fill out their embarkation form properly.

In another case, a foreigner who was staying in Japan to undergo vocational training was refused re-entry after inadvertently omitting to tick the necessary box when temporarily journeying overseas, according to the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization.

Noting that the change was intended to “enhance convenience for foreign residents,” an immigration control official at the Justice Ministry said that immigration bureaus across the country have been instructed to give foreign residents a reminder.

However, the ministry has no plans to revise the embarkation form or take other steps to prevent similar paperwork problems.

Meanwhile, the immigration control reform has apparently caused misunderstandings on the part of local governments about how to treat foreign residents.

More

[chibaka]

This farking obsession with useless paperwork is annoying. If they really wanted to make life easier, why not just stipulate that FG must return before status expires? Being refused entry due to not ticking a box is ridiculous.
That said, the new 5 year status and elimination of the gaijin tax is most welcome. Got my new card yesterday

[chibaka]

Info on the new re-entry procedure is here http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/ ... t_3-4.html including the check box

[wagyl]

Info on the new re-entry procedure is here http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/ ... t_3-4.html including the check box

You forgot to add "As featured in the post three above this one, made 16 hours before!!" in blinking text in a lurid colour, in a starburst in a different but clashing lurid colour.

[chibaka]

Info on the new re-entry procedure is here http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/ ... t_3-4.html including the check box

You forgot to add "As featured in the post three above this one, made 16 hours before!!" in blinking text in a lurid colour, in a starburst in a different but clashing lurid colour.

Nothing flashing in my browser, and I'm colour blind

[matsuki]

Shit, I don't remember that box on my last form. (prolly an older form) but I wasn't hassled at all upon coming back. Wonder how much pointless work they have created by including that shit. (just think how many hours are going to be wasted, arguing with FG that didn't check the box and try to return)

[Wibble]

Shit, I don't remember that box on my last form. (prolly an older form) but I wasn't hassled at all upon coming back. Wonder how much pointless work they have created by including that shit. (just think how many hours are going to be wasted, arguing with FG that didn't check the box and try to return)

They have a stamp to add the box to older forms.
I still have a valid sticker re-entry permit and they always try to recommend that I tick the box at exit immigration instead, but have no problem entering/exiting without ticking.
It's no different to the old system where you had trouble if you left without getting a re-entry permit. Just that now you can apply of re-entry permit for free by ticking a box.

[Samurai_Jerk]

This farking obsession with useless paperwork is annoying. If they really wanted to make life easier, why not just stipulate that FG must return before status expires? Being refused entry due to not ticking a box is ridiculous.

It really is fucking silly because it's completely meaningless, does nothing to enhance security, and is very easy to overlook. At this point I can't even understand the need for the embarkation/disembarkation card. Everything is computerized so they can get all the info they need with my passport and ZRC. Plus the security and money questions only need to be on the customs card.

[matsuki]

This farking obsession with useless paperwork is annoying. If they really wanted to make life easier, why not just stipulate that FG must return before status expires? Being refused entry due to not ticking a box is ridiculous.

It really is fucking silly because it's completely meaningless, does nothing to enhance security, and is very easy to overlook. At this point I can't even understand the need for the embarkation/disembarkation card. Everything is computerized so they can get all the info they need with my passport and ZRC. Plus the security and money questions only need to be on the customs card.

Now there are TWO mutha fooking boxes!!! The explanation is even worse (in both English and Jap) and while I read it to interpret to mean one box for PR visa holders and the other for reg visa holders, the bitch (what an attitude!) at immigration made me fill out a new form with the box that seems to be for PR visa holders...no idea how that makes any sense but we'll see if I get sent to the gulag upon return...

*****was only one box last month but immigration bitch claims it's been like this since last year?

[Samurai_Jerk]

I just came back from a two-week trip abroad last week. The card I had also only had one box. I did receive it when I re-entered in January of this year so maybe it was an old one however they had no problem with me using it to depart in mid-September.

[wagyl]

Someone obviously mislaid their memo.

[omae mona]

Immigration thought they were being helpful with this change, but I think they fucked up. The new form is probably way more confusing to most people. But the change is very simple:

OLD FORMS: there was one checkbox, and checking it was optional.
NEW FORMS: there are two checkboxes and you MUST check one. Checking 再入国許可による出国を希望します　(Departure with Re-entry Permission) does exactly the same thing as if you omitted the check on the old card.

I think the reason they did this was to make sure people are explicitly choosing, and not just skipping the checkbox because they didn't understand it (which is what was happening before, I think).

while I read it to interpret to mean one box for PR visa holders and the other for reg visa holders, the bitch (what an attitude!) at immigration made me fill out a new form with the box that seems to be for PR visa holders...no idea how that makes any sense but we'll see if I get sent to the gulag upon return...

That's really not what it is. Special Re-entry Permission is the new bonus we got beginning in 2012 that allows us to leave the country for up to 1 year just by checking this box, without having to go to the damned immigration office and buy an expensive permit. Most of us want to use this checkbox almost every single time.

The non-special one, "Departure with Re-entry Permission", means you're using the old system. You can only use this if you have purchased a re-entry stamp and have it in your passport. Why would anybody in their right minds do this, given the free option above? Only if you think there is a risk of being out of the country longer than 1 year. Remember they emphasize there are no do-overs; if you choose the free option at first but find yourself stuck outside of Japan for over 12 months, your residency status is toast. There is no way to extend it.

This is explained in fine print on the card, but not very well. And it's fine print.

[omae mona]

Special Re-entry Permission is the new bonus we got beginning in 2012 that allows us to leave the country for up to 1 year just by checking this box, without having to go to the damned immigration office and buy an expensive permit. Most of us want to use this checkbox almost every single time.

The non-special one, "Departure with Re-entry Permission", means you're using the old system. You can only use this if you have purchased a re-entry stamp and have it in your passport. Why would anybody in their right minds do this, given the free option above? Only if you think there is a risk of being out of the country longer than 1 year. Remember they emphasize there are no do-overs; if you choose the free option at first but find yourself stuck outside of Japan for over 12 months, your residency status is toast. There is no way to extend it.

After thinking about this for a minute, I realized the biggest reason for the confusion is probably just a bad English translation. The above sounds like nonsense, right? The "special" re-entry permission is the one that probably 99.9% of people want to use now. There's nothing special about it at all. If anything, the old one that lets you stay away for more than 1 year is special now.

And guess what... the original Japanese name doesn't have any word implying "special" (e.g. 特別 / tokubetsu). Whoever came up with the word "special" for the English translation should be fired. The actual name, みなし再入国許可 / minashi sainyuukoku kyoka, is probably better translated something like "presumed re-entry permission" or "assumed re-entry permission". That would have been a lot more clear as it indicates you didn't have to do anything to get this permission.

EDIT: maybe a better translation, though not as literal, would have been "automatic re-entry permission"

[Wage Slave]

Why would anybody in their right minds do this, given the free option above?

I forked out for the permit because they no longer stamp anything in your passport except entry and departure stamps. The fact you live here and have permission to enter is encoded in your status on your ID card. So, for my first trip out of here with a new passport the only thing stamped in there would have been a departure stamp. Although ID cards may carry weight in some countries and quarters they don't in others, not compared to a passport anyway. To avoid possible problems claiming sales tax back off shopping or snags at check in/departure gates I decided to get one just to show, in my passport, that I live here and can re-enter.

Should something very unforeseen crop up I could also stay out longer than a year too of course but the chances of that are very remote.

[omae mona]

Why would anybody in their right minds do this, given the free option above?

I forked out for the permit because they no longer stamp anything in your passport except entry and departure stamps. The fact you live here and have permission to enter is encoded in your status on your ID card. So, for my first trip out of here with a new passport the only thing stamped in there would have been a departure stamp. Although ID cards may carry weight in some countries and quarters they don't in others, not compared to a passport anyway. To avoid possible problems claiming sales tax back off shopping or snags at check in/departure gates I decided to get one just to show, in my passport, that I live here and can re-enter.

Should something very unforeseen crop up I could also stay out longer than a year too of course but the chances of that are very remote.

That's an interesting point Wage Slave.

This made me suddenly realize a potential advantage of the new system by doing the opposite of you. I think in some ways we're better off with no evidence in our passport that we're resident in Japan. Going forward, what stops us from taking advantage of services that are supposed to be for tourists only? Two things I can think of:

1) Japan Rail Pass. Previously they would refuse to activate if you had a stamp in your passport showing you were resident.
2) Consumption tax refund at big stores. Likewise, how can they tell you're not a tourist now?

I must be missing something...

[Wage Slave]

An interesting idea. I suppose though that if they knew a little then a bare exit and entry stamp would tell them that this person has some kind of status. If they are a bona fide visitor, then there should be a stamp/sticker saying exactly that.

[omae mona]

An interesting idea. I suppose though that if they knew a little then a bare exit and entry stamp would tell them that this person has some kind of status. If they are a bona fide visitor, then there should be a stamp/sticker saying exactly that.

Oops, I had forgotten. You're right. The stamps still differ for visitors. OK, nix my idea. I am obviously not cut out to be a very good con artist...

[Samurai_Jerk]

I still wonder why they've decided not to stamp our passports with something confirming our status. If it hasn't happened already, I'm sure at some point there will be an immigration official at an airport in some country that will give grief to an FG trying to return home to Japan. Especially if that FG isn't from a visa waver country. Maybe it's a plot to make us be more mindful of our ZRC's.

[wagyl]

I'm sure that everyone else is the same, but the last couple of years I have been asked for my Gaijin Card by check-in chicks and in-transit security checks. They definitely do not expect any stamp in the passport. You can always see that the fact that I am still on an ARC, which they don't know how to deal with, confuses them but you can also see that they are not brave enough to question it with any confidence. Anyway, I still have a valid Status of Residence sticker in my passport although my Re-entry Permit sticker has expired.

[Wage Slave]

Japanese Immigration officials ask to see my card but not anyone else. Everyone else wants to see a passport. As it happens I have a brand new passport this year so until I got a re-entry permit there was absolutely nothing in it relating to Japan.

It might not matter and certainly that is the view from the immigration people. You have an official and impressive looking ID card which no-one is going to question. I'm not so sure.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japanese Immigration officials ask to see my card but not anyone else. Everyone else wants to see a passport. As it happens I have a brand new passport this year so until I got a re-entry permit there was absolutely nothing in it relating to Japan.

It might not matter and certainly that is the view from the immigration people. You have an official and impressive looking ID card which no-one is going to question. I'm not so sure.

I've been asked to show my ZRC in other countries when returning to Japan. On my last trip abroad no one in Narita asked to see it though.