Hello, this is Kuwahara of IMS Legal Professional Corporation.
This update will focus on changes made to entry and re-entry measures updated on August 12. These were covered in a previous post written by Shimoyama last month.
Foreigners who departed Japan with a re-entry permit before April 3, including those with a special re-entry permit (*1), and those foreigners who arrive in Japan in accordance with the "Step-by-Step Measures to Reopen International Traffic" may be permitted entry or re-entry on an individual basis. In addition, there are special considerations made for humanitarian reasons (see "Note" below).
*1: Special re-entry permits are given to foreign nationals who live in Japan and are in possession of a valid residence card, who check the box on the Entry/Departure slip at airport Immigration, etc. that their departure is temporary and they will "return to Japan within 1 year". Please see this link for more information.
(However, foreigners departing from Japan on or after April 3 are only able to re-enter the country as long as they do not have a travel history of staying in a country/region subject to landing refusals at time of leaving Japan.)
* Additional quarantine measures (described later) will be taken depending on the date of re-entry/entry .
* Please see here for a list of when and which country/region was designated as landing refusal (last page).
Note
The following are examples of special consideration made for humanitarian reasons:
- A foreign national who has family staying in Japan and they are separated.
- A child who lived in Japan with a guardian and was enrolled in a Japanese educational institution, who then left the country accompanied by a guardian, and is therefore unable to attend school (re-entry including accompanying guardians).
- Children/students who had received primary/secondary education in Japan, who must re-enter in order to receive primary/secondary education at the same educational institution.
- When it is necessary to re-enter Japan for treatment such as surgery (including re-examination) and giving birth at Japanese medical institutions.
- When it was necessary to leave Japan in order to visit an overseas relative in a serious health condition; or to attend the funeral of a deceased relative.
- When it was necessary to leave the country for treatment such as surgery (including re-examination) and giving birth at a foreign medical institution.
- When it was necessary to leave the country after receiving a request from a foreign court to appear as a witness.
When a foreign national who has a history of staying in a country/region was designated as landing refusal (excluding "Permanent Resident", "Diplomatic", or "Official" visa holders) enters or re-enters Japan, as a general rule and from the standpoint of epidemic prevention, additional measures apply. Generally speaking, foreign nationals must obtain a COVID-19 "negative" test certificate from a medical institution in the country of stay.
However, if a foreign national who falls under (1) or (2) below enters/re-enters Japan by August 31, no additional quarantine measures are required that correspond to (1) or (2). Foreign nationals entering Japan after September 1 must have additional quarantine measures.
(1) Those who meet all of the following conditions
- Foreigners who departed with permission (including deemed re-entry permit) and re-enter by the day before the date when the country/region of stay is designated as a landing refusal country/area (April 3 for the landing refusal areas determined on or before April 2)
*(However, foreigners departing from Japan on or after April 3 are limited to those who do not have a history of staying in a country or area that was already subject to landing refusal as of the day of departure from Japan.) - Those who have not stayed in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines or Peru within 14 days before the application date for landing.
- Those with "Permanent Resident", "Spouse of a Japanese National, etc.", "Spouse of a Permanent Resident, etc." or "Long-Term Resident" visa status. This includes spouses and children of Japanese nationals or permanent residents, even if they do not have the above visa status.
(2) Persons with special circumstances recognized as having humanitarian consideration, depending on the individual circumstances (see "Note" above)
*If entry/re-entry into Japan is deemed to be urgent, it is not necessary to obtain a pre-departure inspection certificate. In this case, when applying for a visa or confirmation of submission of documents related to re-entry, the foreign diplomatic mission (Japanese embassies and consulates in each country) must make an urgent request for the foreign national to enter/re-enter Japan. You will need to provide documents to clarify the situation. The following are specific examples that are recognized as highly urgent.
- When it is necessary to urgently enter/re-enter Japan for medical treatment such as surgery (including re-examination) and giving birth at Japanese medical institutions.
- When it is necessary to urgently enter or re-enter Japan in order to visit a relative in a serious health condition living in Japan, or to attend a funeral of a dead relative.
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Overall, the situation is complicated. But the point is that if you re-enter Japan by August 31, you do not need to have "negative" proof of COVID-19. After September 1, showing proof that you are COVID-19 negative is required to enter/re-enter Japan.
- Foreigners who have a residence card who left Japan with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit before April 2.
- Those who have not stayed in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines or Peru within 14 days before landing in Japan.
- Those with "Permanent Resident", "Spouse of a Japanese National, etc.", "Spouse of a Permanent Resident, etc." or "Long-Term Resident" visa status. This includes spouses and children of Japanese nationals or permanent residents, even if they do not have the above visa status.
- Those who enter from Vietnam/Thailand for business.
- Those who are recognized as having special circumstances depending on the individual circumstances that require humanitarian consideration.
Only those whose circumstances are covered under #2~#5 above, who left Japan on or after April 3, and are not returning to Japan from a country/area under landing refusal at the time of departure from Japan will be allowed entry.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
