Hello, this is Kuwahara of IMS Legal Professional Corporation. On May 18, an announcement was made that the proposed amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act would not be enacted in the current Diet session. It is also likely that this amendment will be scrapped. Lately, the number of foreign nationals detained in Japan has increased, and the detention period has become longer. The Immigration Bureau's website explains that the amendment is based on the following three basic ideas regarding deportation procedures.
- Determine appropriately and promptly whether or not a foreigner is permitted to stay in Japan.
- Immediately remove from Japan those foreign nationals whose stay in Japan is not permitted.
- Avoid prolonged detention in the detention facilities of the authorities as much as possible, and implement more appropriate treatment in the detention facilities.
・About the Immigration Law Amendment Bill (English, Google Translate)
Public Reactions
Many organizations have expressed their opposition to this decision. I'm sure you might have seen it in the news already.
Refugees are people who have fled their country of origin due to circumstances that create a need for international protection. This can include threats of persecution in their home country, conflict, widespread violence, or other situations that significantly disrupt public order.
Many foreigners who apply for refugee status state in their self-report that they have a fear of persecution. If these applications are deemed to not meet the requirements, the application will be rejected. However, because of the sensitivity of the issue, it is not possible to request a quick deportation even after a rejection. This leads to many reapplications, allowing the applicant to stay longer in Japan.
After this amendment bill was released, we received inquiries from several people currently applying for refugee status who wanted to change their visa status. When we asked them about their circumstances and current living conditions, we found that most of them did not meet the requirements to apply for refugee status in the first place. Many of them were repeating their applications for refugee status in order to stay in Japan; however, in the end, they did not qualify for another status.
Since there is a strong possibility that the amendment will be repealed, we do not know if those people will continue to contact us about changing their status of residence.
Alternate Paths to Staying in Japan
Ever since entry in Japan from overseas was restricted due COVID-19, we've received an increasing number of inquiries for permanent residence permits. The reason for this is that it was easier to get a visa for permanent residence or spouse of a Japanese national, compared to other visa statuses. In some cases, those who do not qualify for permanent residence are instead applying for refugee status.
As of July 1, 2020, there were 80,000 people living in Japan illegally (according to the Immigration Bureau website mentioned above). This may not be comparable to the number in the U.S.; but in the U.S., where the population is about three times that of Japan, the number of illegal residents is about 11 million. Since we also provide support services for U.S. visas, we check this kind of information on a daily basis in case someone is denied entry to the U.S. It seems that the U.S. also has troubles because there is no easy way to track foreign residents.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
