Hello, this is Ito of IMS Legal Professional Corporation. Happy New Year to you all. I look forward to working with you again this year.
Since the beginning of January, the number of COVID-19 infections in Japan is being updated daily. In addition to the previous entry restrictions, moving within the country has also been restricted. When will it be possible for all new entrants to come to Japan?
My Period of Stay was Shortened?
A little while ago, we received a phone call from a long-term resident of Japan. That client was living in Japan with his family and had applied for the extension of period of stay several times before. Recently, his spouse applied for the extension of period of stay (“Dependent” status of residence), and a new residence card was issued. When he checked the period of stay, however, it was shortened. He wondered why and gave us a call.
The Immigration Bureau of Japan revised the Enforcement Regulations of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in March 2021. That revision was related to how the period of stay is determined, like the inquiry we received.
One of the amendments was regarding the "Dependent" visa, stating "a period of stay designated by the Minister of Justice for each foreign national within a range not exceeding five years". This means that the period of stay will be adjusted to match the supporter's remaining period of stay. Previously, the period of stay of the dependent was mostly determined according to the period of stay permitted to the supporter. After the revision, the period of stay is determined according to the supporter's remaining period of stay.
Therefore, if the dependent applies when there are only a few months remaining until the end of the dependent's supporter’s period of stay, the period of stay will be determined by those few months. However, if the remaining period of stay of the supporter is less than three months, I have the impression that the Immigration is being considerate, granting such applicants a period of stay of 4 months, the shortest period issued, in order to avoid the inconvenience of not being issued a residence card. I assume that more people will apply for the next renewal at the same time as their supporter. In these cases, I expect that the period of stay will be the same for both supporter and dependents.
I explained all of the above to the customer who we received a call, and he was satisfied. Many people might be surprised looking at their new residence cards, not knowing about the law revision. It has almost been one year since the revision, but I wonder if everyone is familiar with the new rules?
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
