Q1. I am illegally staying in Japan beyond the period of stay. However, I visited the immigration office to go through necessary procedures for further staying in Japan. In this case, do I have any problem from legal viewpoint?
A. A lot of foreign residents who have visited the immigration office to declare their charges misunderstand "My legal problems are eliminated because I visited the immigration office to voluntarily declare my illegal stay."
Even if a foreign national declares his/her charges at the immigration office, the legal status of illegal will not immediately eliminated. In this case, the foreign national still has some problems from legal viewpoints unless the Minister of Justice especially permits the resident status.
From these viewpoints, you are not allowed to work in principle before the Minister of Justice makes a decision. If you have a job, you might be caught at the factory or company for which you are working.
[read Special permission to stay]
Q2. If a foreign national is deported from Japan or leaves Japan with the departure order, may the foreign national come back to Japan on a later day?
A. If a foreign national is deported from Japan or leaves Japan with the departure order, the foreign national may not, in principle, land Japan for a certain period (i.e., landing denial period) as stipulated in the Immigration Control Act. The following rules will be applicable:
So-called repeaters (foreign nationals who has been deported from Japan or has left Japan with the departure order) may not land Japan for 10 years since the date of deportation.
Foreign nationals who have been deported from Japan so far (except for the case "1)") may not land Japan for 5 years since the date of deportation.
Foreign nationals who have left Japan with the departure order may not land Japan for 1 year since the date of leaving Japan.
If a foreign national has been subject to imprisonment with or without forced labor on account of violating the law of Japan and foreign legislation, or if a foreign national serves the sentence due to violating the legislations on regulating narcotics, marijuana, opium or stimulant, the foreign nationals may not land Japan and does not have the landing denial period.
Q3. What do I need to prepare when visiting the immigration office?
A. If you visit the immigration office, you should carry your passport with you. If you have lost your passport, please bring a certificate proving your status with you. If you wish to go back to your home nation, you must bring a valid passport with you. In addition to passport, you will need your flight ticket for returning home as well as flight ticket reservation statement available from your travel agent. However, if you illegally stay in Japan or do not obey other legislations, the immigration authority's examination will be rather time consuming. In this case, your flight ticket might expire. For more information, please visit the nearest immigration office for detailed explanations.
Meeting and giving gift to detainee
Q4. What are the office hours of service counters for meeting or giving gift to detainee?
A. You may visit a detainee from 9:00a.m. to 12:00 a.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., weekdays, excepting for Saturday, Sunday and national holidays, in principle. However, some detention centers have different office hours. For more information, refer to the detention center in advance before visiting the center.
[read Provisional Release]
Q5. What should I have when meeting or giving gift to a detainee?
A. The immigration control authority checks out visitor's ID. If you are a Japanese citizen, you need to bring your driver's license, passport, employee ID card, or any other document with your photo. If you are a foreign national, you must bring your passport or alien registration certificate.
[read Provisional Release]
Q6. May I visit a detainee many times in a day?
A. As a lot of persons wish to visit a detention center to meet a detainee, the immigration control authority in principle allows visitors to meet a detainee only once a day in order to provide opportunities for detainees to meet as many people as possible.
[read Provisional Release]
Q7. How long may I meet a detainee?
A. You may meet a detainee for 30 minutes in principle. When a lot of people wish to meet detainees, the immigration control authority might allocate a shorter time than 30 minutes in order to provide opportunities to all visitors.
[read Provisional Release]
Q8. May I talk with a detainee over the phone?
A. The detention center does not provide a phone service to connect you with a detainee. You have to visit the detention center or send a letter. Some detention centers allow detainees to make a phone call outside the center.
[read Provisional Release]
Q9. If I tell an alien's name, will the detention center tell me whether it detains the foreign national?
A. Even if you ask questions on detention over the phone, the detention center is not able to answer your questions to protect the foreign national’s privacy.
[read Provisional Release]
Q10. I would like to give a gift to a detainee. What kind of gifts am I prohibited from giving the detainee?
A. For security or hygiene purposes, most detention center refuses a food that requires cooking or corrosion-prone food that may not kept at normal temperature. For more information, refer to the officer in charge at the detention center.
[read Provisional Release]
Q11. May I give a detainee a flight ticket for returning to home nation?
A. A flight ticket might expire if the deportation procedures take a longer time. If you wish to give such a gift, refer to the officer in charge at the detention center in advance.
[read Provisional Release]
Q12. How many pieces of baggage may I give to a detainee?
A. Many airliners allow their passengers to carry a piece of baggage as well as checked baggage of 20kg at maximum. If baggage exceeds this condition, a flight pensioner will have to pay additional charges. When giving such a gift, you should pay attentions to carriageable mass and weight of the baggage. For these reasons, it is desirable to give a gift as compact as a suitcase.
[read Provisional Release]
Deportation
Q13. Whey does the immigration control authority detain a foreign national with the deportation order?
A. If the deportation order is issued for a foreign national, an immigration control officer must immediately extradite the alien to the foreign national's destination. If it is impossible to immediately extradite the foreign national , the immigration control authority may detain the foreign national until it becomes possible to extradite the foreign national .
The immigration control authority detains a foreign national in order to surely take him into custody before the extradition and to prevent illegal aliens from activities in Japan.
Q14. Whet will happen to a detainee if the detainee does not have a valid passport?
A. Detainees may request their home nation's diplomatic mission in Japan to issue a new passport. In this case, detainees submit a passport application form to such diplomatic mission via an officer at the detention center or regional immigration office.
Q15. What kind of document do I need to apply for a new passport? How long does it take to issue a new passport?
A. Each nation has different documents and procedures for issuing a passport. Passport issuance procedures in some nations are rather time-consuming, but others are not.
Q16. If I leave Japan at my own expenses, may I feely purchase a flight ticket and make a flight reservation?
A. Some travel tickets don't allow you to change your initial reservation. If the deportation procedures take a longer time, your flight ticket might expire. If you intend to purchase a flight ticket for returning home, refer to an officer in charge at the immigration office.
Q17. I am provisionally released from the detention center and intend to leave Japan at my own expense. However, I missed the flight for leaving Japan. In this case, what should I do?
A. If you are allowed to leave Japan at your own expenses, have missed your intended flight, but have arrived at the airport, please visit the immigration office in the airport for specific instructions.
Some aliens foreign national are allowed to leave Japan at their own expenses but might have missed their intended flight because of acute disease. In this case, please refer to the immigration office that has permitted the self-financed departure for specific instructions.
Q18. Are there any criteria for provisional release?
A. The immigration control authority does not have criteria for making a decision on provisional release.
If applicant seeks for provisional release, the director of the immigration center or the supervising immigration inspector may provisionally release the detainee if he deems necessary to do so by comprehensively considering the detainee's circumstances, evidence proving the reason for provisional release, the detainee's characteristics and assets.
[read Provisional Release]
Q19. What kind of conditions will the immigration control authority attach to the provisional release?
A. The immigration control authority will set certain conditions on residence and activities, require the detainee to visit the immigration office, designate the provisional release period or any other conditions depending on the detainee's circumstances.
[read Provisional Release]
Q20. How does the immigration control authority decide the amount of guarantee deposit?
A. According to Article 54 of Immigration Control Act, the amount of guarantee deposit shall be 3 million yen at maximum. The director of the immigration center or the supervising immigr