Q and A for Medium to Long-term Residents
- Edited by
Meeting of Countermeasure against Immigration relevant laws / SMJ (Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan)
(移住労働者と連帯する全国ネットワーク・入管法対策会議)
NGO Committee against the introduction of "Zairyu Card (resident card)" system
(在留カードに異議あり! NGO実行委員会)
- Is it true that the current certificates of alien registration are being abolished ?
- Is it convenient if I can extend the period of stay or change of residence status and get a residence card ('zairyu' card) at the same time at the regional immigration office ?
- What information is recorded in a residence card ?
- What would happen if I don't have my residence card ?
- Should not only I but also assigned organizations notify the regional immigration office of some information ?
- How will the Ministry of Justice deal with the large amount of personal information about foreign nationals ?
- What is meant by "revocation of status of residence" ?
- What is a residential certificate for a foreign national resident ('jumin-hyo' for a foreign national resident) ?
- What is meant by deletion of the resident registration record ?
- What is "Deemed Re-entry permission"?
Q1
Is it true that the current certificates of alien registration are being abolished?
The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (hereinafter Immigration Act), the Special Act on the Immigration Control of, Inter Alia, Those who have lost Japanese Nationality Pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan (hereinafter Special Act), and the Basic Resident Registration Act were revised and promulgated on July 15, 2009. New systems introduced by these revised laws are going into effect in July 2012.
Under the new systems, foreigners that are given status of residence over
3 months (except special permanent residents) are defined as "medium to
long-term residents" and treated as below (see Tab.1).
Current "Alien Registration Act" |
Revised Immigration Act and Special Act | Revised Basic Resident Registration Act | |
---|---|---|---|
Special Permanent Residents (Korean and Taiwanese designated by the Special Act) |
Issued with "Certificate of Alien Registration" by local government |
Issued with "Special Permanent Resident Certificate" by local government |
Issued with "Residential certificate for a foreign national resident" by local government |
Medium to Long-term Residents (Permanent Residents, College Student, etc.) |
Issued with "Certificate of Alien Registration" by local government |
Issued with "Residence Card" by local immigration office |
Issued with "Residential certificate for a foreign national resident" by local government |
Persons with no status of residence (overtayers etc.) |
Issued with "Certificate of Alien Registration" by local government |
"Residence Card" will not be issued | "Residential certificate for a foreign national resident" will not be issued/eliminated |
Q2
Is it convenient if I can extend the period of stay or change of residence
status and get a residence card ('zairyu' card) at the same time at the
regional immigration office?
When you get a residence card at the regional immigration office, then you have to visit the local government office and report your place of residence. Moreover, when you change your name, date of birth etc, you need to report those changes to the regional immigration office or the local government office within 14 days.
Receive a "residence cards" at the regional immigration office
a "Permanent residents" over 16 years old should visit the regional immigration office every 7 years (on every 7th
birthday) and receive new residence cards.
b "Medium to long-term residents" except permanent resident will receive residence cards if you are granted the extension of period
of stay or change of residence status at the regional immigration office.
c Foreigners who come to Japan and stay over 3 months will receive residence cards when you get entry to Japan at the immigration
clearance of an international airport or seaport.
Punishment for not receiving a residence card
In case of a, b and c, if you refuse to receive a residence card, you will be punished by an imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen. If an imprisonment sentence is imposed, you will be deported from Japan.
Punishment for forgetting update your residence cards
If a permanent resident over 16 years old that fall into a forget to update your residence card in every 7 years, You will be punished by an imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen. If an imprisonment sentence is imposed, you will be deported from Japan.
Notify the local government office of your "place of residence"
You should visit the local government office and notify your place of residence within 14days of establishing a place of residence. The new place of residence will be printed on your residence card.
Penalties for not notifying your place of residence
In case of a and b, failure to notify your place of residence within 14
days is punishable by a fine of not exceeding 200,000.
In case of c, failure to notify about your place of residence within 14 days is punishable by a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen. If you fail to notify within 90 days, your status of residence will be revoked.
Notify the local government office when you move into a new place, you must
When you move in to a new municipality,
1) You must submit a "notification of moving your place of residence" to the municipal office you have lived;
2) Then you must submit a "notification of moving in" to a new municipal office within 14 days after moving,
If you move within the same municipality, you need to submit a "notification of changing your place of residence" within 14days after moving.
Punishment for not notifying such changes within the designated period
If you fail to submit a notification of moving in or a change of address notification within 14 days, you are imposed administrative penalty under the Basic Resident Registration Act (a fine of not exceeding 50,000 yen) and criminal punishment under the Immigration Act (a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen). If you fail to notify within 90 days, your status of residence will be revoked.
Notification from local government to the Ministry of Justice
The local government should notify the Ministry of Justice of your residential information.
Q3
What information is recorded in a residence card?
Information recorded in a residence card is as follows; name, date of birth, sex, nationality or region, address, status of residence, period of stay, type of permission and date of permission i.e. "entry permitted" or "extension of period of stay", number of the residence card, date of issue and date of expiration of the validity period, recognition/nonrecongnition or conditions of working per status of residence, presence or absence of permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence previously granted. Your picture is printed, in case of over 16 years old. IC is embedded in a card to record most of this information.

Q4
What would happen if I don't have my residence card?
Carry it at all times under the legal obligation
Foreign residents over 16 years old should always bring their residence cards as before. If you are required to show it to the police or immigration officers, you have to do so.
Punishment for rejecting to present your residence card or not carrying it
Reject to show your residence card is Punishable by an imprisonment for not more than
a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen. If the imprisonment sentence
is imposed, you will be deported.
Failure to carry your residence card is Punishable by a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen.
When you have lost your residence card, you have to apply its reissue to the regional immigration office within 14 days since you noticed it.
Punishment for not applying for reissue within 14 days
If you fail to do so, you are Punishable by an imprisonment sentence for not more than a year or a fine up to 200,000 yen. If the imprisonment sentence is imposed, you will be deported.
Carry it at all times in your daily life
The Ministry of Justice says "residence cards easily certifies that foreigners themselves have legal status of residence because the cards include updated and important their personal information."
Therefore, you will often be required to show your card whenever you look for an apartment, sign up with a mobile phone, open a banking account, or carry out any similar activities in your daily life.
Need your residence card to find a job
This revision has added a new item "recognition/nonrecongnition or conditions of working per status of
residence." The following 1), 2) or 3) will be printed depending on your legal status
of residence.
1) Recognition of working
2) Conditions of working per status of residence
3) Nonrecongnition of working; require permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under status of residence
Concerning the above, the Ministry of Justice explains "employers could easily judge if the foreign nationals are permitted to work with their residence cards."
To prevent employers from employing foreigners unknowingly who lack authorization
for employment, the revised law require all employers to check residence
cards of potential employees and to confirm "whether they are authorized
for employment". If an employer hires a worker without such authorization,
the employer may be punished.
That is, when you look for even a part-time job, you are required to show your residence card. The employers would confirm if you are permitted to work, to do any activities other than those permitted under status of residence or the date of expiration etc.
Q5
Should not only I but also assigned organizations notify the regional immigration office of some information?
Items that you should notify
Information such as "name, date of birth, sex or nationality" on your residence card is changed, then you should notify the regional immigration office of such changes within 14 days and receive a new residence card.
Punishment for not notifying such changes within 14 days
Failure to notify such changes within 14 days is punishable by a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen.
In addition, referring to Tab.2, row B, when your status of residence is
"Professor", "Investor/Business Manager", ...or "Skilled Labor ", you must
notify the regional immigration office within 14 days when your organization's
name or address is changed, or when you have deserted it.
Visa status | A. Items listed on Residence Cards *1 | B. Items you should notify *1 | C. Items for your assigned organization should notify *1 | D. Items to notify designated in the Employment Countermeasures Act | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A p p e n d i x 1 |
Artist | 1.Name 2.Date of birth 3.Sex 4.Nationality or region 5.Place of residence 6.Status of residence 7.Period of stay and date of expiration of the validity period 8.Type of permission and date of permission 9.Number of the residence card, date of issue, date of expiration 10. Recognition/Nonrecongnition or conditions of working per status of residence 11. Presence or absence of permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence |
- | - *2 | 1.Name 2.Date of birth 3. Sex 4.Nationality 5. Status of residence and presence or absence of permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence previously granted 6.Expiration of stay 7.Place of residence 8.Name and Address of the institution which employs the foreign worker 9.Wages, employment status, job category, working hours and period of employment 10.dates of hiring and separation of the foreign worker |
Religious Activities | |||||
Journalist | |||||
Cultural Activities | |||||
Professor | 1.Change of name or address of the organization which you belong to 2.When your organization dissolved, then such fact 3.When you leave your organization, then such fact |
1.Commencement and termination of acceptance of the foreign resident 2.Other particulars relating to acceptance situations |
|||
Investor/Business Manager | |||||
Legal/Accounting Services | |||||
Medical Services | |||||
Instructor | |||||
Intra-company transferee | |||||
Technical Intern Training | |||||
Student | |||||
Trainee | |||||
Researcher | 1.Change of name or address of the organization which you belong to 2.when your organization dissolved, then such fact 3.when you leave the organization, then such fact |
||||
Engineer | |||||
Specialist in Humanities/International Services | |||||
Entertainer | |||||
Skilled Labor | |||||
Dependent | In case of spouse: you must report it in the event of divorce or the death of your spouse. |
||||
Designated activities | |||||
A p p e n d i x 2 |
Spouse or Child of Japanese National | - | |||
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident | |||||
Permanent Resident | - | ||||
Long-Term Resident |
*2 According to the revised Immigration Act, organizations that accept foreign residents with residence status such as Artist, Religious Activities, Journalist and Cultural Activities should report circumstances of accepting them but the Ministry of Justice says that it is not required to report such circumstances because these residence status are "not based on existence of assigned organizations."
Items that assigned organizations should notify
The revised Employment Countermeasures Act enacted in October 2007 requires
all companies and public organizations to notify employment conditions
of each foreign employee (see Tab.2, row D) to the Ministry of Health,
Labor and Welfare. Then, that employment information is provided to the
Ministry of Justice.
Additionally, referring to revised Immigration Act, organizations that
accept foreigners under status of as "Professor", "Investor/Business Manager",
…or "Designated activities" notify "other particulars relating to acceptance
situations" to the local immigration office when they commence and terminate
acceptance of foreigners (see Tab.2, row C). Except employers who shall
notify "employment conditions of foreign employees" pursuant the Employment
Countermeasures Act.
Educational organizations that accept foreign students should also notify
As the Ministry of Justice says, educational organizations that accept
foreign students like language schools, universities, vocational schools
should notify name, date of birth, sex, nationality, status of residence,
period of stay, number of the residence card and additionally facts about
actual enrollment, expelling, expulsion or missing.
Compulsory items | Infringement | Penal provisions | |
---|---|---|---|
Notification | Notification of your place of residence after initial landing Notification of changing of your place of residence | False notification | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen |
Revocation of your status of residence | |||
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Delayed notification | A fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen in case of over 14 days | ||
Revocation of your status of residence in case of over 90 days | |||
Notification of changing of your status of residence or assigned organization Notification of or divorce or death of your spouse | False notification | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen | |
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Reporting delay | A fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen (in case of over 14 days) | ||
Residence card | Acceptance of your card | Not acceptance | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen |
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Carrying of your card at any time | Not carrying | A fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen | |
Presentation of your card | Refusal of Presentation | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen | |
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Renewal of the validity period of your card | Delayed renewal | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen if expired | |
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Reissuance of your card due to loss etc. | Delayed reissuance | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen in case of over 14 days | |
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Reissuance of your card due to defacement or damage | Noncompliance with reissuance order | An imprisonment not more than a year or a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen in case of over 14 days | |
Deportation (those who are sentenced above) | |||
Return of your card | Delayed return | A fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen in case of over 14 days |
Q6
How will the Ministry of Justice deal with the large amount of personal
information about foreign nationals?
Under the new system of residence management, your accurate and latest information is continuously gathered by the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau. Also the Ministry of Justice has records of your entry and departure history such as deportations, your fingerprints and facial photographs you were taken in entering or re-entering Japan, and also blacklist information.
Broad investigatory powers
Also, in order to be able to continuously obtain personal information about you, the Ministry of Justice has been given broad investigatory powers under the new Immigration Act. Regional immigration bureaus can force people to appear for questioning or to submit written documents. They can do this not only to you, but also to persons concerned.
Also, the new legislation has given the Ministry of Justice authority to demand additional information from the local government which issue your residential certificate ('jumin-hyo' for a foreign national resident) or assigned organizations.
Utilization of Personal information in investigations by comparing it
The Ministry of Justice compares personal information that it has gathered in the following way.
For example, it will check items B in Tab. 2 taken from you to items C or D taken from assigned organizations. In this way, the Ministry will use personal information in investigations related to the extension of your period of stay, change of status, or revocation of status.
Q7
What is meant by "revocation of status of residence"?
Status of residence can be taken away in the middle of your period of stay.
"Revocation system of status of residence" was created with the 2004 revision of the Immigration Act. If you "don't undertake the activities authorized by your status of residence for 3 months or more', your status of residence can be revoked by the Ministry of Justice.
Also, with the new Immigration Act, the Ministry of Justice can revoke your status of residence under the following cases:
(5) Special permission to stay or recognition as refugee status was obtained
by "deceit or other wrongful means".
(7) A person with the status of "spouse or child of Japanese national or
"spouse or child of permanent resident" has failed to "engaging in activities
as a spouse" for 6 months or more (except for the cases in which the foreign
resident has justifiable grounds for not doing so).
(8) A foreign national who has received permission to entry and has been
issued a residence card does not notify his/her place of residence within
90 days (except for the cases in which the foreign resident has justifiable
grounds for not doing so).
(9) A foreign resident who move into a new place doesn't submit a "notification of moving in" to a new municipal office within 90 days after moving (except for the cases in which the foreign resident has justifiable grounds for not doing so).
(10) A foreign resident notifies a false place of residence.
Some examples of "except for the cases in which the foreign resident has justifiable
grounds for not doing so" have been provided by the drafters of the legislation:
(7) Cases such as when the person concerned is in the middle of arbitration
to win custody of a child with Japanese nationality.
(8) Cases such as when the person concerned becomes sick, requiring long-term hospitalization, and can't notify his/her place of residence through a proxy.
(9) Cases such as when the person concerned, because of financial distress,
etc, loses the place that he/she has resided.
In these cases, status of residence will not be revoked. However, the Ministry of Justice has not yet indicated any clear standards for applying them.
Migrant women's right to stay
As written in Tab.2, row B, female migrants with the status of "spouse or child of Japanese national" or "spouse or child of permanent resident" must report to the regional immigration bureau within 14 days in the event of divorce or the death of their spouse.
Punishment for not reporting of these changes on time
Failure to report these changes within 14 days is punishable by a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen.
Furthermore, paragraph (7), which mentions her status of spouse can be revoked in the middle of her period of stay, has been added.
For example, if a female foreign national married to a Japanese man is found to have not been engaging in activities as a spouse for six months or more, the Ministry of Justice can revoke her status of residence and begin the deportation procedure. However under the revised law, in the case where the Ministry of Justice revokes her status of residence, the Ministry "shall consider giving her an opportunity" of an application for a change her status of residence to long-term resident or permanent resident.
So if her status of residence is revoked, the Ministry of Justice will notify the local government office where the woman lives, and request to delete her name from its foreign resident registration record.
The diversifying forms of "marriage"
In the modern era when forms of 'marriage' or 'married life' are becoming
diverse, it is impossible for anyone to define what it means by "not
engaging in activities as a spouse". In spite of this fact, the Ministry
of Justice will "make a judgment after comprehensively considering" the following
diverse factors: whether or not a couple is living together; if they live
separately, whether or not they keep in touch (and if so how often); if
and how the couple apportions responsibility for living expenses; whether
or not someone is living with a third person of the opposite sex; whether
a particular person is working or not; other things like the type of job,
etc.
In reality though, there have been many absurd cases where as a result of "making a judgment after comprehensively considering" their case, the Ministry of Justice has refused to renew people's spousal status and deported them.
Q8
What is a residential certificate for a foreign national resident ('jumin-hyo' for a foreign national resident)?
Up until now, in order to provide administrative services and collect taxes, local governments have listed Japanese residents based on the Basic Resident Registration Act and foreign residents based on the Alien Registration Act.
Resident registration
The Basic Resident Registration Act provides Japanese nationals with residential certificates for each household. The basic resident register includes name, date of birth, and sex of the people in the household, as well as their place of residence. It gives authorities basic information in order to provide and/or determine eligibility for the following services: national health insurance, late-stage medical care system for the elderly, long-term care insurance, eligibility for national pension, payment of child allowance, register of school-aged children, public assistance, immunizations or seal registration etc.
However, until the enforcement of the revised law, the Basic Resident Registration Act hasn't been applied to foreign residents.
Residential certificate for a foreign national resident
Under the revised law you will be entered in the basic resident register.
This will be applied to middle to long-term residents and special permanent residents, as well as to refugee applicants with permission for provisional stay in Japan or landing permission for temporary refuge who haven't been issued residence
cards.
However, you don't have exactly the same resident registration as Japanese nationals. As per Tab.4, nationality or region, status of residence, period of stay and date of expiration of the validity period and number of your residence card are recorded on your residential certificate.
Households containing people of more than one nationality
Under the new system, multi-national households, such as families from international marriages, are displayed as one household. Until now, if a Japanese national and a foreign resident were married, the foreign spouse's information would be written in the "remarks column" of his/her Japanese partner's resident registration card. From now all members of the family are noted in the same section.
Residential Certificate for Japanese | Residential Certificate for a Foreign National Resident |
---|---|
Name | |
Date of birth | |
Sex | |
Name of householder and relation to the person listed. If the person listed is the householder, this will be indicated. | |
Indication of official family registry, etc. | Indication of middle to long-term resident status |
- | Nationality or Region |
- | Number of the residence card |
- | Status of residence |
- | Period of stay and date of expiration of the validity period |
Date that subject became resident. | Date of moving in the municipality |
Place of residence | |
Date of submitting his/her notification of moving in and previous registered place of residence. | |
Registered on voter registration list | - (Excluded from voter registration) |
Items related to national health insurance, late-stage medical care system for the elderly, long-term care insurance, eligibility for national pension, payment of child allowance | |
Items related to the distribution of rice | |
Code of resident registration card | |
Items required under other government ordinances. |
Q9
What is meant by deletion of the resident registration record?
Under the revised Immigration Act, a local government "must notify the Ministry of Justice immediately when it enters, deletes or revises a residential certificate for a foreign national resident." A residential certificate for a foreign national resident is entered, deleted or edited in cases such as when a notification of birth or notification of death is given to the municipality. Also, a foreign resident register may be deleted by the authority of the local government when a foreigner resident's whereabouts becomes unknown.
Deletion of a foreign resident register based on a notification from the Ministry of Justice
This article is relating to the revised Basic Resident Registration Act. In the new system, the Ministry of Justice notify a local government when there are any changes or it becomes aware of any mistakes in items of a foreign resident register.
This new provision is not meant to provide services to foreign residents, but rather is a part of the system to control foreign nationals.
Q10
What is "Deemed Re-entry permission"?
In the previous system, you had to go to the regional immigration bureaus to get a re-entry permission every time you left Japan, for example to visit your home country or to go on a business trip. The fee for a single-use re-entry permission was 3,000 yen and a multiple-use one was 6,000 yen.
Under the new system, if you are going to leave Japan and return within
a year, upon leaving Japan you inform an immigration official of this and
show "your passport and residence card". This is the "deemed re-entry permission"
system.
But if you are going to be out of Japan for a year or more, you still have to get re-entry permission in the same way as under the previous system.
This system doesn't apply to "stateless" people or those with "Korea ('Chosen')" nationality.
On the other hand, people with "stateless" or "Korea ('Chosen')" marked on the nationality or region column of their residence cards have a problem under the new system. The Ministry of Justice says that such foreign residents won't be handled under the "deemed re-entry permission" system because, according to the Ministry, "they don't have a proper passport".
The revised Immigration Act creates many new duties for foreign residents.
It imposes criminal penalties or revocation of status of residence as a
punishment for violation. Foreign residents are made to fulfill many duties because of threat.
For example, the new law says that if you carry "your residence card", you don't have to carry your passport. However, even if you have your passport on you, if you happen to not be carrying your residence card, you will be punished for "failure to bear identification".
Under the revised law, there are also "the cases where a middle to long-term resident who has been issued a residence card stops living as a middle to long-term resident." For instance, if the Ministry of Justice judges that a foreign woman who is married to a Japanese man "has not been engaging in activities as a spouse for six months or more," her status of residence is revoked and she has to return her residence card to the Ministry within 14 days. Failure to do so will be punished by a fine of not exceeding 200,000 yen. This is a system that revokes status of residence and makes foreign residents return their residence cards under pain of criminal punishments.
This system strips foreign residents of their freedom and dignity. This law is a bad way to realize "living together ('kyo-sei')" with Japanese nationals and foreign residents. We who live in this Japanese society must remember the following:
Thus, the general rule is that each one of the rights of the Covenant must be guaranteed without discrimination between citizens and aliens. Aliens receive the benefit of the general requirement of non-discrimination in respect of the rights guaranteed in the Covenant, as provided for in article 2 thereof. This guarantee applies to aliens and citizens alike. Exceptionally, some of the rights recognized in the Covenant are expressly applicable only to citizens (art. 25), while article 13 applies only to aliens. However, the Committee's experience in examining reports shows that in a number of countries other rights that aliens should enjoy under the Covenant are denied to them or are subject to limitations that cannot always be justified under the Covenant.