Job Discussion Forums

[mrjohndub]

I was wondering if there were any issues with overstaying your visa for a few days. Mine expires today, and this is also my final working day. Also, my visa for the country that I'm moving to has been held up for a couple of extra days, and I'll be here until probably Wednesday (3 Aug). Will I get hassled at the airport? Should I bring proof of why I was late in departing? Thanks!

[JimDunlop2]

Yes. Unless you are trolling, you will be utterly and completely screwed.... And a "guest" of the immigration authorities for a while. Overstaying is seen as very serious these days -- and the last group of American students who thought it would be no big deal ended up in the clink for a while, got forcibly deported and banned from returning to Japan for 5 years.

I would recommend, get to immigration pronto.... But it's Saturday. Ok... I would recommend you leave the country somehow today -- by boat or plane... Then return on a tourist visa. That will buy you another 60 days. Either that or spend the next 30 locked up.

There are many threads up on this BTW.

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=35398&highlight=overstay+visa


http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=37492&highlight=overstay+visa

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=10180&highlight=overstay+visa

[canuck]

mrjohndub, you've been on here long enough not to make a bonehead move like this. Unless you get extremely lucky, you're screwed. You'll probably have to pay a substantial fine and will be banned from Japan. With something like this, you should have planned a bit more carefully and took some precautions. Have a nice life.

[kendoman1]

Mrjohndud,
I might have some good news for you. Their was new immigration law passed a year or two ago. It states that if you turn yourself in for overstaying as long as you have money to leave the country,have committed no crimes in japan and never been deported before you can leave japan very easy.
You will not be arressted or detained or held in confinement, but at all costs don't be arrested or turn yourself into the police or you will be detained.
This new law is called (shukokumeresedo) ask for this at immigration.
Here is a thread on another forum conserning this.

www.gaijinpot.com/bb/showthread.php?t=8936

Read post 27,34and 39 on this thread.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[kendoman1]

Sorry just to make this easy:

If you have overstayed your visa go to immigration and turn yourself in and ask for (Shukokumeresedo)
1.
You will not be datained or put in jail
2. You will recieve NO fine
3. You will not be able to return to Japan for one year

The above applies if: You have not been arrested before in Japan and have never been deproted from Japan before and have the funds to leave japan at once or very soon.

Now,
If you have overstayed your visa and turn yourself into the police or the police arrest you or spot check you for a visa then your fu***ked.
You will be detained and held and have a possible 3 million yen fine and banned from enterning Japan for up to 10 years.

[Glenski]

I believe kendoman is correct, but in any case, be prepared to apologize profusely, kiss a lot of butt, apologize even more, and perhaps even sign a document attesting to your huge error. You might get off with a slap on the wrists, but then again you might not.

Please let us know the gory details in any event.

[Sweetsee]

Really, good luck with that JD.
How'd it work out with the tax man? Certainly hope you didn't have to part with any hard earned e plurbius.

All the best to you, we will be here.
Good luck,
s

P.S. Where are you off to? And where in Saitama were you?

[Hoser]

[mrjohndub]

Hoser, f*ck you. I've been a model citizen here. Especially compared to you.

Everybody else, thanks for you input.

Look, it's not even possible for me to work my last day of work and exit the same day. My work ends at 9:00pm officially and paperwork takes longer. My company makes it seem quite routine for people in my situation to vacate their apartment and leave either the next day or soon thereafter. It's not even possible for me to leave on the final day. And, this was a last-second, unexpected delay. I've had a paid-for flight for over a month.

Unfortunately, my visa is held up going to Korea. (I'm moving to Jeju-do)

As mentioned, I plan to depart Wednesday.

As for posting on the final day, won't they just let me leave the country? I'm not planning on coming back. My employers in Korea seem completely unconcerned about this and they have had other teachers arriving under similar circumstances before.

By the way, what do you mean by get out by any means necessary? What is the procedure should I depart by plane or so forth in a desperate way?

[canuck]

You're toast.

[Nismo]

500,000 Yen fine, jail, or both, if you go directly to the airport. There is a possibility of it being reduced, but that depends on what side the official got out of bed in the morning.

Like others have said, don't go to the airport or the police - go to the nearest immigration office and plead your case for a reduced sentence.

Good luck.

[JimDunlop2]

I'm not terribly surprised that your current OR future employers don't appreciate the gravity of the situation. To them you are little more than a cheap laborer. No offence.

Did you read the SF Gate newspaper article that I linked to? It doesn't lie -- nor does it exagerate... as I KNOW from first-hand experience what happens to visa overstayers. I've personally known two myself, and gone to vist them in jail. The REASON why they overstayed is/was completely irrelevant.

The fact that your employers are idiots and held everything back with paperwork does not make you immune to the fact that Japanese immigration officials have cracked down hard on people who overstay their visa -- even by one day. The other posters may be right -- you may get off with a slap on the wrist, but if you were to get stopped by the police between now and Wednesday for ANY reason -- be it riding your bicycle without a light or giving a cop a dirty look or whatever, you would indeed be "toast" as another person put it.

If I were you, I'd be going into the immigration office first thing Monday morning to explain the situation and apologize profusely and maybe... just MAYBE you could still catch that flight you already paid for. Otherwise, get ready for a drawn-out ordeal. The odds are stacked against you being able to start your job in Korea on time -- hell I'd be willing to bet money that says so.

When I say depart by any means necesssary (too late for you now) I mean, get to any port -- sea or air, and get the heck out of the country -- destination anywhere -- even if it's only for 24 hours and then you come back... That way you haven't overstayed your visa and when you return to Japan the next day, you will have a brand new 60-day tourist visa... However, if you've already made it to said airport, it would probably behoove you to speak with the immigration officials there to see if there's any way they could save you a bunch of money and stamp you with an emergency visa extension.

Anyway, I hope you'll be in a position to let us know how you fared, as from the perspective of most of those present, it really doesn't look too good for you right now.

P.S. Oh yeah, my wife had this to add: Immigration ALSO doesn't care that you are leaving and have no intention of returning -- and they also don't care if you have a paid-for flight ticket out of the country. If they decide to detain you and you miss your flight, you will be forced to buy a new plane ticket at your own expense and at the regular airfare. (This has happened to friends of ours, so we know all about it). Everyone expects the Japanese government to behave reasonably... But they don't . Even the fact that they can hold you for up to a month without laying charges and without allowing you to phone your family or lawyer for that time period goes to show how unconcerned they are about people... Don't expect the Japanese officials to behave in any sort of rational or acceptable manner.

(the above P.S. is from Mrs. Dunlop)...

[kendoman1]

MrJohn,
If you make it to the immigration office apply as I stated before (shukokumeresedo) This is not hearsay IT IS JAPANESE IMMIGRATION LAW !!!!!
You will able to leave the country at once with no jail time,fines if you have met the conditions as I stated above.
I will agree that you did not make a mistake it is really stupid to overstay your visa,sorry dude just the way it is. You're lucky that you can get out,but make sure to get on your hands and knees and beg brother.
As for the other posters its nice of you to come on here and give advice, but just one thing before doing so MAKE SURE your up to date on the current laws and etc. and I have never heard of a 60 day tourist visa? If your from any of the tourist visa wavier countries. You get a 90 day tourist visa.

[Hoekk]

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, Wherever the part of the world you are:

Hello, I must tell you I have been there and it sucks.　Same situation, same sh*t company, last day rush, man!
Today is already 30th, my advice: Make up a story, you lost your wallet, you got robbed, mugged, anything, and you had plans exiting Japan by the 29th. But This "situation" made you stop because you lost important documents, and money, tickets, whatever.
That is all I would do, because if you just go there with no excuse, you will get jailed. It almost happen to me. To be sorry wont matter to them freaks. Now your mission is to make up a story, go to a police station or immigration and explain what I said above, they may back you up.
The best luck to you man! That is my advice, that is what I did.

Be Well,

Ren Hoekk

[JimDunlop2]

To what kendoman is referring to: (from the Survival Manual: a Guide to Foreigners' Rights in Japan - ISBN4--88319-330-6) pg. 49:

If you have overstayed in Japan and want to return home voluntarily, you must appear in person at the Immigration Bureau. If you opt for this procedure to appear voluntarily in the Bureau before being arrested by the police, you are placed under a "deportation by force" order, and you can go home by yourself without being indicted.

When you appear at the Immigration Bureau, you must have some form of proper identification, such as a passport, travel documents, etc. They will not accept any copies. On the day that you appear, they will take a photograph of you and a copy of your fingerprints, and a brief questioning will occur. They will then inform you of the date of the next questioning and that of your return, and you can go home on that day. By the next questioning, you will have had to prepare an air ticket for the designated return date by yourself. Take it or a receipt for it with you to the second questioning. Under existing deportation procedures, a foreign national is in principle detained, but currently, it is very common for him/her to return to his/her country without being detained.

There is a new system created under the revised Immigration Law in 2004, specifying that those overstaying who voluntarily appear at the Immigration Bureau with their own intention to return home cannot be detained, and instead, they are given a departure order defining that they should depart from Japan within 15 days. This provision came into effect on December 2, 2004. For more information on conditions, please see page 7.


You can do it, but they definitely still treat you as a criminal in the process.... Not fun in my books.

As for pg 7:

Revised Immigration Control Act

The Immigration Control Act was overhauled and revised in 2004. The following is an outline of the three revised points that particularly affect foreign residents.
The Act was revised around the time of writing, and therefore, how the revised Act will be implemented in the future is uncertain. For more information, those affected by the revision should contact such legal experts as citizens' groups, administrative scriveners or lawyers.

1. Order of departure
Those overstaying who appear at the Immigration Bureau with the will to leave Japan are not detained. Instead, the order of departure issued by a Supervising Immigration Inspector compels them to depart from Japan (Article 24-2, 55-2 and under, Revised Act).

Points:

A foreign national who falls under the aforementioned new system is defined as someone who:
- overstays his/her visa, excluding foreign nationals who entered or landed in Japan illegally;
- apepars voluntarily, excluding unkenneled foreign nationals;
- intends to depart from Japan, excluding those seeking special permission for residence;
- has never been sentenced to prison due to a certain type of crime;
- is expected to depart from Japan immediately, i.e., holding his/her passport, a flight ticket, or fees for returning to his/her country; and
- has never got any order for deportation or departure.

The departure order defines the departure date as being within fifteen days of appearance. Immediately after departure, a one-year period of denial of landing is applied to any foreigner departing from Japan under the above conditions, according to the revised Act. This rule came into effect on December 2, 2004.

Now, the REAL catch is this.... Will they even allow you to fly to Korea? Or will they force you to buy a ticket back to your country of origin? Remember the caes of Bobby Fisher (the chess dude)? They wanted to deport him back to the United States, where he was facing indictment... And they refused to allow him to fly to Iceland who was friendly to him... The only way he was ultimately able to fly to Iceland instead of back to the U.S. was because Iceland offered him citizenship and under Japanese law, he was deported to a country where he was a citizen. I do not know whether this condition also applies in voluntary cases....