Job Discussion Forums

Fuzzy · Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 5

Hey there, I first just wanted to say I love this forum. It has given me a wealth of information. I do have a question though about my Alien Registration Card.

I am Canadian and I left Japan while working as an ESL teacher to be with a sick family member in Canada. I had full intentions of returing to Japan after a week or so, but with complications my sich family member got worse and I had to stay. (My employer was okay with this)

My question is, since I planned to return to Japan, after one week or so in Canada, I didn't turn in My Alien registration Card when I left Japan. Now that I had to stay in Canada and my work visa and Alien registrarion card have expired, I am concerned that it will be hard for me to go back to Japan to teach, because I didn't turn in my alien registration card and it has expired. Will I be considered an overstay and run into problems if I go back.

I appreciate any members who can help me with some information on this subject. I love Japan, and hope to teach there again soon.

Thanks in advance for any information....

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

If your work visa and alien card have both expired, you will have to start all over again at square one, but you CAN still come here to teach. Square one means, you will have to find a sponsor and get a work visa all over again (and alien card, too).

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

You can not overstay if you are not in Japan at the time and your visa has run out. Your work 'visa' has expired while you are out of the country. You will simply need to jump though the hoops again to get a new work visa.

Fuzzy · Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 5

Thanks for the quick reply PAULH and GLENSKI. I appreciate your help answering my questions. Its just that I heard you had to turn in your Alien registration card at the airport when you leave Japan, and if you didn't and it expires while your out, it is hard to go back. My freind turned hers in when she left for good.

PAULH or GLENSKI or anyone else, can you tell me why we have to hand in our ALien cards when we leave.

thanks everyone for the help...this is a great place for info...

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I can't answer the "why" of handing in your alien registration card. Perhaps it has to do with finalizing paperwork.
Perhaps it has to do with minimizing fraudulent use of it later.
Perhaps there is a nifty little tower built of all the returned ARCs in some immigration warehouse (ala Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Here is some additional info on ARCs.
http://www.crnjapan.com/japan_law/laws/en/alien_registration.html

Fuzzy · Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 5

Thanks again for the quick reply. I guess that was a very vague question I asked....maybe there is a nice card stack somewhere..hahah...

Anyways, thanks for the link to more info< I really was just concerned that I didn't get to habd in My alien card befroe I left, like most others do..and I has people telling me I had to...

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it...

Fuzzy · Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 5

Sorry about all the typos in the above post, I sent that off to quick without a quick check of it....

Fuzzy · Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 5

Return of Registration Certificate)
Article 12.
In case the alien leaves Japan (except for when he leaves Japan with the re-entry permission provided for in Article 26 of the Immigration Control Act, or he leaves Japan with the Refugee Travel Document under Article 61-2-6 of the Immigration Control Act), he shall return his registration certificate to the Immigration Inspector (meaning the Immigration Inspector provided for in the Immigration Control Act; hereinafter the same) at the port of entry or departure (meaning the port entry or departure provided for in the Immigration Control Act) at which he departs from Japan.

I read where it states that you can be fined up to 50,000 yen if you do not hand in your ARC when you leave....has anyone heard of this situation occuring.

Glenski, Thanks for the link....

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 6:24 am Post subject:

You'd think it would be the inspector's job to see whether one has a re-entry permit/multiple entry visa, and if not, to request the ARC; and only those who couldn't produce said ARC would, to my mind, be liable for a wristslap or fine (as punishment for violating identity regs for however long you were in Japan since the time you'd lost your ARC); that is, you presumably had a multiple-entry visa, so you were within your rights to hang onto your ARC when you left (intending as you were to return to Japan sooner than you actually were able to). I'm not aware of any address that people who "fail" to return to Japan should send their expired ARC to...

As Glenski and PAULH point out, the only thing you'll really need to worry about is getting a new visa (obviously) in order to re-enter.

Wonder what they would do if you couldn't pay the (apparently) 50,000 yen fine - detain you and make you miss your flight? Me, I'd claim (if I then or later had to) that I'd lost it in the last few days of my stay, and that there just hadn't been the time to go to City Hall, let alone get it reissued...