Depending on your purpose, there can be several ways to visit Japan. However, Mostly, you can either apply for an Certificate of Eligibility, or try to visit Japan on a Short stay visa if your passport is not granted an exemption of visa.
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What is a Certificate of Eligibility
A certificate of Eligibility is a certificate to prove that a foreign traveler is eligible to land in Japan. This certificate has to be acquired before entering Japan if the traveler is not a permanent resident or only trying to apply for a short stay. The traveler needs first to apply for the certain Certificate of Eligibility from the Immigration Services of Japan and apply for a visa by showing it to the Embassy of Japan. Within 3 months, with the Certificate of Eligibility, the visa, and a valid passport, the traveler can land in Japan legally and receive a residence card at the airport.
For example, if you are trying to enter Japan as a student, aside from all the documents needed, you will have to apply for a certificate of Eligibility first, either by yourself or by your delegate (usually the school or university you are admitted to). When you have the Certificate of Eligibility in Hand, you will show the Certificate of Eligibility and receive a visa. Then you can travel to Japan and at the airport by showing the Certificate of Eligibility, the visa and your passport, you can land in Japan safe and sound.
Who can be your delegates?
As mentioned above, one has to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility before they enter Japan, which means that it can be difficult for the traveler to do the application themselves. Under such circumstances, usually a a delegate in Japan is needed to finish the application on behalf of the traveler. Who can be the delegate varies in terms of the types of the status of residence you are trying to acquire. For example, if you are trying to study in Japan, usually the school or university you are admitted to should be your delegate. If you are trying to acquire a working visa in Japan, normally your employer will do the job.
If you are trying to stay in Japan with a spouse visa, your spouse will be the delegate you need.
| Status of Residence that you are trying to apply | Who can be your Delegate |
| Student | Your school or university in Japan |
| Investor /business manager | Employee of the company in Japan you are going to manage/The person in Japan who you have asked to start the company for you |
| Specialist in humanities/international service | Your employer in Japan |
| Entertainer | Your employer in Japan |
| Spouse or child of permanent resident | Your relatives in Japan |
| Spouse or child of Japanese national | Your relatives in Japan |
| Dependent | Your relatives in Japan who support you or the employer of your relative preparing to enter Japan. |
| Long term resident | Your relatives in Japan |
What is a Short Stay visa
A Short Stay visa is literally a visa for short stay. It is usually applied for if you are trying to visit Japan on the purpose of sight-seeing, business trip, or visiting your relatives and acquaintances living in Japan. A Short Stay visa can be applied for with the expansion of stay being either 15 days, 30 days or 90 days. As a rule, no activities with the purpose of obtaining profit is allowed when staying in Japan with the Short Stay visa, with an exception of temporary income from speech and daily activities. Basically, no extension or change of status of residence is allowed.
Apply for a short stay for your fiancé or fiancée
As mentioned in the pervious paragraph, no extension or change of status is allowed with the visa for Short Stay. However, practically one can apply for a short stay visa to visit their fiancé or fiancée in Japan and then apply for the change of status of residence to acquire a spouse visa.
For example, If you are a fiancé or fiancée to a Japanese national or a person with a status of residence of permanent residence or long-term residence, there are chances that you can first visit Japan with a short stay visa in Japan, get married and then apply for a change of status of residence to get a spouse visa.
What can we do for you?
Applying for a Certificate of Eligibility or a Short Stay visa is the first step to enter Japan. Nevertheless, the process can be proved to be pretty complicated and tiring as a large amount of documents are needed. Furthermore, if there should be any mistakes made during the process of document preparation, the process can be even more time-consuming than normal. The problem intensifies if you are applying for a spouse visa, as your spouse living in Japan has to do all the work for you and of course, mistakes can be made.
If you are worried about the application of the Certificate of Eligibility or a Short Stay visa, having little time to do the preparation, trying to acquire finish the application in a short time, CONTACT US! Immigration lawyers from Good Partners Law Office have long experience in the preparation of documents and the application process and we provide our service at a reasonable price. You can try the Consultation first and let us know about the problem that is worrying you.
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