I heard a case about an applicant, who had previously resided in Japan applied for a Certificate of Eligibility (hereinafter referred to as “Certification”), was asked from the Immigration Bureau about his retirement history during his previous stay in Japan, etc. and to submit payment slips and transfer records in the period.
When applying for permission to change the status of residence (hereinafter referred to as “change”) or to extend the period of stay (hereinafter referred to as “renewal”), it is natural that you must explain these matters at the time of application. However, in the case of “certification”, these explanations are usually not required.
Requirements for “change” and “renewal”
In order for “renewal” or “change” to be permitted, the following requirements must be met, according to the guidelines for permission to change status of residence and extend period of stay published by the Immigration Bureau.
- The activity you intend to carry out falls under the status of residence listed in the attached schedule of the Immigration Control Act that pertains to your application.
- Conforms to the landing permission standards stipulated by the Ministry of Justice ordinance.
- The applicant was engaged in activities consistent with his/her current status of residence.
- Not having bad behavior
- Having sufficient assets or skills to earn an independent living
- Employment and working conditions are appropriate.
- Fulfilling tax obligations
- Compliance with notification obligations stipulated in the Immigration Control Act
1 is called eligibility for residence status, and 2 is called suitability for landing permission standards. Article 20, Paragraph 3 (for “change”) and Article 21, Paragraph 3 (for “renewal”) of the Immigration Control Act state that “Permission may be granted only when there are sufficient grounds to deem it appropriate.” So 3-6 is called as “appropriateness in a narrow sense”.
Requirements for issuing a Certificate of Eligibility
According to Article 6-2, Paragraph 5 of the Immigration Control Act Enforcement Regulations, the following conditions must be met.
- Passport and visa must be valid
- Activities are not false
- Must be eligible for residence status
- Conforms to landing permission standards
- The planned period of stay complies with the provisions of the Enforcement Regulations of the Immigration Control Act that determine the period of stay.
- Not falling under the grounds for refusal of landing as stipulated in Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act
“Certification Reset”
As can be seen from the above, “appropriateness in a narrow sense” is not required in the context of “certification.”
For example, in the following cases, if it is expected that you will not be able to receive permission for “renewal” or “change” smoothly, you should leave the country, return your residence card, and return to the country in a “clean state”, then try to get COE issued.
- Even though the status of residence granted to you has changed due to circumstances (e.g., you are no longer a “spouse of a Japanese national, etc.” due to divorce, you were fired from your company and had no choice but to work part-time, etc.), you did not apply for the “change”.
- Although you had changed jobs many times, you never reported his affiliation.
- Continued to work in violation of the Labor Standards Act
- and so on
I call this a “certification reset.”
Actual cases
As mentioned at the beginning, when applying for “certification,” he was asked to explain the circumstances surrounding his retirement during his previous stay in Japan, and to submit payment details of his pay slips. It corresponds to “appropriateness in a narrow sense” which is a requirement for “change” and “renewal”.
There is no legal basis for requiring this at the time of “certification”. “Appropriateness in a narrow sense” is not as serious as the grounds for refusal of landing, which lists things like whether a person has ever been punished.
The followings are possible from Immigration Bureau standing point.
- Previously, because he had not fulfilled his notification obligations, the period of stay normally granted for one year will be reduced to six months.
- If a previous employer is suspected of violating the Labor Standards Act, that employer will be placed on a blacklist as an organization of need of attention, and subsequent examinations will be conducted more strictly.
However, I believe that it is not legally permissible to deny the certification due to not submitting materials, or the content of the submitted documents.
It seems that there are actually cases where the certificate is not issued in these cases, and I would like to know the reason for the non-issue.
Summary
Although the legal basis is unknown, for those who have previously resided in Japan and are applying for “certification”, it is necessary to check their previous status of residence and provide supplementary explanations if there are any problems.
In other words, “certification reset” is not a panacea.