All of the revised contents of the Immigration Control Act in 2023 come into effect.
As mentioned in our blog post “Special permission to stay” earlier this year, all of the following amendments to the 2023 Immigration Control Act has come into effect as of the 10th of this month.
- Creation of exceptions to the suspension of deportation effect
- Creation of a system of deportation orders with penalties
- Creation of a system of supervision measures in place of detention
- Establishment of a “complementary protected person” certification system
- Establishment of application procedures for special permission to stay
While #1 above, which means that foreigners applying for refugee recognition for the third time or later will be subject to deportation, has been the focus of discussion, #5 above is also a major change.
Purpose and procedure of “Special permission to stay in Japan”
Traditionally, special permission to stay has been obtained by filing an objection at the final stage of the three-trial system of deportation proceedings: an examination by an immigration inspector, an oral hearing by a special hearing officer, and a ruling by the Minister of Justice on the objection. However, with this revision, it is now possible to apply at any of the timings listed below.
- When a person is detained based on a detention order (including cases where a provisional release permit has been obtained)
- When placed under supervisory measures (*)
*Supervisory measures are a system newly created by this law amendment, as mentioned in #3 at the beginning, defined as “Measures to proceed with deportation procedures without detaining foreign nationals, while being allowed to live within society for a considerable period of time”.
Regarding the application procedure, a new homepage (“Special permission to stay in Japan”) has been established on the Immigration Agency website. The format of the application form itself is very simple, but from a practical perspective, it is still very important to prepare the materials you submit that prove the circumstances in question.
Guidelines also implemented
At the same time, the guidelines for special permission to stay have also been revised.
As mentioned in this blog post “Refugees and special permission” (March 19, 2024), the following text has been added to the new guideline.
When the Minister of Justice consider to grant special permission to stay, it MUST also consider whether it is difficult for the foreign national to return to his/her home country due to the unstable situation in his or her home country, even if the foreign national has not been recognized as a refugee or a person subject to supplementary protection.
Conclusion
The deportation of foreign nationals who have applied for refugee status for the third time or later has been criticized from a human rights perspective. In order to prevent foreigners who should be protected from being deported, this system should be used from the first stage of deportation procedures (the stage of detention, provisional release, and initiation of supervision measures).
Conversely, not using the special permission to stay system could be seen as evidence that applying for refugee recognition for the third time and beyond constitutes abuse of the refugee recognition system.