Hi there! I have a rather complex situation here regarding a visa status and hope someone knows something or maybe even faced the same trouble before. Would really appreciate any advice.
The deal is, I have a 5 year working visa (Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ Int.Services) that expires in the end of this year and technically should be valid. Probably.
However in fact I’ve been working in Japan only for about year and a half, from the end of 2019, and returned to my home country long ago, in the first half of 2021.
So the question, is it still valid? Can I apply for jobs without visa support and re-entry Japan by my current visa? Or has it expired long ago, and now in case I want to get a job there I am limited to positions that provide visa support as I am obliged to get a new one?
Just in case it matters and if I recall correctly, when departing from Japan a few years ago I was asked by the immigration inspection what are my plans for future. I might have answered that I would like to return within a year or something (there was some kind of a question form), but as I already mentioned I left that job and Japan in 2021, and resided in my home country ever since.
My current plan is to visit the local Japanese embassy and ask them directly, but I thought I might have no need to do that if the very same situation is somewhat common and I can get the info here.
Thank you in advance!
by Pivangelion
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Is my visa valid or not?**
Hi there! I have a rather complex situation here regarding a visa status and hope someone knows something or maybe even faced the same trouble before. Would really appreciate any advice.
The deal is, I have a 5 year working visa (Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ Int.Services) that expires in the end of this year and technically should be valid. Probably.
However in fact I’ve been working in Japan only for about year and a half, from the end of 2019, and returned to my home country long ago, in the first half of 2021.
So the question, is it still valid? Can I apply for jobs without visa support and re-entry Japan by my current visa? Or has it expired long ago, and now in case I want to get a job there I am limited to positions that provide visa support as I am obliged to get a new one?
Just in case it matters and if I recall correctly, when departing from Japan a few years ago I was asked by the immigration inspection what are my plans for future. I might have answered that I would like to return within a year or something (there was some kind of a question form), but as I already mentioned I left that job and Japan in 2021, and resided in my home country ever since.
My current plan is to visit the local Japanese embassy and ask them directly, but I thought I might have no need to do that if the very same situation is somewhat common and I can get the info here.
Thank you in advance!
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Did you go to the immigration office in Japan and apply for a 5 year recently permit? Then yes it’s still valid. Or did you only get the 1 year entry permit at the airport? In that case you would have had to renter within one year of your departure and your status is no longer valid.
>and returned to my home country long ago, in the first half of 2021
When you returned home did you apply for a re-entry permit?
Given how long you’ve been out of the country, it would need to be the full “Re-entry permit” that you apply for at immigration, not the “Special Re-entry permit” that you get at the airport.
If you didn’t get a re-entry permit or only applied for the special re-entry permit at the airport (which is only good for 1 year) then you’re out of luck. Your status of residence is no longer valid and you’ll need to start the process again from scratch.