My wife and I left Japan in October 2022 to do the greencard process in the USA. At the airport I stupidly checked the box for I would not be returning to Japan before my zairyuu expires, and it was punched. I figured that since my wife would be unable to leave the country while waiting for the US greencard (at least until receiving the I-131) that there would be no chance I would be returning to Japan in that time.
Life circumstances changed dramatically and it is now necessary for my wife to return back to Japan. We really do not want to have to spend time and money repeat the CoE and spouse visa process if possible. We really do not want to have to be separated during that process. It seems like the Japanese government will be unlikely to grant a CoE for me again until my wife is employed again which could take some time. It would then take 2-3 months for her to find a job and another 2-3 months to do the CoE and spouse visa process again.
Has anyone experienced this situation and managed to recover their residency without repeating the process? My residency was not going to expire until March 2023.
1 comment
Oh boy. I don’t think you can do this, I am pretty sure that act of renouncing your residency and punching your card means you need to re-apply for it altogether.
You should contact a relevant government agency for specific advice, I think. This is such an odd series of events (married to a Japanese national + resident of Japan + renounced residency + wants to undo renunciation of residency) that I’d be surprised many people at all will have any experience of it, let alone be here on the subreddit.
Incidentally, I’d be shocked if you were able to do this by March 2023, when it would expire anyway.