So I recently started a new job and thankfully my residence card was extended for another 3 years. I am concerned however as my original card and visa were to expire in March.
Are they both one in the same? Or do I need to get the visa extended as well? I don’t want to start getting letters from immigration next month if I can avoid it…
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They’re the same thing. Your visa (or Status of Residence, to use the Ministry of Justice’s term) is what your residence card displays. You should see an expiration date three years in the future printed on the new card.
So you don’t have to do anything until you either change jobs or statuses, or have to renew your current status in three years.
Your status of residency and residence card expiration are usually one in the same (minus for permanent residents whos cards can expire but status not.)
To answer your question, when you renew your status (officially extending it) they give you a new card once the new status extention is approved.
Btw people often say say Visa which is that large one page in your passport, which is not important once you aquire your status when you entered Japan, I assume you arent talking about that.
Visas need to be extended before they expire, residence cards need to be renewed before they expire. Visas aren’t necessarily extended for the same period of time as the residence card, so you need to keep track of both. Unless you have PR you need both a valid visa and a valid residence card.
Your zairyu card you have clearly labeled “Period of stay date of expiration” that is when you visa expires. The card has a clearly labeled “period of validity of this card”.
Are you confusing your “landing visa”, the thing in your passport, with your residence visa?
The thing in your visa is what hit you in to Japan and allowed you to get your zairyu card, which is your residence visa.
If the “Period of stay date of expiration” is when your visa expires. I think the “period of validity of this card” matches that until you get PR and the the “Period of stay date of expiration” is written as ****.
You don’t, your residence card acts as a visa once you have it (ish).
It’s the same thing. Didn’t you sign a couple of visa extension stuff going over to the new job?
What Japan calls VISA is what gets glued into your passport and is only used to enter the country once.
What the internet often incorrectly calls VISA is actually called residency status (tied to your residence card) and that’s what you need to extend.
See [here](https://reddit.com/r/japanlife/w/immigration-terminology?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app).