Hello Japanlife,
I was lucky enough to have a nice and long 5 year specialist visa that I have not had to update or think about for a while.
On my 在留 card it says that my VISA expires 01/09/2022. Okay. Time to renew. That much is clear.
But here’s the kicker. I have a flight booked to go visit family back home on the 1st of September and plan to be back in Japan on September 10th.
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So the two questions that follow:
\- What are the chances my renewal is not done by Sep 1st (provided I submit within a couple of days)?
\- What are my options of if my renewal is not done by Sep 1st? Do I have to cancel my flight or do I have to cancel my whole life in Japan.
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Sorry if this is coming off as slightly panicky, I just dropped 180,000 on tickets that I would hate to lose..
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Any advice would be much appreciated
4 comments
Usually once it gets accepted. you have maybe a month to pick it up.
Either way if your notice comes while you are out of the country, you should still have time to pick it up within the deadline.
You can start the renew process up to three months before the expiration date FYI.
You can tell them you will be out of the country and they will hold the result I believe. You can travel during the renewal process.
I had a residence card which was expired while it was being updated. They put a stamp on the card that says its being renewed which extends the expiration date a bit. At the same time I had an overseas trip. I had no problems using this stamped expired card while my new one was coming. After leaving Japan people couldnt even read it since it was in kanji, and coming back in it was fine because I have the re-entry document you get stapled to your passport. I came back in the country, got my new card at immigration I think.
Best bet is to renew it 3 months early. Incase anything happens you get a little buffer to fix it. If you must renew it like I did (I was dumb and didnt realise first option). You can follow how I did it and explain at the office so they can stamp ur current card.