Application for Certificate of Eligibility

What is status of residence ?

A status of residence is one that a foreigner must obtain (or maintain) in order to enter (or stay) in Japan, and if one enters (or stays) without obtaining (or maintaining) this status,it constitutes illegal entry(or illegal stay).

The each status of residence belongs to one of followings
  i. Actitity Based
    i-1) With employment(ex; Specified Skilled Worker)
    i-2) Without Employment(ex; Student).

  ii.Social-position-based(ex; Japanese spouse)

A foreign national cannot hold more than one status of residence at the same time.

The timing when a new status of residence is granted after examination by the Immigration Services Agency is usually 1.when the landing permit stamp with the status of residence is affixed to the passport at the airport, etc. or 2.when the foreign national receives a new residence card with a new status of residence at the local office of the Immigration Services Agency after the application for change of residence status was approved.

The Certificate of Eligibility is a required document for 1.

What is a Certificate of Eligibility?

The Certificate of Eligibility does not prove that a resident status has been granted, but has two meanings as follows.

1.A document to be "presented" for foreigners to apply for visa issuance at the Japanese embassy, etc. in their home country
2.A document to be "submitted" by foreign nationals to undergo immigration inspection at Japanese airports, etc.

Without a Certificate of Eligibility, a foreign national is not be able to get a visa issued, and there is no way to enter Japan (in normal case).

The meaning of 1 is that the staff of the Japanese embassy (under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) uses the Certificate of Eligibility issued by the Ministry of Justice as a basis for determining whether to issue a visa.

The meaning of 2 is that landing examination, which usually takes several months, cannot be carried out in the blink of an eye when entering the country, so an examination is conducted in advance and an immigration officer (under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice) makes a decision as to whether or not entry is permitted with reference of the certificate.

From application to entry (conventional procedures)

The procedure for obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility is explained below.

1.Application for issuance of Certificate of Eligibility

A member of the ogranization which accepts the applicant(foreign national) apply for the issuance of the Certificate of Eligibility. Naturally, the applicant is a foreign national who is not yet in Japan, so an employee of the company in the accepting organization or a spouse who is in Japan if it is a status-related qualification act as the applicant's "agent" and make the application.

The agent contacts and cooperates with the applicant in the foreign country, and fills out the application form after preparing a photo and supporting documents according to the applicant's status of residence.

Once the documents are ready, the agent submits the application form, photo, and required documents to the local office of the Immigration Services Agency that has jurisdiction over the applicant's intended residence or receiving institution.

2.Examination

Immigration officer at the Immigration Services Agency examines the submitted application form and attached documents to determine whether the submitted applicant is permitted to enter Japan.

The examination usually takes several months. (As a guide, standard processing periods are determined for each status of residence and can be viewed on the Immigration Bureau's website.)

The viewpoints of examination are very detailed for each status of residence. (See Viewpoints of examination below)

3.Issuance of Certificate of Eligibility

If it is determined that the applicant is permitted to enter Japan as a result of the examination, a Certificate of Eligibility is mailed to the agent. (In case of non-issuance, a non-issuance notice is sent).

4.Mail of Certificate of Eligibility

The agent mails the Certificate of Eligibility by international mail to the applicant's address.

5.Visa application

The applicant goes to the Japanese embassy or consulate in their home country, submit the necessary documents including the Certificate of Eligibility, and apply for a visa.

6.Visa issuance

A VISA sticker is affixed to the applicant's passport at the counter of the Japanese embassy or consulate.

7.Landing Examination

The applicant undergoes landing examination by an immigration officer at the airport, etc. By submitting the Certificate of Eligibility, a landing permit stamp is usually affixed to his/her passport and he/she is able to enter the country. A residence card is issued on the spot at major airports.

Viewpoints of examination

When an immigration officer examines whether or not to issue a Certificate of Eligibility, the examination will be conducted from the following three main points of view.

Reasons for refusal of landing

Is the person considered undesirable to enter Japan?

For example, if the applicant has a criminal record in the past domestically or abroad, or if a certain period of time has not passed since he/she was deported in Japan, there is a high possibility that his/her visa will not be issued. This is stipulated in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (hereinafter referred to as the Immigration Control Act) as grounds for refusal of landing.

This is the perspective of whether the grounds for refusal of landing apply.

Regarding eligibility for residence status

If the applicant seeks for an activity based status of residence, the planned activity must match the activities specified in the desired status of residence. If the applicant seeks for a social- position-based status of residence, there needs to be the fact of this.

For example, under the Immigration Control Act, activities that can be carried out under the employment status of residence "Business Manager" are defined as activities related to business management. If it is determined that the receiving company does not need the personnel for business management, based on its size and management status, there is a high possibility that it will not be granted.

If the residence status is "Spouse of Japanese National, etc.", the same applies if a fraudulent marriage is suspected.

This is the perspective of eligibility for residence status.

Regarding landing permission criteria

In addition to the above, for many statuses of residence, landing permission standards are stipulated by ordinance of the Ministry of Justice. This is from the perspective of immigration policy, for example, if you have a work-related qualification, it is a requirement to set a salary equivalent to that of a Japanese person. The purpose is to prevent people from being deprived of employment opportunities. If the salary in the attached employment contract is extremely low, there is a high possibility that the application will not be issued.

This is the perspective of compliance with landing permission standards.

Online Application

From April 2019, the Immigration Bureau released the online residence application system, making it possible to apply online. (Of course, you can still apply on paper.) The changes and benefits from the previous procedure are as follows.

1.Application for issuance of Certificate of Eligibility

Instead of filling out a paper application form, it is now possible to apply by entering information into the online residence application system. The biggest advantage is that there is no need to go to the local office of the Immigration Services Agency, and the costs of moving and waiting in line are eliminated.

3.Issuance of Certificate of Eligibility

The Certificate of Eligibility will now be sent directly to the applicant via email. There is no need for the agent to send it by mail to the applicant.

Our services

Nishiyama Immigration Service applies online to the Immigration Services Agency on behalf of the person acting as applicant's agent.

Applications are made using our unique system that utilizes the residence application online API released by the Immigration Services Agency in July 2020, so instead of inputting information into the residence application online system (via a browser), an Excel-based application template is used. The information you enter will be sent as electronic data.