Application for extension of period of stay

What is period of stay?

It is the period during which the status of residence is valid and is written on the certificate of eligibility and residence card. The period of stay is determined for each status of residence. For example, the period of stay for "Engineering/Humanities International/International Services" is 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 3 months, and any of these is given.

If the foreign national is granted a status of residence as a result of the landing examination at the airport, etc., his/her period of stay begins from the day of landing, and expires on which the period of stay written on your Certificate of Eligibility ends.

If his/her period of stay was exceeded, he/she concludes in overstaying illegally, so if he/she wishes to continue to stay in Japan, he/she must apply for either an extension of your period of stay or a change of status of residence.

Application period

The applicant must apply for permission to extend your period of stay by the expiration date written on his/her residence card. Applications can be made approximately 3 months before the expiry date of his/her stay.

Please note that even if his/her period of stay expires while he/she is applying, it is not be considered illegal overstaying until he/she is notified of permission/denial. This is called the special period. However, please be aware that if he/she remains in the country for more than two months without being notified of permission/denial, it becomes illegal to remain in the country.

From application to permit (conventional procedures)

The procedure for applying for permission to extend your period of stay is explained below.

1.Application for extension of period of stay

The applicant (foreigner himself/herself) submits the application form, photograph, and required documents to the local office of the Immigration Services Agency that has jurisdiction over the applicant's place of residence.

2.Examination

Immigration Officers at the Immigration Services Agency examine the submitted application form and attached documents to determine whether the applicant should be allowed to extend their period of stay in Japan.

The examination usually takes between two weeks and one month.

Please see viewpoints of examination below.

3.Notification of permission/non-permission

As a result of the examination, a notification (postcard) is mailed to the applicant's address.

4.Payment of fees and receipt of residence card

The applicant receives a new residence card by submitting/presenting the notification and the documents listed in the notification (photo, residence card, etc.) and the procedure completes.

At this time, a fee of 4,000 yen need to be paid with revenue stamps.

Viewpoints of examination

The immigration officer decides whether to approve the application for renewal of residence based on the behaviors of the applicant, like whether the person had previously engaged in activities consistent with their status of residence, whether or not he/she had received any criminal penalties, whether he/she was earning an independent living, whether he/she was fulfilling their tax obligations, whether he/she had met the requirements set forth in the Immigration Control Act and whether fulfilling their notification obligations to Immgiration Bureau.

Online Application

Flow: From application to entry (online procedures)

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 extension of period of stay

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.Notification of permission/non-permission

Notification of approval or denial is sent to the applicant via email.

4.Payment of fees and receipt of residence card

By following the instructions in the email in step 3, the applicant mails the fee payment slip with revenue stamps for the prescribed fee, a stamped return envelope, his/her residence card to the Immigration Bureau, then a new residence card is returned to him/her.

Our services

Flow: From application to entry (conventional procedures)

Nishiyama Immigration Service applies online to the Immigration Services Agency on behalf of the foreign national.

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.