Immigration Control Procedures for All foreign nationals    Entry Procedures <Landing Procedures for foreign nationals (Article 6, Immigration Control Act)>
Landing Procedures for foreign nationals | Flowchart[PDF] | List of Necessary Documents

A foreign national must, in principle, satisfy the following conditions for landing in Japan (Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act) before he is permitted to enter the country with the status of residence and period of stay authorized. The foreign national must hold a valid passport; A valid visa must be affixed to the passport, unless the foreign national is exempt; The activities that the foreign national will be engaged in while in Japan as stated in the application must be true and must fall under one of the status of residence categories. (For some of the status of residence categories, the foreign national must, in addition, satisfy the landing permission requirements stipulated by the Ministerial Ordinance to Provide for Criteria pursuant to Article 7, Paragraph 1 (2) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.) The period of stay as requested in the application must comply with the provisions of the Ministry of Justice Ordinance. The foreign national must not fall under any of the grounds for denial of landing.     If, as a result of a landing examination by an immigration inspector at the port of entry, a foreign national is found not to conform to the conditions for landing, the case will be assigned to a special inquiry officer*, who will hold a hearing (Article 9, Paragraph 4 and Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act).     If the special inquiry officer finds that the foreign national satisfies the conditions for landing as a result of the hearing, he will promptly be granted landing permission (Article 10, Paragraph 7 of the Immigration Control Act).    On the other hand, if a foreign national receives notice that he does not conform to the conditions for landing, the foreign national may either submit to the finding or file an objection. In the case of the former, the foreign national will be ordered to leave Japan. In the case of the latter, the foreign national may file an objection with the Minister of Justice within three days after receipt of the notice (Article 10, Paragraph 10 and Article 11, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act).    If the Minister of Justice receives an objection from a foreign national whom a special inquiry officer has found not to conform to the conditions for landing, the Minister will decide whether the objection is with reason: that is, whether the foreign national conforms to the conditions for landing. If the Minister decides that the objection is with reason, permission to land will promptly be given to him. If the Minister decides that the objection is without reason, however, the foreign national will be ordered to leave Japan (Article 11, Paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 of the Immigration Control Act). If a foreign national who is ordered to leave Japan fails to do so without delay, he will be deported.    The Minister of Justice may, even if an objection is found to be without reason, give special permission for landing to a foreign national if the foreign national has received re-entry permission or if the Minister finds that there are special extenuating circumstances that warrant the foreign national to land (the "special permission for landing" provided for in Article 12 of the Immigration Control Act).    Japanese landing examination procedures for foreign nationals allow a foreign national who is not immediately permitted to land ample opportunity to assert and prove that he does, in fact, meet the conditions for landing. To ensure that the examination is conducted carefully, it is composed of three steps.    * A "special inquiry officer" refers to an immigration inspector designated by the Minister of Justice,who is authorized to hold hearings for landing examination procedures and deportation procedures.

Landing Procedures for foreign nationals | Flowchart[PDF] | List of Necessary Documents