| Foreign residents in Japan must carry their passport or permit with them. They
must immediately present it when an authorized officer requests them to
do so. With some exceptions, foreign resident's passport usually describes limitations on the passport holder's activities in Japan. This is because aliens may not land or stay in Japan without a certain permission as specified in Immigration Control Act. They are also subject to some limitations on their activities in Japan in accordance with their status of residence. For this reason, the immigration control authority needs to quickly check out if an alien has a valid status of residence, if he/she may engage in certain unauthorized activities, or if he/she complies with the requirements for his/her landing/staying permission. To this end, aliens must carry their passport or certificate with them and present it if a competent officer requests them to do so. However, if a foreign national has alien registration card, the alien is not required to carry his/her passport. A foreign national who does not obey this requirement will face criminal penalty (Article 76 of Immigration Control Act) or administrative penalty (Article 77-2 of the said Act). |
