On Air: Info from Fukuoka Prefecture/2012.6.25(Mon)/13:55~

Here’s information from Fukuoka Prefecture, regarding the new Residency Management System that will officially start on Monday, July 9^th. The new system does not apply to those holding a 3-month (or less) residency status, temporary visitor status holders, or those who are special permanent residents.

There are four major revisions in the new Residency Management System. The first is that instead of the alien registration certificate currently used, foreigners will be issued a resident card instead. The new card will bear the owner’s picture, residency status, term length of residency and home address. In addition, in effort to prevent forgeries, cards will also contain IC chips that contain the information appearing on the card.

The second major revision is that the maximum period for residency status will become 5 years. Under the current system, those with a status of Engineer, Specialist in Humanities / International Services and Spouse or Child of Japanese National are granted residency terms of up to 3 years. With the introduction of the new system, this will be extended to a period of 5 years. Similarly, those holding Student status will also see an increase in the maximum permitted term of stay. Under the current system it is 2 years and 3 months. This will change to a maximum of 4 years and 3 months under the new system.

The third point of revision is the re-entry permit system. Under the current system, those departing Japan temporarily on travel with the intention of resuming their lives in Japan after their travel, had to obtain re-entry permits at the immigration office. Under the new system, those in possession of a valid passport and valid resident card will who travel outside of Japan for a period of less than one year will, in principle, be able to depart and re-enter Japan without obtaining a re-entry permit. In addition, in cases still requiring re-entry permits, the period of validity of the permits will be extended from 3 to 5 years.

The fourth major revision to the system is that the alien registration system will be disposed of. Valid alien registration certificates currently held by foreign nationals will be treated as resident cards. Therefore, until your current card expires, please be sure to keep it.

Along with the phasing out of the alien registration system, foreign residents will be able to receive the same certificates of residence, or jyumin-hyou, as native Japanese do. This means that households composed of both foreign nationals and Japanese will now be able to have their household recognized on one certificate of residence. It also means that if there is a change of address, national health insurance and other related services will also be transferred automatically. This is expected to simplify processing. It also means that, under the new system, changes in residency status or term of stay that previously had to be submitted to both immigration and local authorities, will now only need to be submitted to the immigration bureau.

There will also be changes for those classified as Special Permanent Residents, and under the new system they will receive Special Permanent Resident Certificates.

For further information regarding the new residency management system, visit the Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau of Japan website at www.immi-moj.go.jp. Or, contact the Immigration Information Center by phone at 057-001-3904.