Can I return to Japan if I signed a form nullifying my VISA w/ employer?

[Wolf Rider]

Hi there,

Last year I quit a famous ALT company that starts with the letter I (I won't spell it out because in their terms and conditions you state you will not relay information about their company). They pay you two months in arrears. I was ready to move into another job but they said that if I want my first two months of pay, I need to sign some documents. Among the documents was a form agreeing to terminate my VISA.

I needed the money, and so signed the forms to get the two months of pay, then reluctantly had to return to Britain for fear of getting embroiled in difficulties applying for a new job.

Now, I had a three-year VISA with them that terminates in 2013. I also have multiple re-entry passes. I never handed in my ARC.

Is it possible for me to return to Tokyo and get a job? Or, as soon as they scan my passport re-entry, will some data flash up saying my VISA has been terminated?

I read a lot of stories about people leaving their jobs, and finding new ones, even though you're not really supposed to do it, I heard it's not illegal.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[KansaiBen]

if you have re-entry and a legal visa you are good to go.


If you no longer work for them you have two choices

1. work for new company on original visa and change sponsor when you renew.
2. change sponsor which means you need a letter of release from "i" to change sponsorship.

Don't let them inside your head or they will f--k you silly.

PS immigration doesn't give a flying shi-t if you have a job or not. All they care about is if your visa is valid or not.

[Wolf Rider]

This sounds encouraging but I am still not 100% clear on this.

My previous company ... I have quit that job. And to get paid from them I signed a form saying they will "terminate" my VISA. I am aware that I could have got them to give me a letter of release, but my new job wasn't secured yet, and so I simply quit the job and signed the forms. So I am not involved with them any more, and can't get any release forms from them.

Doesn't this mean when I turn up in Japan, and scan my passport for re-entry etc, etc, something will come up that I have quit my job and my VISA isn't legal any more?

And if I got a new job ... to get a VISA from them, don't I have to get this release form? And if I can't get a release form (which I can't because I have quit the job), won't that look extremely dodgy?

Sorry for my ignorance.

[Wolf Rider]

if you have re-entry and a legal visa you are good to go.


If you no longer work for them you have two choices

1. work for new company on original visa and change sponsor when you renew.
2. change sponsor which means you need a letter of release from "i" to change sponsorship.

Don't let them inside your head or they will f--k you silly.

PS immigration doesn't give a flying shi-t if you have a job or not. All they care about is if your visa is valid or not.

And I guess what I am trying to say is ... is my VISA still legal? Because I signed a document with my employer stating that I agree they will terminate my VISA (in order to get paid from them for the 2 months in arrears).

Thanks again.

[Effected After]

Companies do not have the legal right to require you to cancel your visa, nor do they have the ability to do it themselves. That clause in the contract cannot be enforced. So if you left with a valid visa and a valid reentry permit, then your visa is still valid, and you will have no problems coming back to the company.

On top of this, your former company legally has to issue a letter of release, regardless of the reasons (though they may very well resist).

[NorthByNorthwest]

To 'terminate' your visa, you would need to:

1. Leave Japan without a valid re-entry visa and surrender your alien registration card to the Immigration officer when departing Narita or KIX.
2. Leave Japan with a valid re-entry visa but indicate to the Immigration officer that you are leaving Japan and surrender your alien registration card.

Getting employees to sign that kind of letter is an indication of desperation. Only the most naive ones will believe it has any enforceability or legal obligation.

I also had an employer who tried to purposely screw around with me by denying a 'letter of release' when I left for another job. However I had absolutely no problem as I had already grabbed a stack of letterhead and printed out the magic words myself - and handed it in to Immigration myself. By the time I received the letter of release (I had heard from others that the guy in charge had gloated about the certainty of having 'screwed' me with the delay), I was already in my new job with my new sponsor approved.

[Wolf Rider]

Thanks for this information guys.

[Wolf Rider]

The thing is guys, I have been out the country for nearly a year, and it will be about a year-and-a-half in total until I return.

Don't you think they might be suspicious if I have been away for so long? After all, I was just an ALT. I also don't have an address there now. Don't you think they might as me questions or pull me up at immigration?

I know I sound paranoid, but I really need to get this right as I don't want to get refused entry. That would be bad for my future in Japan...

[KansaiBen]

Don't you think they might be suspicious if I have been away for so long? After all, I was just an ALT. I also don't have an address there now. Don't you think they might as me questions or pull me up at immigration?

I know I sound paranoid, but I really need to get this right as I don't want to get refused entry. That would be bad for my future in Japan...

You can be out of the country until a day before your visa expires, immigration is not going to play nanny about why you are out of the country so long. All they care about is you have a valid visa when you re-enter. And yes, you are being paranoid.

[Glenski]

And people nowadays are trying to say that ALT dispatch agency "I" is better than before. Uh, yeah, sure.

[Effected After]

You can be out of the country until a day before your visa expires, immigration is not going to play nanny about why you are out of the country so long. All they care about is you have a valid visa when you re-enter. And yes, you are being paranoid.

You criticize people when they don't think enough, and you criticize when they think too much. How about just helping people and not being a ____ about it?

[prashant123]

Hello guys thanks for being so informative!

I have exctly same case as wolf
I have Work visa in Japan valid for 2 more years but have been out of Japan for last 5 months.
I have ARC with me and duly fillled retrun to Japan form while leaving temporariy

but today one of imigration lawyer told me that I will de denided to enter again and visa will be cancelled as I was out of Japan for more than 3 months and I was jobless in Japan for more than 3 months

IS This really true?
how can they cancell the visa just if I am out of Japan?I searched the visa documents but none says this
I understand that initially for getting a work visa one needs to have a sponsor company with a job offer but
is it true that without a sponsor(in case of job loss) one is not allowed to enter again if even if the visa is still valid!!

are these immigration lawyers correctly interpretting the visa rules?--guys I trust you more than them..pls guide me

[prashant123]

[QUOTE=NorthByNorthwest;1137017]To 'terminate' your visa, you would need to:

1. Leave Japan without a valid re-entry visa and surrender your alien registration card to the Immigration officer when departing Narita or KIX.
2. Leave Japan with a valid re-entry visa but indicate to the Immigration officer that you are leaving Japan and surrender your alien registration card.

I agree with this
this is what I have been told by imigration staff when I got my visa...

Is there any other way if VISA can get cancelled?

I think no?if you know then pls share with us all

[Glenski]

prashant,
If you are in exactly the same situation as the OP, then don't ask more questions. You didn't say if you had a reentry permit, though. Do you?????????

That lawyer was probably trying to quote this immigration policy:
Q17 I heard that my status of residence would not be revoked even if I fail to engage in my intended activity relating to my status of residence for three months because of "justifiable reason." It is true?
A. Your status of residence will not be revoked even if you stay in Japan with one of the statuses of residence as listed in Annexed Table I of Immigration Control Act (Engineer, Skilled Labor, College Student, etc.) and have "justifiable reason" for failing to engage in your intended activity relating with your status of residence for three months. The immigration control authority listens to your opinions when evaluating if or not you have " justifiable reason" on a case-by-case basis. For example, the immigration control authority might not revoke your status of residence in the following cases because you are regarded as having " justifiable reason."

After losing your job due to bankruptcy of your employer, you go about getting a job, including actually visiting a company for an interview in order to seek for a new job;
After Japanese-language school you have been attended was closed down, you are working on necessary procedures to enter a different Japanese-language school; or
You need long-term hospitalization for medical treatment and have no choice but to take a temporary leave from university, but intend to go back to the university after coming out of the hospital.

http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...airyuu/qa.html
Realize that it doesn't pertain to people who have reentry permits. The reentry permit...uh... permits you to leave and return within its time period. That lawyer was trying to abide by the letter of the law/policy in saying that if you stay here unemployed for 3 months, you could be in trouble. The thing is, that is a niggling point that only a lawyer or ticked off immigration official would adhere to, IMO.

If you have the reentry permit, you're safe.

[iago]

Hm.. I think if they revoked your status of residence, they would invalidate your re-entry permit at the same time, though I agree the chances of that happening appear to be slim to none.

[TheAtomicFunk]

Christ I'm pretty disappointed in you guys. The OP states that he doesn't want to give out the name of the company due to contract obligations. Exactly why would he be worried about it?

Lightweights...

[iago]

Christ I'm pretty disappointed in you guys. The OP states that he doesn't want to give out the name of the company due to contract obligations. Exactly why would he be worried about it?

Lightweights...

There was an OP?

[TheAtomicFunk]

There was an OP?

There's always an OP. That's what makes the Interweb magical.

[SteadyRollingMan]

What surprises me here is that Wolf Rider is a bit cagey about giving information and points out(4 posts) that he has left his job very often, some is fishy with the OP post, the second person. prashant123 who piped in seems like a non-native who already has consulted an immigration lawyer and does not like the answer they have recieved, again some is fishy with that post. So the whole thread just smells a bit too much.

[Wolf Rider]

What surprises me here is that Wolf Rider is a bit cagey about giving information and points out(4 posts) that he has left his job very often, some is fishy with the OP post, the second person. prashant123 who piped in seems like a non-native who already has consulted an immigration lawyer and does not like the answer they have recieved, again some is fishy with that post. So the whole thread just smells a bit too much.

Can you blame me for being cagey when this is such a delicate issue? My whole life is in the balance here, I don't want to shout from the roof tops, "HEY I'M A POTENTIAL ILLEGAL ALIEN PLEASE BAN ME FROM JAPAN FOR LIFE".

The reason I mention I quit my job so many times is because if you quit your job you are supposed to inform immigration. It will be obvious to immigration I have been out of a job for over a year if they do a little research. And all the answers are assuming I have other work lined up.

Regardless, I will not take the risk. I will terminate my VISA and do it legitimately. I don't want to go back to Japan with no job, and no apartment, with a gaijin card registered to an apartment and a job.

Thank you all for the comments.

[PageOne]

.......... because if you quit your job you are supposed to inform immigration.

Pardon ?

We are talking about a work type resident status ?

Since when did it become necessary to report this info to immigration ?

[prashant123]

thanks for replies guys!
Yes I do have reentry permit

what made me annoying and forced to post messages here is the reply from Imigration lawyer that if I am out of Japan and jobless then I become Illegal resident of Japan

I never did anything illegal in Japan or anywhere,only crime I committed is that I was working for company which lost its business due to recession and I got fired:-)
I donot think this is too big crime to get residency revoked in Japan:-)
I have lived in Japan and paid taxes for last 5 years but never ever thought that such a worst day will come:-)

anyways I want to enter Japan safe and dont want to have refused entry...I agreee with Wolf completely

[prashant123]

I donot think we need to inform immigration about such things at the time of entering Japan

What I understand is that to be 100% safe we need a sponsor company with job offer while entering Japan