Can a visas be canceled?

[lennonix]

My coworker told me "Don't get too comfortable man, as haken we are easily disposed of. It isn't uncommon for a contract to be abruptly ended and you will go from making 500,000 yen a month to making zero overnight. On top of that if you try to claim Hello Work and cancel your visa, they can send you home since you aren't on a spouse or dependent visa. "

Is this true? It was rather shocking to hear from a guy that has been in Japan for a number of years. I was under the impression labor laws are very strict here and that a visa could not be canceled and you couldn't get deported for being laid off.

[Kionon]

I assume Glenski will be along shortly to give more specific information but...

...what?? I have not only never heard of someone losing their visa because they have lost their job, but I have seen people lose their job, collect unemployment, go to a work center, and get work- and a new visa since it required a status change. And there are people like me who have quit after sufficient notice and go in and out of Japan without hassle because we have a reentry permit... As long as you don't upset MoJ, I don't see why you would lose your visa...

Seems like misinformation to me.

[lennonix]

I assume Glenski will be along shortly to give more specific information but...

...what?? I have not only never heard of someone losing their visa because they have lost their job, but I have seen people lose their job, collect unemployment, go to a work center, and get work- and a new visa since it required a status change. And there are people like me who have quit after sufficient notice and go in and out of Japan without hassle because we have a reentry permit... As long as you don't upset MoJ, I don't see why you would lose your visa...

Seems like misinformation to me.

It worries me because another coworker seemed to think he was right, and he said that it reverts to a tourist visa if you lose your job. And that after that you have 30 days to find a job or you have to go home.

[KansaiBen]

Is this true? It was rather shocking to hear from a guy that has been in Japan for a number of years. I was under the impression labor laws are very strict here and that a visa could not be canceled and you couldn't get deported for being laid off.

If you have no sponsor or your sponsor withdraws sponsorship then technically immigration can render a visa status invalid. Ive never heard of it happen but thats not to say that it couldn't.

You can only get deported if you get arrested, overstay your visa or otherwise are in violation of your visa status. being unemployed per se is no grounds for deportation as you have not broken any laws.

[Kionon]

It worries me because another coworker seemed to think he was right, and he said that it reverts to a tourist visa if you lose your job. And that after that you have 30 days to find a job or you have to go home.

Landing permission and any other type of visa are entirely separate. The landing permission does not "become" a work visa and a work visa cannot "revert" to a landing permission. If your visa is invalidated, you may be required to obtain new sponsorship, and if you leave Japan, and come back in you may receive a landing permit (you probably will if you have broken no laws), but they're not actually connected.

Your coworker is full of crap.

[lennonix]

Landing permission and any other type of visa are entirely separate. The landing permission does not "become" a work visa and a work visa cannot "revert" to a landing permission. If your visa is invalidated, you may be required to obtain new sponsorship, and if you leave Japan, and come back in you may receive a landing permit (you probably will if you have broken no laws), but they're not actually connected.

Your coworker is full of crap.

He feels I poorly described what he is talking about. He is saying that a working visa can be invalidated by the employer at anytime for any reason they want. Like let's say my employer decides they want to violate the terms of the contract and not give me 30 days pay. So they think "oh, yeah we can just send him home by refusing to keep sponsoring his visa to keep our abusive labor practices from ever coming to light". Is that actually a possible scenario?

[Effected After]

No. Your employer cannot revoke your visa. Only immigration can do this, and they currently don't. They allow you to stay until your visa has expired. There has been talk of changing this with the new rules that are coming around in July (I don't know where those talks went), but at moment you are fine.

[Kionon]

He feels I poorly described what he is talking about. He is saying that a working visa can be invalidated by the employer at anytime for any reason they want. Like let's say my employer decides they want to violate the terms of the contract and not give me 30 days pay. So they think "oh, yeah we can just send him home by refusing to keep sponsoring his visa to keep our abusive labor practices from ever coming to light". Is that actually a possible scenario?

No. Once the visa is granted, it is YOURS. Unlike some countries (Korea comes to mind), your visa belongs to you. If it is going to be invalidated it will be done by Immigration NOT your employer. Should an employer revoke sponsorship, Immigration may choose to invalidate your visa... but then again they may not. Certainly, you will have enough time to start making waves with a union, labor board, or lawyer before such an invalidation works its way through the system. Your employer cannot just decide to call up Immigration and have your visa invalidated overnight. If you haven't broken any laws, you should be fine. By law, a contract can be broken by either side at any time, even though it is good form to give notice. The American term is "right to work," I would have to go back to my own contracts to see if I could identify the Japanese word...

Your coworker still isn't making any sense.

[Glenski]

Hi.
Your coworkers are either idiots or conmen. Don't believe them.

1) The visa is valid until it expires.

2) Your employer can only cancel his sponsorship of the visa, not the visa itself.

3) Technically, you have 3 months to find another job after you lose one, unless you have a tremendously important reason why you couldn't find a job. See question 17 here (immigration web site, as official as it gets).
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...airyuu/qa.html
Even so, I have not heard of anyone in all the years I've been here who has lost their visa just because they lost their job. This is not Korea (where such things happen because visa rules are different).

BTW, are you actually making 500K? Wow.

Like let's say my employer decides they want to violate the terms of the contract and not give me 30 days pay. So they think "oh, yeah we can just send him home by refusing to keep sponsoring his visa to keep our abusive labor practices from ever coming to light". Is that actually a possible scenario?

It is illegal for them to not give you 30 days notice or pay in lieu thereof. Illegal! A word in the ear of the Labor Standards Office will help remedy that.

As for the above being a possible scenario, yes, they can let you go. Yes, they can even try to do it without paying you what they are legally obligated to. Will you lose your visa? No.

Let your coworkers believe what they want. I say they are just trying to scare you.

[lennonix]

With overtime pay yeah. It's just haken work though so might not last heh. I negotiated them up and basically am making this much in my 20s just because I know a lot of programming languages and some Japanese ><

[hml]

On top of that if you try to claim Hello Work and cancel your visa, they can send you home since you aren't on a spouse or dependent visa.

Hello Work does not ask to see the visa in your passport. At most they will do is ask to see your gaijin card - but I'm not sure if they do. I can't remember.