Going home for the holidays? What employers should check about the special re-entry permit
Many foreign employees go home for New Year or Lunar New Year. When one of them asks for leave, the travel paperwork is worth a few minutes of HR's time. Even someone who fully intends to come back can lose their status of residence by leaving the wrong way, and then they cannot simply return to work. This guide is based on the Immigration Control Act and the guidance of the Immigration Services Agency (ISA).
Leaving without a re-entry permit ends your status
The ISA page on re-entry permits (in Japanese) explains that if a foreign resident leaves Japan without a re-entry permit, including a special re-entry permit, their status of residence and period of stay are extinguished. To come back they need a new visa and a full landing examination.
Someone who leaves with a re-entry permit does not need a visa to return, and after landing their previous status and period of stay continue as before. So the first question for any trip home is whether the employee is leaving with that permission.
Conditions of the special re-entry permit
Most employees use the special re-entry permit (minashi sainyukoku kyoka), which needs no application in advance. Under Article 26-2 of the Immigration Control Act and the ISA guidance (in Japanese), the main conditions are:
- a valid passport, plus a residence card for mid to long term residents
- a period of stay longer than 3 months, and a status other than Temporary Visitor
- return within 1 year of the departure date
It is not available to people whose status is being revoked, people subject to a hold on departure confirmation, people with a detention order, people with Designated Activities status while applying for refugee recognition, and a few others. They need a regular re-entry permit.
Valid for 1 year or until the card expires, whichever comes first
The special re-entry permit is valid for 1 year from departure, but if the period of stay ends sooner, it is valid only until that date (Article 26-2, paragraph 2). For example, an employee whose period of stay ends on February 15, 2027 and who leaves on December 20 must be back by February 15.
It also cannot be extended from abroad (Article 26-2, paragraph 3). If illness or a family emergency keeps the employee overseas past the deadline, the status of residence is lost. A regular re-entry permit works differently: it can be valid for up to 5 years within the period of stay, for one trip or multiple trips, and if there is a good reason it can be extended at a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad (Article 26).
A regular re-entry permit is applied for before departure at the regional immigration office for the employee's address. The ISA procedure page lists a fee of 4,000 yen for a single permit or 7,000 yen for a multiple permit, paid when it is granted, with same day processing. For employees planning a long stay, or whose period of stay may end while they are away, it is worth mentioning.
At the airport
To leave on a special re-entry permit, the employee shows their passport and residence card at departure immigration, ticks the box on the re-entry ED card saying the departure is temporary and they plan to return, and tells the officer they wish to leave on the special re-entry permit. Skipping this step counts as leaving without a re-entry permit. For someone going home for the first time, walk them through it beforehand.
Renew first if the card expires soon
If the period of stay ends during the trip or soon after, the safest route is to finish the renewal before leaving. When a renewal is pending past the expiry date, the law lets the person stay until the decision or until two months after the original expiry, whichever comes first (Article 20, paragraph 6, applied by Article 21, paragraph 4). How a departure during that window is treated depends on the case, so if an employee with a pending application plans to travel, ask the regional immigration office before they go.
Lost passport or residence card abroad
If an employee loses their passport or residence card while abroad on a re-entry permit, or their old passport is taken back when a new one is issued, they no longer hold proof that they can return. The ISA page explains that a relative living with them, or an agent holding a letter of authorization, can file a request at a regional immigration office for a certificate of the re-entry permit's validity.
Before you approve the leave
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's guideline on employing foreign workers (in Japanese) asks employers to accommodate leave when a foreign worker wants to visit home. For Specified Skilled Workers, granting the necessary leave for a temporary return home is one of the standards of the employment contract.
- The expiry date on the residence card, compared with the planned return date
- The passport expiry date
- Whether the special re-entry permit applies, and whether the employee knows to tick the box at departure
- A contact while abroad, and how to reach HR if the return is delayed
Sincero Global tracks the period of stay of every employee we dispatch and goes through the travel steps with them before a trip home. If you have a question about a direct hire's residence procedures, reach us by phone at +81 90 7841 8887, by email at info@sinceroglobal.jp, or on LINE.
