Visa runs

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Tony542

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Hello,

I am 31 yo and I already stayed in Japan a couple of time in the past. I am French so I can stay in Japan up to 3 months with my passport. I am planning to live in Japan for a while in order to enjoy the life in Japan and to practise my Japanese.

I am planning to stay way more than 3 months. Do you think I will have a problem someday if I do the following :
3 months in Japan - 2 months in France - 3 months in Japan - 2 months in Taiwan - 3 months in Japan etc.

I mean with 2 months between my Japan stay it is obvious I am not working there. They should even be happy I am spending my money in their country.

What do you think about this ? Doable or I will have problems after 3 or 4 times doing that ?

Thank in advance :)
 
Nobody can really tell you whether a 2-month stay out of the country will be a sign to immigration. Multiple attempts will raise more flags, obviously. You will merely be taking your chances. I'd say more than 2 times will get you questioned.

What does this have to do with the title of your thread "visa run"? You aren't going to have a visa, nor do you seem to be looking for advice on getting one.
 
Thank you for your replies.

- So does it mean coming back 2 days later or 2 months later wont make a difference to the immigration ?
- What do I risk if they don't want me to come anymore. Is it a simple 'not anymore yet but you are welcome in the future' or a black stamp (meaning no more Japan for me forever?).

Sorry for the title. I thought it was appropriate because at the immgration after my arrival they stamp my passport with a 3 months tourist visa. So it is still a visa I think. A visa that I am wish to extend/renew by a stay abroad.
 
I'm telling you that nobody can tell you how long you have to wait before you can come back. Two months might be enough, or it might not. Two days seems unreasonable, though. I definitely wouldn't risk that!

You risk being told that you cannot enter that day and being forced to take the next flight out at your expense. If they flag your name for future times, I don't know, but anything is possible. Frequent travel is suspicious and considered as if you are doing something illegal like working without a visa or even smuggling.

You don't get a tourist visa. That is only for certain nationalities. You get what is called a visa waiver, just like Americans.

I know you WISH to extend it, but you don't always get what you want. Maybe talk to other French people with the same situation as you and see what they did. Be sure the circumstances are the same. Or if you want to stay longer than a tourist, get a work visa or student visa.
 
Glenski said:
What does this have to do with the title of your thread "visa run"? You aren't going to have a visa, nor do you seem to be looking for advice on getting one.
Click to expand...
Yeah. This is actually called a "visa run" anyway. That's the name everyone uses.

@BillMad: Guess we'll never know :(...
 
A few years ago I went to Japan for a month long holiday. I entered Japan in Tokyo, but flew directly to Okinawa . After a week in Okinawa I spontaneously decided to go to Taiwan for a couple of days since it was so close to where I was. After returning in Okinawa, I was immediately questioned by a customs lady. She even told me to "not do this again". To me this didn't make any sense, because it merely resulted in a two week extension of the original tourist visa of three months. It was nowhere near the end of the one I got when I landed in Tokyo.

Basically what I'm trying to say: There is no fixed point at which customs will give you a hard time. It can be after the first time, but it also might never happen.
 
One more thing. If your goal is to stay in Japan and study Japanese for more than 3 months, why don't you have a look at some language schools? There are some good deals out there for 6 or 9 month courses.
 
cocoichi said:
A few years ago I went to Japan for a month long holiday. I entered Japan in Tokyo, but flew directly to Okinawa. After a week in Okinawa I spontaneously decided to go to Taiwan for a couple of days since it was so close to where I was. After returning in Okinawa, I was immediately questioned by a customs lady. She even told me to "not do this again". To me this didn't make any sense, because it merely resulted in a two week extension of the original tourist visa of three months. It was nowhere near the end of the one I got when I landed in Tokyo.

Basically what I'm trying to say: There is no fixed point at which customs will give you a hard time. It can be after the first time, but it also might never happen.
Click to expand...

Forgive my nitpicking, but the Customs people have nothing to do with it. Customs only concerns themselves with things entering the country.
 
Mike Cash said:
Forgive my nitpicking, but the Customs people have nothing to do with it. Customs only concerns themselves with things entering the country.
Click to expand...

I forgive you! Well, the people at immigration then, I suppose? Whoever it is that puts that sticker in your passport when entering Japan.
 
Thank you all for your replies :)

Well I am not planning to get into a language visa because I want to be free to go wherever I want in Japan and because I worry about how difficult this is in those schools. I prefer to learn Japanese by myself and eventually to go into a language visa after that if I feel the needs. No much info found about the cultural visa and anyway I don't have an interest in the activities listed.

After going through other threads it seems to be a good idea to stay less than 6 months a year. Something to do with fiscal residency maybe? So I will go with a 3 months stay - 3 months out - 3 months stay - 3 months out.. I guess I might get into a few questions on the third time. Do you have ideas what I can tell them if they ask me why I am doing that ??
 
It comes down to the immigration officer being satisfied with your story -- why you are able to have this lifestyle, confidence that you will not do anything illegal and confidence that you will actually leave. Some stories that might work is volunteering or researching a book. I don't know... If I were in your position, I would do a bunch of googling on terms like "denied entry japan" and "refused entry japan" to get a feel for what has happened to others and how to avoid it. I think you automatically get 90 days no matter what you say so I think it might be more effective to have a paid return flight in hand for a return 4 weeks or less later. And then change the return after you enter. Of course the risk is that if you are somehow caught that you misrepresented yourself upon entry that could have repercussions later. The more you do it, the more likely you'll get flagged.
 
Or invest a little time in a website and some business cards, and tell any interested immigration officer that you are on a business trip (market research, looking for new customers, etc) every time you come. You can even make some appointments with real Japanese companies, and print out the emails :D
Or skip the website and the business cards, mail with some language schools, request a campus tour before you decide to join them, and use that as your reason for this particular visit:pompous:

The visits might even be useful for the future!
 
You can come back just once. I was told by an immigration lady I could stay up to 6 (2x90 days exactly) months a year in Japan. No more than that. She was very serious.
 
Thank you Nemuyoake !! It confirms what I read somewhere else.. No more than 6 months a year.
I already had a working holiday long time ago. And last year I came again to Japan. My return flight was 89 days after my arrival. I got surprised to receive question at the immigration ! If I remember correctly they asked me the purpose of my stay. I replied "to visit" and it was done. But I was surprise they ask.

Btw BillMad and Kamille I am just taking a break after resigning. Nothing special.
 
"It is common knowledge that the retirement age in France is 28"

That makes me want to pack my bags right now for a one way ticket straight to la Paris even more
 

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