Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act

The applications, etc. pursuant to the Act and this Ministerial Order that enable filing using an electronic data processing system (meaning the applications, etc. prescribed in Article 3, item (viii) of the Act on the Advancement of Government Administration Processes That Utilize Information and Communications Technology (Act No. 151 of 2002; hereinafter referred to as the "Information and Communications Technology Utilization Act"); the same applies hereinafter) are to be as prescribed in the following items in addition to those provided for in other laws and regulations:

notification pursuant to the provisions of Articles 19-16 or 19-17 of the Act;

notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-18, paragraph (1) or (2) of the Act;

notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-27, paragraph (1), Article 19-29, paragraph (1) or Article 19-30, paragraph (2) of the Act;

report pursuant to the provisions of Article 57, paragraph (2) or (5) of the Act;

report pertaining to a person who received landing permission for crew members pursuant to the provisions of Article 57, paragraph (7) of the Act;

submission of a written application for user registration of the Automated Gates pursuant to the provisions of Article 7-2, paragraph (1) (limited to written applications in the case of a person seeking to be registered as a user of the Automated Gates that falls under Article 9, paragraph (8), item (i), sub-item (c) of the Act);

submission of a written application for landing permission for crew members pursuant to the provisions of Article 15, paragraph (1) or Article 15-2, paragraph (1);

submission of the written application for issuance of a certificate of eligibility under the provisions of Article 6-2, paragraph (1) (excluding that pertaining to a person who intends to engage in the activities listed in the right-hand column for "Diplomat" in the Appended Table I (1) of the Act);

submission of a written application for permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted pursuant to the provisions of Article 19, paragraph (1) (limited to cases in which submission is made at the same time as the written applications prescribed in items (ix) through (xi));

submission of the written application for issuance of a certificate of authorization for employment under the provisions of Article 19-4, paragraph (1) (excluding that pertaining to a person residing with the status of residence of "Diplomat" or "Temporary Visitor");

notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-23, paragraph (2);

report pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-24-2;

submission of the written application for a change of status of residence under the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (1) (excluding that pertaining to a person seeking a change to the status of residence of "Diplomat" or "Temporary Visitor");

submission of the written application for extension of the period of stay under the provisions of Article 21, paragraph (1) (excluding that pertaining to a person residing with the status of residence of "Diplomat" or "Temporary Visitor");

submission of the written application for acquisition of status of residence under the provisions of Article 24, paragraph (1) (excluding that pertaining to a person seeking to acquire the status of residence of "Diplomat" or "Temporary Visitor");

submission of the written application for re-entry permission under the provisions of Article 29, paragraph (1) (excluding that pertaining to a person residing with the status of residence of "Diplomat" or "Temporary Visitor") (limited to cases in which submission is made at the same time as the written applications prescribed in items (ix) through (xi));

notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 51 item (i); and

notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 51, item (ii) or (iii).

Any person who seeks to file an application, etc. set forth in items (i) through item (v), item (viii)-2, item (viii)-3, item (xiii), and item (xiv) of the preceding paragraph using an electronic data processing system must notify the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency in advance of the particulars provided for in each item and of other referential particulars that should serve as a reference, in accordance with the category listed the each of the following items:

persons seeking to file the application, etc. listed in item (i) through item (i)-3, item (iv), item (viii)-2 or item (viii)-3 of the preceding paragraph: name, date of birth, sex and nationality or region (in the case of an organization, its name and location); or

persons seeking to file the application, etc. listed in item (ii), item (iii), item (v), item (xiii) or item (xiv) of the preceding paragraph: name and address (in the case of a corporation, its name, the location of the office that seeks to handle the application procedures and the name of the person responsible).

The persons who may file the application set forth in paragraph (1), item (vi) on behalf of the foreign national using an electronic data processing system are the persons listed in the right-hand column of the Appended Table IV corresponding to the activities listed in the left-hand column of that Table that the foreign national intends to engage in in Japan (limited to staff members of the organization intending to accept the foreign national, or relatives of the foreign national (limited to the father or mother, spouse or child of the foreign national, or a person whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate as equivalent thereto; the same applies in paragraph (5), item (ii), (c)), who are in Japan), or the legal representative in Japan of the foreign national.

The person who may file the applications set forth in paragraph (1), items (vii) and (viii) and items (ix) through (xii) on behalf of the foreign national using an electronic data processing system is the legal representative in Japan of the foreign national.

The persons who may submit the written applications listed in paragraph (1), items (vi) through (viii) and items (ix) through (xii) using an electronic data processing system are, in addition to the foreign national in Japan, as listed in the following items:

an attorney at law or administrative scrivener in Japan who has been requested by an organization set forth in paragraph (3) or item (iii) and has notified the director of the regional immigration services bureau exercising jurisdiction over the area where the bar association or administrative scrivener association to which the attorney or administrative scrivener belongs is located through that association, or a staff member in Japan of a public interest corporation or a staff member in Japan of a registered support organization who has been requested by an organization set forth in that paragraph or that item and whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate, who acts on behalf of the foreign national (with regard to the application listed in paragraph (1), item (xii), limited to a foreign national who is in Japan; the same applies in the following item) at the request of any of the following persons:

a foreign national listed below (limited to one who is in Japan) whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate:

a person who has been accepted or is to be accepted by that organization (in the case of submitting the written applications listed in paragraph (1), items (vi), (vii) and (ix) through (xii), limited to a person residing or seeking to reside with a status of residence other than "Diplomat" and "Temporary Visitor", and in the case of submitting the written application listed in paragraph (1), item (viii), limited to a person residing with a status of residence other than "Diplomat" and "Temporary Visitor");

among the persons listed in (1), persons residing or seeking to reside with the same status of residence for the purpose of engaging in activities as a family member who belongs to the same household as a person residing or seeking to reside with the status of residence of "Official";

persons residing or seeking to reside with the status of residence of "Dependent" engaging in daily activities supported by the person listed in (1) or a person residing or seeking to reside with the status of residence for "Designated Activities" whose activities are particularly specified; or

a spouse or child supported by the person listed in (1) who is residing or seeking to reside with a status of residence listed in the left-hand column of the Appended Table II of the Act.

the legal representative in Japan of a person listed in (a).

an attorney at law or administrative scrivener in Japan who has notified the director of the regional immigration services bureau exercising jurisdiction over the area where the bar association or administrative scrivener association to which the attorney or administrative scrivener belongs is located through that association, and who acts on behalf of the foreign national at the request of any of the following persons (for the person listed in (c), limited to the submission of the written application listed in paragraph (1), item (vi)):

a foreign national concerned whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate;

the legal representative in Japan of a person listed in (a); or

a relative of the foreign national set forth in paragraph (3) who is in Japan.

a staff member in Japan of the receiving organization, etc. (excluding a supervising-organization-type training implementing organization (meaning the supervising-organization-type training implementing organization prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (8) of the Technical Intern Training Act)) who acts on behalf of the foreign national at the request of any of the following persons; provided, however, that this is limited to the submission of the written applications listed in paragraph (1), item (vii), item (viii) or items (ix) through (xii):

a foreign national listed in item (i), (a), (1) through (4) (limited to one who is in Japan) whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate; or

the legal representative in Japan of a person listed in (a).

when a foreign national (limited to one who is in Japan) is under 16 years of age or is unable to carry out the act listed in the left-hand column of the Appended Table VII (2) themselves due to disease or other grounds, the father or mother, spouse or child in Japan of the foreign national, or a person whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate as equivalent thereto; provided, however, that this is limited to the submission of the written applications listed in paragraph (1), items (ix) through (xii).

The organizations set forth in paragraph (3) and the preceding paragraph are to be those that the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds capable of properly filing applications or submitting written applications using an electronic data processing system.

When a person listed in paragraphs (3) through (5) files the applications set forth in paragraph (1), items (vi) through (viii) and items (ix) through (xii) using an electronic data processing system, the person must submit the written application by the method set forth in the relevant item, in accordance with the categories listed in the following items:

a staff member of the organization intending to accept the foreign national or a person listed in paragraph (5), items (i) through (iii): the method of entering and transmitting the identification code assigned by the director of the regional immigration services bureau (meaning a code for distinguishing and identifying a person who files the applications set forth in paragraph (1), items (vi) through (viii) and items (ix) through (xii) using an electronic data processing system from other persons; the same applies hereinafter) and a password;

the foreign national, the father, mother, child or spouse of the foreign national or a person whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate as equivalent thereto, or a person listed in paragraph (4) or paragraph (5), item (iv): the method of entering and transmitting the electronic certificate for user verification (meaning the electronic certificate for user verification prescribed in Article 22, paragraph (1) of the Act on Certification Business of the Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems in Relation to Electronic Signatures, etc. (Act No. 153 of 2002)) recorded on the Individual Number Card (meaning the Individual Number Card prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (7) of the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures (Act No. 27 of 2013)), as well as the identification code and password; and

the foreign national, the father, mother, child or spouse of the foreign national or a person whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate as equivalent thereto, a person listed in paragraph (4), or an attorney at law or administrative scrivener listed in paragraph (5), item (i) or (ii): the method of transmitting the electronic certificate for signature (meaning the electronic certificate for signature prescribed in Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act on Certification Business of the Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems in Relation to Electronic Signatures, etc.) recorded on the Individual Number Card.

Any person who files an application, etc. set forth in any of the items of paragraph (1) using an electronic data processing system must do so by entering the information that should be stated in the written application and other documents pursuant to the provisions of the Act and this Ministerial Order or the information that should be reported, notified, or made a notification to an immigration inspector.

The provisions of Article 20, paragraph (5) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 21, paragraph (4)) do not apply to cases of submitting the written applications set forth in paragraph (1), items (ix) and (x) using an electronic data processing system.

The electronic data processing system specified by order of the competent ministry as prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Information and Communications Technology Utilization Act is the electronic data processing system prescribed in Article 6, paragraph (1) of the Ministry of Justice ICT Utilization Regulation.

The notices of disposition, etc. that may be made by the method of using an electronic data processing system pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Information and Communications Technology Utilization Act are to be the issuance of a certificate of eligibility pursuant to the provisions of Article 6-2, paragraph (5) (excluding the issuance pertaining to a person who seeks to engage in the activities listed in the right-hand column corresponding to "Diplomat" in the table of Appended Table I of the Act).

When the director of the regional immigration services bureau makes the notice of disposition, etc. set forth in the preceding paragraph using an electronic data processing system, the director is to do so by entering, from a computer used by the Immigration Services Agency, the particulars that would have to be stated if that notice of disposition, etc. were made in writing, etc.

The method specified by order of the competent ministry as prescribed in the proviso to Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Information and Communications Technology Utilization Act is to be a notification, made as specified by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, to the effect that the person wishes to receive notices of disposition, etc. by the method of using an electronic data processing system.

If any material to be submitted to the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, the director of a regional immigration services bureau, or an immigration inspector pursuant to the provisions of the Act or this Ministerial Order is written in a foreign language, a translation thereof must be attached thereto.