Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act

In the event that a foreign national who wishes to have their information recorded pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act at the port of entry or departure at which they seek to land, seeks to have their information registered pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (8) of the same Article (hereinafter referred to as "user registration of the Automated Gates"), the foreign national must apply to register as a user by submitting a written application pursuant to the Appended Form No. 7-5 in the case of a person who comes under item (i), sub-item (a) or (b) of the same paragraph and seeks to be registered as a user, or the Appended Form No. 7-6 in the case of a person who comes under item (i), sub-item (c) of the same paragraph and seeks to be registered as a user (in the case of a person specified by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency in public notice, the format specified in the public notice), and must appear at the immigration services office designated by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency and present the following documents:

a passport (including re-entry permit; the same applies in paragraph (8));

a residence card in the case of a mid- to long-term resident; and

a special permanent resident certificate (hereinafter simply referred to as "special permanent resident certificate") pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Special Act on the Immigration Control of, Inter Alia, Those Who Have Lost Japanese Nationality Pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan (Act No. 71 of 1991; hereinafter referred to as "Special Act"), in the case of a special permanent resident prescribed in the Special Act.

The number of times specified by Ministry of Justice Order as prescribed in Article 9, paragraph (8), item (i), sub-item (c), 2 of the Act is as follows:

a person who falls under item (ii), sub-item (a), (b), or (d) of the following paragraph:once within one year on and before the date of appearance pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph; and

a person who the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency specifies by public notice as prescribed in the preceding paragraph or a person who falls under item (ii), sub-item (c) of the following paragraph:twice within one year on and before the date of appearance pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The requirements prescribed in Ministry of Justice Order pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (8), item (i), sub-item (c), 4 of the Act are to meet all of the following requirements (excluding items (i) and (ii) in the case of the persons specified in the public notice provided for in paragraph (1)):

if a foreign national for whom a visa issued by a Japanese consular officer, etc. is considered unnecessary pursuant to laws or regulations, an international agreement or through notification to that effect from the Japanese Government to a foreign government, possession of a passport issued by a country, region (meaning the region provided for in Article 2, item (v), sub-item (b) of the Act; the same applies hereinafter in the following item (ii), sub-item (a)) or administrative district (meaning the administrative district granted authority to issue passports by a state; hereinafter the same applies in the following item (ii), sub-item (a)) specified by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency in public notice.

the foreign national falls under any of the following persons:

the foreign national is a person in the position of an officer or full-time employee of any of the following public or private organizations:

the Japanese government or a local government, or an organization in which either of them is the principal investor;

the government or a local government of the country, region or administrative district provided for in the preceding item, or an organization in which either of them is the principal investor;

an international organization;

a stock company that issues shares listed on a financial instruments exchange (meaning a financial instruments exchange prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (16) of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (Act No. 25 of 1948); the same applies in (5)), or its subsidiary company (meaning a subsidiary company prescribed in Article 2, item (iii) of the Companies Act (Act No. 86 of 2005));

a stock company that issues shares listed on an exchange similar to a financial instruments exchange that is located in the country, region or administrative district provided for in the preceding item;

a corporation of Japan or of the country, region or administrative district provided for in the preceding item, whose amount of the stated capital or total amount of the contribution is 500 million yen or more.

a person who has a business relationship with the organization (including the Japanese government or local governments; hereinafter the same applies in this item) provided for in sub-item (a)(1) or the company provided for in sub-item (a)(4), and for whom a request has been received from that organization or company to have the person register as a user on the understanding that it is necessary for that person to repeatedly land in Japan for that business.

the foreign national possesses a credit card which is sufficient to show that they have enough financial credit.

the foreign national is a spouse or an unmarried child of a person registered as a person falling under any of sub-items (a) through (c) pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (8) of the Act.

the foreign national has not been sentenced to a punishment of a fine or a greater punishment or an equivalent punishment (except for cases of a punishment imposed due to a political offense) for having violated the laws and regulations of Japan or a country other than Japan;

there are no circumstances considered to be particularly inappropriate in terms of impartial immigration control.

A person that falls under Article 9, paragraph (8), item (i), sub-item (c) of the Act who seeks to be registered as a user must attach a photograph and materials proving the fact of corresponding to item (ii) of the preceding paragraph (a photograph in the case of the persons prescribed by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency in public notice who are provided for in paragraph (1)) and other materials to be used as reference to the written application set forth under paragraph (1).

The director of the regional immigration services bureau exercising jurisdiction over the area where the immigration services office provided for in paragraph (1) is located (hereinafter referred to as "director with jurisdiction") may register the foreign national set forth under paragraph (1) for user registration of the Automated Gates only if they find that the foreign national as set forth in the preceding paragraph wishes to depart from Japan with the intention of returning and falls under all of the items of Article 9, paragraph (8) of the Act (excluding item (iii) in the case of a special permanent resident).

The foreign national who seeks to provide their fingerprints pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (8), item (ii) of the Act must provide them by having the fingerprint imaging data of both of their first fingers be taken by a computer designated by the director with jurisdiction; provided, however, that when they are unable to provide the fingerprints of the fingers due to having lost them or for other grounds, they must provide, for each of their hands, the fingerprint of one of the other fingers in the following order of priority:

the second finger;

the third finger;

the fourth finger; and

the thumb.

The foreign national who seeks to provide their photograph pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (8), item (ii) of the Act must provide it by having their facial imaging data sent to a computer designated by the director with jurisdiction.

If a foreign national who has made a user registration of the Automated Gates falls under any of the following items, the director with jurisdiction must delete the user registration and erase the fingerprint imaging data and photograph provided by the foreign national pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (5) of the preceding Article, the two preceding paragraphs and Article 27, paragraph (6):

it becomes clear that the foreign national did not fall under one of the items of Article 9, paragraph (8) of the Act (excluding item (iii) in the case of a special permanent resident) at the time they have made a user registration of the Automated Gates;

the foreign national ceases to fall under Article 9, paragraph (8), item (i) or (iii) of the Act (item (i) in the case of a special permanent resident) after the user registration of the Automated Gates;

the passport presented pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) becomes invalid or has expired;

the validity period of the re-entry permission entered in the passport presented pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) and the validity period of the residence card or the special permanent resident certificate presented pursuant to the provisions of the same paragraph have expired;

the validity period of the registered user card has expired;

the foreign national has submitted a written request for deletion of the user registration of the Automated Gates; or

the director with jurisdiction finds that it is not appropriate to maintain the user registration of the Automated Gates due to the foreign national's death or for any other grounds.

The name provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (2), item (i) of the Act is to written in Roman characters.

The nationality or region provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (2), item (i) of the Act for a foreign national with two or more nationalities other than the nationality of Japan is to state the nationality of the country which issued the passport presented pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article or the region provided for in Article 2, item (v), sub-item (b) of the Act to which the organization belongs in the case of a registered user card issued pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the same Article, or the country or region stated in the registered user card which is to lose its validity through the issuance in the case of a registered user card issued pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (8) of the Act.

The number of the registered user card pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (2), item (ii) of the Act is to be specified using a combination of four Roman characters and eight numbers.

The photograph to be displayed pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (3) of the Act is to be either the photograph submitted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4) of the preceding Article or paragraph (1) of the following Article, or the photograph which may be used pursuant to the provisions of the second sentence of Article 9-2, paragraph (3) of the Act.

The format of the registered user card pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (4) of the Act is to be pursuant to the Appended Form No. 7-7.

In addition to the particulars given in each of the items of Article 9-2, paragraph (2), the registered user card is to indicate the status of residence and period of stay decided pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (5) of the same Article, the expiration date of the period of stay, the date of the decision, and the name of the port of entry or departure at which the foreign national landed on the back of the card upon each occasion the information is recorded pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act for persons possessing the registered user card.

In the case there is not enough blank space to state the information pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph on the back of the registered user card, the foreign national possessing the registered user card may have the information rewritten at the immigration services office provided for in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article.

The record of information pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (5) of the Act is to be recorded on a semiconductor integrated circuit incorporated in the registered user card that includes the particulars listed in the items of paragraph (2) of the same Article and the photograph pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) of the same Article.

The application pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (7) of the Act must be filed by appearing at the immigration services office provided for in Article 7-2, paragraph (1) and submitting the written application pursuant to the Appended Form No. 7-8, a photograph, and a set of materials proving the loss of the registered user card, or submitting the noticeably damaged or soiled registered user card or the registered user card whose record pursuant to the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (5) of the Act has been damaged.

When filing the application set forth in the preceding paragraph, the foreign national must present their passport.

A request for the appearance of witnesses pursuant to the provisions of Article 10, paragraph (5) of the Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 48, paragraph (5) of the Act) is to be made by a written notice pursuant to the Appended Form No. 8.

The oath pursuant to the provisions of Article 10, paragraph (5) of the Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 48, paragraph (5) of the Act) is to be a written oath.

The written oath set forth in the preceding paragraph is to state that the witness will speak the truth, conceal nothing, and add nothing in accordance with their conscience.

The provisions of Article 5, paragraphs (8) and (10) apply mutatis mutandis to cases where fingerprints and a photograph are provided to a special inquiry officer pursuant to the proviso to Article 10, paragraph (7) of the Act.

The notice to a foreign national pursuant to the provisions of Article 10, paragraph (7) or (10) of the Act is to be provided in the form of a written notice of certification pursuant to the Appended Form No. 9.

A statement to the effect that the foreign national will not file an objection as prescribed in Article 10, paragraph (11) of the Act is to follow the format of the Appended Form No. 10.