If I lose my job in Japan

I will have 3 months to leave the country. If I leave the country, and come back a few days later, is that OK?

I know it's OK for people who come to Japan for 3 months then leave for a couple days and come back again for another 3 months. But if I had a job for 2 years then waited 3 months then left then came back for another 3 months. Is that OK? I have an American passport by the way.

Thank you!

Probably will be flagged at immigration. I am sure they will ask why your back as Tourist Visa after working for 2 years. They might think you will work illegally. I would wait 6 months to a year before going back or the other way might be to show immigration that you are really coming back to vacation but you will need to show them tickets, confirmed hotel books, tours, full itinerary, etc, etc.

Having said that, its not guarantee.

You should watch a TV show called Border Security Canada or Australia versions to give you an idea what immigration could do.

Hope this helps!!
Have fun!!

Hi thank you very much.

If i tell them that I am back because I have a job lined up is that a reasonable reason? I have been to Japan for 3 months then left then came back after a 3 days trip for another 3 months. I guess if it comes to that I will just take the risk. Thanks a lot!!

If you will have a new job, why leave?

If i tell them that I am back because I have a job lined up is that a reasonable reason?

Actually it may not be wise to tell the immigration officer that, since in this case you should be entering on some type of work visa.

If i tell them that I am back because I have a job lined up is that a reasonable reason?

No no no! You need a Work Visa before you can say that.
You can not say your there for work under Tourist Visa. You could be banned for a few years.

thank you very much!

If you are back on a tourist visa, be a tourist. As far as I know, you shouldn't be job hunting on one, and as you probably know, employers would want someone already with the right to live/work in Japan and have a work visa, for which you need a job (catch-22).

I have a passport full of Japan visa stickers - other than a few questions about my travelling, never been a problem because it is all within the rules.

The reference to the Border Control programmes isn't especially useful - interesting to watch maybe, but hardly advice. They do show dumb visitors trying to bring prohibited goods into Australia a lot of the time, or other clueless travellers.

If you are back on a tourist visa, be a tourist. As far as I know, you shouldn't be job hunting on one

There's nothing forbidding it, job hunting is not a paid activity. "Tourist visas", if such things exists at all, are irrelevant here, OP would enter visa-free.

To the OP:

I didn't quite understand your question.

Are you asking if it is OK to stay in Japan for 3 months AFTER you quit/lose your job that you had for 2 years, leave Japan, and come back a few days later (to stay for another 3 months) on that same work visa which is still valid?

If that is the case, after you quit/lose your job, you need to inform the immigration authorities within 14 days of that fact.

- From there you might be given 2 months or so of time if you intend to stay in Japan to look for another job.
- If you want to travel a bit in Japan after your job is done, you can apply for a change of your resident status from "work" to "temporary visitor."

If that's not what you are asking, but if it's OK to come back on Temporary Visitor Status" (meaning after having left Japan once and had your "work" status invalidated), that should be OK.

Hey thanks for your message.

I meant that if I lost my job and informed them (i heard i would have 3 months), but after thst time period is up, instead of going home, could i hop on a short flifht and come back a xouple days later on a tourist visa for another 3 months? I have a 3 year work visa, but I dont know what would happen to it if I lost my job.

Hey by the way, do you know if health insurance lasts for the 2-3 months you can stay in Japan after you stop your job? Or does it end the day you end your job? Thanks!

If you are a full-time employee and your company is a reputable company, you will be paying into the Employees' Health Insurance as opposed to the National Health Insurance. If not, then you are supposed to enroll into the National Health Insurance.

I would assume that coverage by the Employees' Health Insurance ends with employment, but National Health Insurance is independent from your employment and will not end at the end of your employment.

If you lose your job, inform the immigration authorities within 14 days, then you have about 2 months or so if you want to keep your current work visa.

If you don't find one, the proper procedure upon leaving Japan is to return your Alien Registration/Resident Card, tell them that you are not returning on this work visa, and get the current work status invalidated (upon departure). That way if you want to come back in as a temporary visitor, you start completely clean, from zero.

If currently you have your current employer's employee health insurance scheme coverage, upon you losing the job, that coverage ends. So if you want any health insurance coverage at all, you will need to go to the city hall to enroll in the national health insurance for that few months (and pay into it of course).

I have talked to people who are here in Japan and have 3 year work visas and they think that means they can stay here until that ends regardless if they lose their job. What happens to them if they stay past the 2-3 months after losing their job? Are they wisked away by police or something?

I have talked to people who are here in Japan and have 3 year work visas and they think that means they can stay here until that ends regardless if they lose their job.

The policies seem to have changed with the new immigration rules. Now it seems that immigration will allow you an unspecified amount of time to find a new job (many cite 3 months) after which you are expected to either update your residency or leave the country. It's not that you are immediately whisked away by police at the end of 3 months, but at that point the validity of your residency may become tenuous.

Thank you very much!

I have already explained this several times, but here I go again. If immigration wants to revoke your residency status after you lose your job, they must go through a procedure which goes roughly like this:

1. Send you by mail a notice that your residency status is up for revocation, and invite you for an interview at the immigration office. Until you get that notice, there is no change to your immigration status. After you get it, you lose some privileges, for example you can no longer leave Japan on a "special re-entry permit".

2. During the interview, listen to your opinion about why you think you should be allowed to stay in Japan even though you are no longer engaging in the activity for which you came.

3. Then make a decision whether to revoke your status, and if they do, tell you how much time you have before you must leave Japan (up to 30 days). If they don't, you are back to where you were before you got the notice.

It is up to them when to start the procedure (i.e., when they send you the mail notice), but currently it must be at least three months after you quit your job. There are talks to eliminate this "grace period" and allow them to start the procedure at any time, but it is not done (yet?).