More than 180 days in Japan in 2022?

Hello everyone!

I am an Italian Student here in Japan, and I will stay here till may 2025. During this period my girlfriend (also italian) visited me for 3 months, and then decided to stay as long as possible. After 90 days we left Japan for a visit to Thailand, and then come back and got another 90 days tourist Visa. During her stay she won't work or doing anything illegal, but only to live together and travel in this fantastic country. I called immigration and the ministry of foreign affair to ask if is possible to do this process of in and out more than once, but they told that after 180 days in Japan you are supposed to leave till 1 year from your first visit is passed, but that this rule in not that strict and it's all up to the immigration in the airport. Now, someone have experience of spending more than 180 days in a year here in Japan after COVID? Or, there is any other way (not too expensive) to obtain a VISA for her?

Thank you to whoever will respond.

There is no visa that doesn't require employment (or enrolment), family ties, money, or some kind of extreme circumstances. The closest thing to what you are looking for might be the working holiday visa but that requires her to have savings in her bank account.

What you were told about it being down to the discretion of the immigration officer who deals with you is basically true, so unfortunately there is no way to know for sure how things will turn out if she tries to spend more than 180 days in the country on visa waivers.

Also to be clear I don't think you should be using the term "live together" if you want immigration to play nice with you.

It was good for you to have asked that to some bureaus! But to be honest, your girlfriend had better not try a second visa run to extend her stay for more than 180 days in one year, even if they say it's up to an immigration office. As you have been told, there's a hidden rule that if foreigners try to stay in Japan longer than 180 days, then the immigration doesn't recognize them as "short-term" tourists without a visa requirement anymore. They possibly deny such foreigners, even though they've never violated the visa regulations before. To avoid any kind of trouble, tell her to wait until the time passes.

And unfortunately, unless she is married to you, or she has a job offer in Japan with a certain sponsor, or she is going to be a student like you, there are no visas available for "just staying" in Japan. The most recommendable way would be a working holiday visa if she is under 30, but Italy seems not to have finished entering into a contract with Japan, so she won't be eligible yet.


Information as of 1 August, 2023
https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html

Immigration rules can be flexible, but overstaying a tourist visa can lead to issues. Consider exploring other visa options, like a student or dependent visa, for your girlfriend's longer stay in Japan. Consulting the immigration office or an attorney is wise.

The truth is that under the visa waiver program you are allowed to visit as often as you like and there is no restriction on the total number of days per year that you can stay in the country. It is not up to the discretion of the immigration officer, it is simply the law. This topic comes up on this forum every once in a while.
What you GF might find is that there may be additional questions asked when visiting and also for certain proof for things like sufficient funds, onward travel and the like.
Also, at 183 days in any 365 day period, she becomes tax resident and liable for taxes in Japan (and probably her home country as well), depending on the relevant tax treaties.
When I was commuting to Japan before moving here, I racked up over eight months (in one year) in the country and never had any problems.

"Also to be clear I don't think you should be using the term "live together" if you want immigration to play nice with you."

Can you tell me why that could be a problem??

"The truth is that under the visa waiver program you are allowed to visit as often as you like and there is no restriction on the total number of days per year that you can stay in the country. It is not up to the discretion of the immigration officer, it is simply the law. This topic comes up on this forum every once in a while.
What you GF might find is that there may be additional questions asked when visiting and also for certain proof for things like sufficient funds, onward travel and the like.
Also, at 183 days in any 365 day period, she becomes tax resident and liable for taxes in Japan (and probably her home country as well), depending on the relevant tax treaties.
When I was commuting to Japan before moving here, I racked up over eight months (in one year) in the country and never had any problems."

Thank you for your answer. I don't think the tax resident will be a problem as she has no income neither in Japan or Italy. Do you think that having saving (around 5k€) and being with me (Kyoto University Research student with a stable income around 2k€/month) will help her to enter Japan with less issue?
Thank you for your experience, I hope that immigration didn't turn more strict lately with this visa run.

No income - that could be a problem. Why, because she may need to show evidence of how she will support herself while visiting without working. Relying on your income is unlikely to be sufficient as she is not your dependent and simply being a BF/GF cuts no status with Japanese immigration. And the 5k EUR saving is way less than the 30M yen requirement for long term tourist visas.
Visa runs - to a nearby country (Korea is popular) does raise some red-flags for people trying to stay illegally in Japan and hiding that they are actually living/working in the country. In my case I was returning to my home country each time, not just a cheap flight away and back again. I also had legitimate business for my travel and visits.
While she may legally be allowed to visit under the waiver program, there is also a burden of proof that it is being used legitimately. A few simple questions and some odd answers will certainly raise suspicions - that is where the "discretion" arises in applying the laws around granting landing permission (status of residence - temporary visitor).

Thank you very much for your answer, it was very clear! One final question, what will be the consequences of being denied to entry? How much time did the usually give you to leave the country?Are you allowed to leave the airport? And finally, do you receive any fine or ban to come again in the future?

Thank you very much!

Denial of entry is denial of entry. You can't leave the airport because you aren't allowed into Japan. You'll be stuck there until transport home is arranged.

With regards to avoiding words like "living together" it is because the longer you stay in the country (or the more times you enter in a short space of time without clear purpose like business trips etc) the more likely you are to be questioned. For someone entering on a visa waiver to tell an immigration officer that they are "living" with their partner in Japan in my opinion raises the risk of being denied entry to a degree that is unnecessary. Visa waiver is for temporary visitors. Not people living in Japan.

Oh, understood! Thank you for your response.
Actually at the end she wants to try a last visa run in January, hoping that they let her stay for just 3 more months. Other way she will just catch the first fly back to Italy.

I will let you know the result!

Update: second visa-run completed with success

Curious, what were the exact dates of her tourist visas and the gaps in between? Did she have any questions asked to her when entering the last time?

Hello, thank you for letting us know the result. But one more very important question :)
Did she buy a return ticket for 3 months later or nobody asked her it ? Thank you.

To make sure I understand, the 180 day rule does not apply to countries where people don't need a Visa to enter?

If I am French, can I stay for more than 180 Days there? I am getting close to that and I want to return to learn Japanese

I am in a similar situation and would like to know, if she needed to answer some questions, she had a return flight?
Fami sapere, tante grazie ☺️

Without a status of residence, the airline (not Japan immigration) would require an onward flight before letter her board the plane. Otherwise they get fined for flying them to Japan.
And has been done to death countless times, there is no 180 day "rule". Welcome to the world of doubel taxation once you get to 183 days in any 365 day period however.

Q17: Are there any restrictions on the number of times I can enter Japan?
A17: There is no limit to the number of times you can enter Japan. However,, if you intend to stay in Japan for more than half of year (180 days) as gTemporary Visitorh, you might not be allowed to enter Japan since it may not be regarded as temporary visit.
https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_ja/00_001000.html

this regulation seems not to be applied strictly right now. but, they can do it at any time, if they want.
I guess that they are considering carefully the balance of advantages and disadvantages and the executability. in Japan, when the rule is already present (but not applied), the application may be done suddenly. if it happens, they don't allow the exceptions, in general.

there are many websites which show that there are 180 days rule, written in Japanese by professionals, immigration lawyers.

I still have 15days and want to enter for a 3x. Do you think that will be possible?