Visa / Alien Resident Card

Hello,

I currently live in the United States and am planning on visiting Japan for 6 months (from about June to January) and was wondering if it was... well, possible, to put it in simplest terms. I've poked around the website and the forums a bit and was a little confused.

An alien resident card can't be obtained in place of a visa, right? For instance, if I entered Japan as a temporary visitor I wouldn't be able to just apply for an alien resident card and be able to stay longer then the 90 days?

What is the process when you arrive at Japan at the immigration desk? I've read that you need proof of when you're leaving and that you have enough money to stay, but how do they determine if you have enough money? If I tried to enter with a plane ticket going home in January would I not be permitted to enter Japan since I don't have a visa?

I'm sorry if this reads as sort of a dumb question but I just wanted to be aware of my options before I get to far ahead of myself with considering this trip. I wouldn't be working or studying, I'd be staying with a friend of mine who lives in Japan with her husband on the Yokosuka Naval Base (and is planning on moving off of said base soon, but that's neither here nor there).

Americans can stay in Japan for up to 90 days without a visa. The alien registration card is not related to immigration. Any foreigner, including tourists, can get a card, and all foreigner who stay in Japan longer than 90 days, are required to get one.

In your case, your easiest way of staying in Japan for half a year would be to enter Japan as a tourist for 90 days, leave Japan once and re-enter for another 90 days.

Or if you plan to study or work in Japan, get a proper student of working visa.

As mentioned, Visas and Alien Registration cards are two different things, handled by two different agencies.

Having a Alien Registration Card doesn't extend your visa or time in Japan.

So NO you cannot stay longer then 90 days just because you have a alien registration card.

The only way you can stay six months is by coming into Japan as a temporary visitor and leaving when your first 90 days isup and come back for another 90 days.
HOWEVER Immigration can quickly see what you are doing so be prepared to answer a lot of questions as to why you are returning so shortly, they can either deny you entry into Japan the 2nd time or give you a very short term stay (15 days) or somthing. Its happened in the past, Immigration can catch on to these things.

The correct my words, the only way you can do it on your plan is to come and leave 90 days and risk not being allowed re-entry on the second 90 days.

If you think about it, can one really be a ''temporary visitor'' if staying 6 months or longer (the US has no agreement with Japan for a category of temporary visitor of 6 months).

If you wish to stay longer, then student visa, cultural visa, whatever you can find and get will have a little more ''security'' to it.

Thank you for the responses guys! :) I figured that's the way it was, I just wanted to be sure.

One thing I neglected to mention is that I have a dual citizenship with Ireland and America. I've read that if I enter Japan with my Irish passport, I would get a visitor's visa for 90 days and then I'd be able to ask for an extension at an immigration office when I arrive. Is this extension hard to achieve?

Is this extension hard to achieve?

I don't think so.