Extension of Period of Stay

Residence Card (在留カード); note the expiration date on the bottom line with the blue background.

JET Program participants are required to renew the Period of Stay of their Residence Card for their fourth and fifth JET years. Extending one's Period of Stay is the responsibility of the JET Participant. You can't apply to extend your Period of Stay until three months before it expires. The expiry date is listed on your Residence Card.

Some people have been able to get a three-year extension on their Period of Stay. But most likely you will only be allowed to extend your Period of Stay for one year at a time.

Note: The process of applying to renew your Period of Stay is frequently referred to as "extending your visa" colloquially. However the Period of Stay is a feature of your Residence Card, not your visa, technically. JET Participants only use their visa to enter Japan for the first time.

Online applications

If you have a My Number card, you can renew your Period of Stay online. See the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) web page for details.

You will need:

• My Number Card
• PC (Windows or Mac)*
• IC reader (or an Android smartphone with NFC-reading and Bluetooth capability; only if applying by Windows PC)

*Applications can alternatively be made by smartphone (Android or iPhone) with NFC-reading capability. In such case, a separate IC reader is unnecessary.

Before you can apply digitally, you will have to prepare your My Number Card to be used for digital applications. See this Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems (J-LIS) web page (Japanese only) for instructions on how to use your My Number Card for digital applications.

Once your My Number Card and other documents are prepared, note that the actual online application then is a two-step process: first you have to register with the online application system, then you need to actually apply for the extension. As counter-intuitive as it seems, you will need to re-register every time you complete this process; once you are issued a new Residence Card (with a new Residence Card Number) after extending your Period of Stay, you become a new entity in the eyes of the system.

Step 1: What to prepare

My Number Card - without yours you won't be able to apply online!

Some of the steps in this process are also outlined on this J-LIS web page.

Documents to prepare

1. Acquire your My Number Card
2. Prepare the digital certificate (電子証明書; denshi shōmeisho) on your My Number Card
   • The municipal office where you acquire your My Number Card should prompt you to establish the necessary digital certificates when you apply for the card. You will have to assign multiple PINs to establish the certificates, so if they don't prompt you to input PINs when you apply for the card, double check.
   • Have both PINs ready; one is a 6~16-digit PIN (letters and numbers), the other is a 4-digit PIN (numbers only)
3. Have the following forms of ID ready:
   • Residence Card
   • Passport

Preparing your PC

1. Prepare an IC reader*
   • Either a physical USB/Bluetooth IC reader, or an NFC-capable Android smartphone (connected via Bluetooth; only if applying by Windows PC).
   • Install the latest versions of any relevant drivers from the maker's website (if using a physical IC reader)
2. Install the necessary JPKI (Japan Public Key Infrastructure) software*
   • For Windows:
     • Download and install the Windows version of the software

     (Scroll down to the "利用者クライアントソフトのダウンロード" [Riyōsha Kuraianto Sofuto no Daunrōdo] near the top)

     • Next download and install the Edge/Chrome browser extension

     (Scroll down to the "利用者クライアントソフト（Edge/Chromeブラウザ利用版）のダウンロード" [Riyōsha Kuraianto Sofuto Edji/Kurōmu Burauza Riyōban no Daunrōdo] section at the bottom)

     • If using Android smartphone as IC reader: also download and install the Android app (Google Play Store) to your smartphone
   • For Mac:
     • Download and install the Mac version of the software
3. Install the latest version of Java
   • Install the latest version of Java from the Java website
4. Install a locale emulator
   • If your OS is not in Japanese, you may need to download and install a locale emulator to display the text properly
5. Proceed with your digital application

   See steps 2 and 3 below. (WIP)

*If submitting an application by smartphone, skip "1. Prepare an IC reader," and in "2. Install the necessary JPKI software" instead download and install the respective app for your smartphone: iPhone app (App Store) or Android app (Google Play Store)

Step 2: Registering for the Online Application System

After you have finished gathering your documents and setting up your physical device(s), follow the steps below. Also see the ISA User Registration Manual (English) on the ISA webpage.

1. Click the big green button at the bottom of the ISA page (or click here for a direct link).
2. Switch language to English at the top (optional)
3. Set your My Number Card on/in your IC reader
4. Scroll down to the "Register a new user" (新規利用者登録; Shinki riyōsha tōroku in Japanese) section in yellow
5. Click the "Foreign national (applicant)/other" (外国人本人・その他; Gaikokjin honnin/sonota in Japanese) button in that section

   Note: if you click the button before setting your card on the reader, it will return a failure-to-scan error message. You will have to close the prompt and re-open it after you have set your card.

6. Input your PINs when prompted:
   1. First input your 6~16-digit PIN when prompted and click "OK,"
   2. Next input your 4-digit PIN when prompted and click "OK."
7. On the next screen:
   1. Click "Search" to search fo your municipality,
   2. Fill out the remainder of your address,
   3. Input your phone (cell phone) number,
   4. Input your email address (twice),
   5. Select "外国人本人 Foreign National (Applicant)" from the 利用者の区分 drop-down list,
   6. Input your Residence Card number (printed in the top right of your Residence Card)
8. The system will provide you with a randomly generated User ID. Make a note of this ID.
9. You will receive an automatically-generated email from the system. From the email:
   1. Access the URL provided
   2. Create a password for your ISA account
10. Congratulations! You've made your account. Proceed to Step 3.

• 
  PIN prompt in 6-1.
• 
  Inputting address, phone number, email address in 7-1. through 7-4.
• 
  Selecting type of applicant and inputting Residence Card number in 7-5. and 7-6.
• 
  Setting the password for the account from the email in 9-2.

Step 3: Submitting your online application

After you have successfully registered with the system, follow the steps below. Also see the ISA Basic Operations Manual on the ISA webpage for instructions on how to make online applications.

1. Click the same big green button at the bottom of the ISA page (or click here for a direct link).
2. Switch language to English at the top (optional)
3. Set your My Number Card on/in your IC reader
4. Scroll down to the "Login" (ログイン; Roguin in Japanese) section in blue
5. Click the "Foreign national (applicant)/other" (外国人本人・その他; Gaikokjin honnin/sonota in Japanese) button in that section

   Note: if you click the button before setting your card on the reader, it will return a failure-to-scan error message. You will have to close the prompt and re-open it after you have set your card.

6. Input your PINs when prompted:
   1. First input your 6~16-digit PIN when prompted and click "OK,"
   2. Next input your 4-digit PIN when prompted and click "OK."
7. Input your User ID and password which you set in Step 2, 8. and 9.
8. On the next screen, in the 在留申請(Zairyū Shinsei; Residence Applications) section, press the 申請情報入力(Shinsei jōhō nyūryoku; Input application information) button

   Note: You can also edit any of your registered information at this time by scrolling down to the 利用者情報更新(Riyōsha Jōhō Kōshin; Update User Information) section.

9. Over the next series of pages you will be prompted to fill out the details of your application:
   • STEP1(申請種別及び在留資格選択)
     1. Select "Extension of Period of Stay" from the 申請種別(Shinsei Shubetsu) drop-down list,
     2. From the 在留資格(Zairyū Shikaku; Status of Residence) drop-down list, select "教育 Instructor" if you an ALT, or "(???WIP)" if you are a CIR,
     3. Ignore the 主たる活動内容(Shutaru Katsudō Naiyō) prompt
   • STEP2-1(身分事項１) - Fill out your personal information
     1. Nationality
     2. Name
     3. Sex
     4. Date of birth
     5. Marital status
     6. Occupation ("Assistant Language Teacher" or "Coordinator for International Relations")
     7. Home town/city (if from the USA: "USA (state)")
     8. Address in Japan (search for municipality first)
     9. Phone (cell phone) number
     10. Email address
     11. Passport number
     12. Passport expiration date
     13. Criminal record in Japan
     14. Family in Japan
     15. Preferred method of receipt of new residence card (mail or in-person pick up)
     16. Name of the Immigration office to receive new card (if in-person pick up was selected)
   • STEP2-2(身分事項２) - Fill out the information as it pertains to your current Residence Card
     1. Select your Status of Residence (see 8.STEP1 above) from the 在留資格 drop-down
     2. Select your Period of Stay from the 在留期間 drop-down (this should be either ３年 or １年!)
     3. Input the expiration date of your Residence Card
     4. Input your Residence Card number
10. ...
11. PROFIT! (WIP)

• 
  PIN prompt in 6-1.
• 
  Splash page in 8. after logging in
• 
  STEP1 of the application in 9. (type of application)
• 
  STEP2-2 of the application in 9. (current Residence Card information)

In-person applications

Extending one's Period of Stay in person takes two separate visits to the Sendai Immigration Bureau in Akita City. See location below. The Bureau is only open weekdays 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00.

Day one: Submitting the application

On day one you need to visit the Immigration Office on the 5th floor. Here are the documents you might need. Strangely, the required documents vary on a daily basis, so this list is probably excessive. If you forget some of these documents, they might let you mail the forms in later, but if they don't it would be a hassle, so try to bring them all.

Documents Listed from the Immigration Bureau Website

• Application for Extension of Period of Stay (在留期間更新許可申請書)
  • [Instructor Application for Applicant and Organization http://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930004092.pdf]

Photo requirements

• Photo 40mm×30mm
• Residence Card (在留カード; zairyū kādo)
• Passport.
• Current year's contract.
• New year's contract.

Additional Documents (from previous JET experiences)

• Previous calendar year's Statement of Earnings.
• Resident Tax Certificate (住民証明書; じゅうみんしょうめいしょ; jūmin shōmeisho).
• Income Tax Certificate (納税証明書; のうぜいしょうめいしょ; nōzei shōmeisho).
• Income & Earnings Tax Certificate (所得課税証明書; shotoku kazei shōmeisho). It is possible that with this sheet, the above two sheets are not necessary. But it's safer to bring them all.
• Certificate of employment (在職証明書; ざいしょくしょうめいしょ; zaishoku shōmeisho).

For the Application, fill in the pages labeled 'For applicant, part 1' and 'For applicant, part 2'. Fill in 'For applicant, part 3' if you will have a legal representative doing this process for you. Have your CO fill in 'For organization, part 1'.

On the application, 'For applicant, part 2' question 23 is worded a little strangely in English, "Total period of receiving the foreign language education when you teach the foreign language". Here, they want to know for how many years did you receive an education in the language that you are teaching.

The Resident Tax Certificate, Income Tax Certificate, and Income & Earnings Tax Certificate can be acquired from the Tax/Revenue Department (税務課; ぜいむか; zeimuka) of your local town or city office. In small offices, this office might be part of the Promotion/Promote Department (振興課; しんこうか; shinkōka). The certificates cost about ¥200 each and can be printed fairly quickly.

The Resident Tax Certificate needs to reflect that you paid your taxes. You need to do this before you get your "Resident Tax Certificate" or it won't reflect that you payed your taxes, which is needed for your new visa.

After filing the documents, the officials will ask you to write your address on a postcard. When your visa has been approved, you will receive this postcard in the mail. On the postcard it will list the time frame for when to pick up your visa (only about 10 days).

Day two: Retrieving your new Residence Card

Day two is a quick and easy trip. Here's what you need:

• The postcard the Immigration officials sent you.
• Passport
• Alien Registration Card
• ¥4,000 for the visa extension

First, go to the 2nd floor shop and buy ¥4,000 stamps. Then go to the 5th floor immigration office and finish the paperwork.

Sendai Immigration Bureau Location

The office is in the Akita Gōdō Chōsha (秋田合同庁舎, ☎ 0188-95-5221, 〒010-0951 秋田県秋田市山王7-1-3,); the building is SE of Yabase Park.

Hours: Weekdays 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"auto","height":"350px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output\" lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESendai Immigration Bureau\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Sendai Immigration Bureau\n","link":"","lat":39.7174202203988,"lon":140.1008435525,"icon":""}]}

Follow-up activities

Main article: Renewing your Japanese license

• Your drivers license may expire around the same time. This is unrelated to the visa process and you can do either first. A postcard from the driving center should come to your house with details on the renewal process. For many people, the process involves a 2 hour lecture, and for others it takes 5 minutes.　You can renew your drivers license up to one month prior to, and one month after your birthday, so you should be able to plan ahead and use a nenkyuu day, should you need to. New drivers licenses have RFID cards, and when you get them, you'll be asked to choose two 4-digit PINs.

See also

• Guidelines for using the Online Application System (Japanese)
• User Registration Manual for the Online Application System (English)
• Basic Operations Manual for the Online Application System (English)
• ISA page on Extending Period of Stay online
• J-LIS page on using your My Number Card for digital applications (Japanese)
• Sendai Regional Immigration Bureau (〒983-0842 仙台市宮城野区五輪1-3-20 仙台第二法務合同庁舎)
• Extension Application Form (PDF). (CAUTION: Outdated!)
• Extension Application Form (Excel). (CAUTION: Outdated!)
• Application form source page (in Japanese).
• Alien registration in Japan (wikipedia)

Note that this information varies from the information listed in the Japanese version of the JET Handbook for 2010 (任用団体用マニュアル; にんようだんたいよう　マニュアル）. The rules have been changed since then, it seems. If you have any problems, please refer your supervisor to the Japanese link above. Your supervisor can also call the Sendai Immigration Bureau, if there are other questions.