Longer Stays

If you will be staying longer than 90 days, you must obtain an Alien Registration Card ("Gaikokujin Toroku Shomeisho", available free of charge from the municipal office of the city or ward you are residing. You will need to take your passport and two photos of size 4.5 x 3.5 cm.

If you move from one residence in Japan to another, you are required to re-register within 14 days.

Carry your Alien Registration Card with you at all times. The Japanese Police are allowed to stop you and ask to see the card at any time, and not having it with you is a violation of local law.

If you are planning to stay in Japan more than 90 days, seek a change of status or perform tasks which do not fall under the definition of routine business, you should obtain a visa before coming to Japan. Visas are issued only by Japanese Embassies and Consulates overseas.

If you already have a Japanese visa and plan to leave the country temporarily for any purpose, make sure you get a re-entry permit in advance. There is a fee for the permit.

Please note that the Embassy has no authority to intervene in any Japanese government immigration decision.
Unauthorized Employment

Americans entering either visa free or with a tourist visa are not allowed to work in Japan.

Persons found working illegally are subject to arrest and deportation.

Persons believed to be entering Japan without a working visa but who intend to work here can be denied entry into Japan. This means that you will not exit the airport and will be required to return directly to the U.S.

Japanese Immigration officials are aware of the pattern of people staying for 80-90 days as "tourists", spending a few days in Korea, Guam or some other nearby area and then seeking to re-enter Japan for another 90 days. Persons with such a travel pattern can expect to face questions at Japanese Immigration and may be denied entry with the suspicion that they have been or will work illegally in Japan. In that Japanese Immigration records are computerized, a "lost" passport does not serve to mask long stays in Japan.
Contacting Japanese Immigration

Americans in the Tokyo area with visa questions should contact the Immigration Information Center at the below-listed Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau Office.

Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau
5-5-30, Konan
Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel: (03) 5796-7112