Re-entry Permits and the Special Re-entry Rule
Leaving Japan temporarily does not automatically preserve your status: most trips need either the automatic 1-year special rule or a filed re-entry permit.12 Departing with neither forfeits the status, forcing a fresh visa from scratch.1
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Immigration Services Agency's re-entry pages. This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed gyoseishoshi, or an immigration lawyer before departing under complex circumstances such as ongoing proceedings.
Last verified: 2026-09.
Overview
Two instruments cover temporary departure. Deemed (special) re-entry is automatic, free, and lasts 1 year for qualifying holders who declare it at departure.2 Regular re-entry permission is filed before departure, paid, and valid up to 5 years within the current period.1
The default: leaving without permission forfeits status
Status is permission to remain, and leaving with no return instrument ends it.1 The traveler who departs with neither permission re-enters, if at all, as a new applicant needing a visa from a diplomatic mission. This is the system working as designed, not a punishment: the pre-departure grant exists precisely to simplify lawful re-entry.1
The practical upshot is binary thinking. Every departure either carries a return instrument or surrenders the status. There is no middle position where a valid residence card alone preserves anything across the border.
Special re-entry: the automatic 1-year rule
The みなし再入国許可 (minashi sainyūkoku kyoka, "deemed re-entry permission") covers holders of a status with a period over 3 months, other than Temporary Visitor, who carry a valid passport (plus the residence card for mid- to long-term residents) and return within 1 year of departure.2 No filing, no fee.2
At departure, tick the re-entry-intent checkbox on the 再入国EDカード (sainyūkoku ED kādo, "re-entry ED card"), show it to the inspector with the passport and card, and state the deemed-re-entry intent.2 The checkbox declaration is the instrument: an unticked card means a plain departure.
Deemed validity runs 1 year from departure, cut short at period expiry when expiry comes first.2 A 1-year period with 8 months left yields an 8-month deemed window, not a 12-month one.
Excluded travelers must hold a regular permit instead: those in revocation proceedings, departure-confirmation holds, detention-warrant subjects, refugee-application Designated Activities holders, and persons the Justice Minister designates as needing permission.2 Special Permanent Residents get a 2-year deemed window on a valid passport plus the special permanent resident certificate.2
When you still need a regular permit
The 再入国許可 (sainyūkoku kyoka, "re-entry permission") is required for absences expected to exceed 1 year, for holders outside the deemed rule (3-month-or-less periods, Temporary Visitor), and for excluded categories.12 It is also the instrument when the period would expire while abroad: permit validity always runs inside the current period, so expiry abroad still ends status unless extension happens first.1
File before departure at the competent regional bureau on weekday counters (the Foreign Resident Information Center at 0570-013904 answers venue questions).1 Applicants include the holder, statutory and approved agents, a registered lawyer or gyoseishoshi on request, and, for under-16s or those unable to appear, an approved relative or cohabitant.1
Single vs multiple permits, fees, validity
Two shapes exist: single-use for one re-entry, and multiple-use for unlimited re-entries within validity.1 Maximum validity is 5 years (6 for special permanent residents), always within the current period of stay, and standard processing is same-day.1
| Permit | Counter fee | Online fee | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single re-entry | ¥4,000 | ¥3,500 | 2026-091 |
| Multiple re-entry | ¥7,000 | ¥6,500 | 2026-091 |
Counter fees are paid in revenue stamps; the table above reflects the current schedule (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).1 The October 2026 fee revision covers change, extension, and permanent-residence fees, not re-entry fees, so this schedule stands separately.
Good to know
The permit cannot be extended from abroad
Deemed validity is fixed at departure (1 year or earlier expiry), and extending it from overseas is not provided for, so over-running travelers lose the status.2 Embassy renewal of a period of stay is equally unavailable; the extension filing happens only inside Japan.
Expiry while abroad ends the trip early or ends the status
Both instruments run inside the period of stay, so a period expiring mid-trip forces an early return or a forfeiture.12 Long-absence planners should sequence renewal before departure, and readers ending residence entirely should read Residence-Card Surrender at the Airport for the departure-counter procedure.
Pending renewal or change applications complicate departure
Leaving mid-examination with only deemed coverage risks the result arriving while abroad, so travelers with pending applications should confirm handling with the bureau before flying.1 The bureau that holds the file gives the only reliable answer for that file.
See also
- Residence-Card Surrender at the Airport
- Extension of Period of Stay
- Period of Stay in Japan: How ISA Sets It
- Departure Checklist: The 90-Day Run-Up