What is the Departure Order System?
The departure order system, established in 2004 with the revision of the immigration law, is a measure to make overstaying person who is willing to leave Japan voluntarily without being placed in custody.
Furthermore, the period of refused entry will be one year, in comparison with regular deportation’s whose is 5 years.
In case an applicant is judged to meet the conditions, a departure order is issued and the period to leave the country is decided within 15 days.
Requirements and points
［Requirements］
Requirements for applicants to use the departure order system specified in the immigration law are as follows:
1. The applicant appears voluntarily at the immigration bureau with the intention of voluntary departure.
Even with the intention of a voluntary departure, the departure order system does not apply if the applicant is arrested by the police or the immigration and is decided to be deported, as this is no longer considered to be a voluntary departure.
2. The applicant does not fall under grounds for deportation for reasons other than overstaying.
Overstaying is defined as a case when a foreign national that had a legal residence status continues to stay in Japan without following procedures such as renewal of status after the period of the stay. A foreign national who entered Japan with a fake passport is considered as a person having record of illegal entry, and therefore that person cannot use this departure order system.
As a necessary precondition, applicant who wills to leave must have committed only y overstaying. If not, the applicant may be placed in custody and have to go through the deportation procedures. Therefore, the applicant to use this system must confirm carefully whether oneself meets the conditions or not.
3. The applicant has never been sentenced to penal servitude or imprisonment for a crime such as theft.
4. The applicant has never left Japan in the past by deportation or the departure order.
5. The applicant is expected to leave Japan promptly and reliably.
［Points］
Differences between departure order and the application for special permission to stay in Japan in the case of international marriage
At a glance of the above, it may seem better to apply for a certificate of eligibility after going back to your home country by using the departure order system. However, we recommend clients to apply for special permission to stay in Japan.
This is because there is no direct correlation between going through period of refused entry and the ability to receive status of residence thereupon. Therefore, there is no guarantee for acceptance of the application for a certificate of eligibility after the period of refused entry.
In addition, applicant’s spouse living in Japan would experience a lot of difficulties when applying for a certificate of eligibility, as the continuity of a long-distance marriage is also examined. It might not be very bad if your spouse could live together in your home country for a period of time, or could afford time and expenses to make frequent trips. However, this is difficult in most cases, especially if the spouse is working full time in Japan. It is not uncommon for a marriage to fail in 1 or 2 years of dealing with the hardships of a long-distance marriage such as communication only by mail or phone, sending living expenses, etc.
Therefore, if you want to have a marital life in Japan, we recommend that you apply for the special permission to stay in Japan based on the deportation procedures.
