Visa and Certificate of Eligibility
Outline
Here is an outline of what needs to be done before ELSI is able to officially begin your employment.
- 1) In order to work and receive a salary in Japan, you must obtain an appropriate status of residence that gives you the right to live and work in this country. In this case, the appropriate status of residence falls under the visa category of "Professor." This status of residence will be awarded when you enter Japan with your new visa.
- 2) The Tokyo Tech regulations state that you must obtain this status of residence at least one day before your official employment date. This means that you must enter Japan one day or more prior to your appointment date.
Steps of Certificate of Eligibility and Visa Application
Steps including registration in JapanPlease refer to the procedure chart below for Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and visa application from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Following are the steps for obtaining a Professor visa that will give you the status of residence necessary to begin your appointment at ELSI:
- Step 1
ELSI must submit an application for COE to the Immigration Bureau. In order for us to process this application, you must send us the items and information listed below. We will need these documents from you at least three months before the day you plan to enter Japan.
a.A copy of the photo page of your passport:
Many countries require a minimum of 6 months validity left on your passport. When applying for a Professor Visa, please make sure that there is a safe window of well over 6 months to avoid possible denial of entry.
b.Digital picture, meeting the following requirements:
◇Pictured alone, facing the front, no hats, caps or head coverings
◇Plain background, no shadows
◇Taken within the past three monthsc.Information:
Please tell us the information below or look at the questions below and give us the answers we need for your COE application.
◇Current occupation
◇Hometown: City, State, Country
◇Intended place to apply for visa: City, State, Country
◇How many times have you come to Japan? Please tell us an approximate number.
◇Your latest visit to Japan: From YYYY/MM/DD to YYYY/MM/DD
◇Do you have any family members in Japan?
◇The graduation date (YYYY/MM/DD) of your doctoral degree
◇Mailing address at which you want to receive your COE - Step 2
When the Immigration Bureau issues this COE, which can take between four to six weeks, they will send it to ELSI. We will then send it to you by express mail.
- Step 3
You take this COE to your nearest Japanese Embassy or Consulate to apply for your Professor visa. It is better to confirm the procedure, required documents, expected examination period, etc. directly with your embassy or consulate. Please go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to find Professor visa application information and visa application documents.
- Step 4
You send us a copy of your visa as soon as it is issued.
- Step 5
Please keep in mind that the COE is valid for three months after its issue date. You must obtain your visa and enter Japan during this 3-month validity period. Both your COE and visa will automatically expire if you will not arrive in Japan by the expiration date of your COE. When you enter Japan on your Professor visa, the immigration officer will authorize your status of residence as Professor and you will receive your resident card at a Japanese airport.
- Step 6
All foreign nationals staying in Japan for 90 days or more, regardless of whether you are staying in a hotel or temporary housing, are required to register information such as name, nationality, address, and others at your local city office within 14 days of entering Japan. You must carry your resident card at all times.
Please give yourself plenty of time to apply for your COE and your visa as there may be delays at each of the steps involved.
Dependent
If you will have family members accompanying you to live in Japan, your family will need to obtain a status of residence called "Dependent". Besides the items and information above, the official copy of your marriage certificate will be required to apply for your spouse's COE and the official copy of birth certificate/s will be required to apply for your child/children. Please discuss this matter with us as early as possible to ensure that enough time is available to process their visas.
Internal Employment Process
PaperworkYou will need to do paper work with regards to your contract, school ID card, health insurance, pension, unemployment benefit, taxes, etc. and submit those documents as soon as possible to our university HR.
Personal Seal Hanko/InkanYou will also need to make a hanko/inkan, a personal seal that is used in place of a signature on various documents. There are a few procedures that require a personal seal instead of a signature. A last name in katakana, one of the Japanese alphabets, is usually carved on ELSI foreign researchers' seals. It may be your first name if your last name in katakana is too long to fit on a seal. If you have your last/first name in kanji, Chinese characters, you could have the kanji on your personal seal. We will assist you in ordering a personal seal with your name carved on it. The cost will be approximately 1,000 yen for the most basic seal with a foreigner's name in katakana depending on how many letters there are.
Employment Starting Date
You must enter the country on your Professor visa and have an immigration officer authorize your status of residence as a "Professor" at least one day before your employment starting date. Provided you do this, your employment at ELSI will start on the 1st of the month.
Given that it is required by Japanese law that you must obtain your status of residence (in short, enter Japan on your Professor visa) at least one day before your employment date, we advise you to add an extra day or two to prevent the risk of delaying your employment date by a whole month. If for any reason your arrival in Japan will be delayed and you will miss the 1st-of-the-month employment starting cycle, please notify us immediately and we will see what we can do. We may be able to shift it by a day or two but please understand that in the worst case, you may not be able to begin your employment until the 1st of the following month.
The re-entry permit system has been changed from July, 2012. You can leave and re-enter Japan multiple times as long as you come back to Japan before the expiration date of your residence card.
Leaving JapanDetailed description can be found in ELSI Redmine.