Q: I have applied for a CHANGE of my visa. I received a letter from the Japanese Immigration Office today. What does this mean?
A: When you apply for a change of visa status in Japan, if you ①get the postcard which you addressed to yourself at the time of application by ordinary mail (with instructions to go to the 2nd floor A Zone [Permission] Counter, and usually a check in the box next to “Change or Extension” indicating that you will need to purchase 4,000 yen worth of Revenue Stamps), it means that your application has been approved.
If you ②get the same postcard by registered mail (you have to sign for it) with a sticker on it, with instructions to go to the consulting counter on the 2nd floor on a specific date and time, chances are high that your application has been denied or it is a special/difficult case where the officer in charge would like to interview you for some more information.
Alternatively, if you ③get a letter (and not a postcard) by ordinary mail, with the kanji “資料提出通知書”, this is a letter from Immigration requesting additional documents. If you are able to provide sufficient information, chances of approval are still quite high as long as you meet the requirements, but failure to provide the additional documents will usually result in a failed application.
If you ④get a letter by registered mail with the kanji “通知書” on the top (usually a 2-paged letter), usually this means that your application has unfortunately been declined. However, in many cases, it is still too early to give up. If you get such letter, it is best to either go to Immigration for an explanation of why your application was denied, or to visit an immigration lawyer, to see if it is something that can be fixed (which in many cases it is).
●In any case, there is nothing you can do if you cannot read or understand the content of the letter, so please feel free to consult us if you recieve such letter (we will be able to tell you what it says if you can send us the letter by PDF etc.)
●Even in the case of a denied application, in many cases, there is a possibility of doing a successful re-application, so it is too early to give up.
●Please feel free to make full use of our free e-mail consulting service (available through our home page) to make inquiries.
ADVANTAGES OF USING OUR IMMIGRATION SERVICES
◆All correspondence available in native English
◆No additional charges for Japanese translation of English application documents
◆No frustrating long waiting hours at the Immigration Office!
