Two Documents That Now Should Be Among the First to Request (part 2 of 2)
However, with revision of the alien registration system on July 9, the 法務局国籍課 (Legal Affairs Department Nationality Section) is now requiring the full record of ALL Japan entries/exits, not only for a current period residence, but for any and all previous visits to Japan, whether as a tourist or on a previous period of residence, from the very first trip the applicant made to Japan. So I need my records from my first arrival in April 1976, covering a period of more than 36 years.
Furthermore, the instructions from the 法務局国籍課 are to request disclosure of ALL information in the 外国人入出国マスターファイル (alien entry/exit master file). While the request form prior to July 9 listed items that you might expect to be in an entry/exit record, such as name, nationality, date and port of entry, date and port of exit, etc., the new request form has a list of ‘other’ items that appear to represent every stamp that Japan has ever possibly made in the applicant’s passport, including such things as re-entry permits, residence period renewals, residence status changes, refugee recognition, temporary residence permission, alien registration, etc. The instructions from the 法務局国籍課 are to "check all the boxes".
I had sent in my request for disclosure of my full 36-year 出入国記録 before receiving the instructions to check all these 'other items', so I called the archives in Tokyo to ask if I needed to send another request, and they transferred me to (surprise!) the Immigration Bureau, where the record search is actually being conducted. They gave me my case number and told be just to send the new checklist to append to my original request.
Why is the 法務局国籍課 now requiring all this additional information? My impression is that they are interested in looking for anything irregular in an applicant's past history. One example might be 'revolving door' entries/exits for short-term stays that some people have used to work (illegally) in Japan as English teachers, entertainers, etc. In the past they relied on copies of "all stamped pages" of "all passports", but what if an applicant had lost one or more of their past passports? They still ask for those copies, but even though I brought my 5 passports with me when submitting my naturalization application, they did not want to look at them to verify with the copies. It would seen that there is little need to do so when they will eventually be able to examine all the records I have requested.
The 法務局国籍課 is also providing a printout of instructions on how to request the 出入国記録, which can be found on the MoJ's website here:
Exit/entry records for aliens are available for as far back as November 1, 1970.
If you only need records from 1997 onward, it says the search will take "2-3 weeks".
If you need records from 1993 to 1996, or if you have multiple exits/entries on 'short-stay permits' (tourist, business, etc.) the search will take "3-4 weeks".
If you need records from 1992 or earlier, it will take "at least 4 weeks".
On accepting my document submission, the clerk said "expect it to take 2 months". I don’t know if he was talking from experience based on the length of time involved in my case, or if he was just giving a very conservative estimate.
The good news is that, at least for the present time, the 法務局国籍課 is willing to accept document submission without the 出入国記録 and have it submitted at a later date when it is received.
An application form in either MS Word or PDF format can be downloaded from a link on the indicated MoJ's website page. If sending the request by mail, as identification you need to provide a photocopy of your driver's license, health insurance card, or 在留カード (Residency Card; or Alien Registration Card if you are still using that), and a certified (original, dated within the past 30 days) copy of your 住民票 (residence record, which was previously only for Japanese citizens). Enclose a stamped sell-addressed envelop, affix 300 yen in revenue stamps for each certified copy requested, and indicate the period for which you want the records. If you're using this for a naturalization application, be sure to check all the boxes for the items requested. The 出入国記録 request can be sent together with the request for the 外国人登録原票, meaning you only have to enclose one certified copy of your 住民票. You can ask to have both returned together in the same stamped self-addressed envelop (so be sure to attach sufficient postage) or enclose two (2) stamped self-addressed envelopes to have them returned separately.
