Denied Residence Status: What to do ?

If your application for residence status is denied, please do not panic, it is usually possible to reapply.

However, if you do not understand the reasons for the rejection and you do not respond appropriately, you will not be able to obtain approval.

In this article, we will explain the causes and remedies for cases where an application for residence status is denied.

1) In case of denial

If your application is denied, first check the residence status requirements and make sure there are no problems with the copy of the documents you submitted. Are there any overlooked details, such as whether the required fields have been filled in correctly and whether any supporting documents have been submitted. Check again carefully.

Then you can go to the Immigration Office to find out the reason(s) for the rejection. If possible, we recommend that you go to The Immigration Office with your legal representative, agent, or employer. However, the officer may not be able to tell you whether or not you can reapply.

In this case, you will need to bring the following items with you:

・A notice of rejection or denial of the application

・Your residence permit, passport and identity card

・A set of application documents

As you can only ask for the reason for denial once, it is important to remember the following points when receiving the causes of non-acceptance:

●Reason for denial

●The part of the application documents that caused the denial

●How to improve the situation

●Advice on how to resubmit the application

●Are there any other points of concern?

Try to remain calm and unemotional during the interview. Excuses will not get your application approved.

2) Reasons for rejection

(Case 1)

An application for change of residence status from "Student" to "Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ International Services” was received, and the applicant wished to work as an engineer in a company providing computer-related services. Since it was found that a Japanese graduate hired at the same time as the applicant and doing the same kind of work was paid 180,000 yen per month, the remuneration was not considered equal to or higher than that of a Japanese national, which means the application could not have been accepted.

(Case 2)

A graduate of the Business Department of a vocational school  (senmon-gakko) applied for a change of status to  "Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ International Services”. However, his specific duties included repairing frames and changing flat tyres, and he was not considered to have skills or knowledge in the fields of science or humanities. The employee's specific duties included repairing frames and changing flat tyres

(Case 3)

An applicant studied Japanese language, interpreting techniques, etc. in the International Communication Department of a vocational school and applied for a change of status to  "Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ International Services” 

However, when the Immigration Bureau had requested the applicant's transcripts and documents proving his Japanese language ability, it was found that he had received a grade of "C" in all of his Japanese language courses (the lowest of the three grades on the ABC scale) and that he had not submitted any other documents proving his Japanese language ability, such as a Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

Reference: [Cases of Change of Status to "Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ International Services” 

for Foreign Students/ Unapproved]. Immigration Bureau (Revised: 30 December 2008)

4) Reapplication

If your application for renewal of residence status has been denied, you may reapply if the problem can be resolved within the period of your stay. Please note the following points when reapplying.

●You will not be granted permission even if you reapply with the same content.

●If you reapply too quickly and carelessly, the assessment may be even harder.

●Consult an expert, such as an administrative lawyer.

Do not reapply simply for the sake of reapplying. If you reapply with information that is different from the previous application, you should include a letter of explanation explaining why the information has changed. However, if the content changes each time you reapply, the consistency will be questioned and this will affect the assessment process. Please be careful.