Scotttheking

Posting on behalf of a friend:

Their US citizen daughter is looking to volunteer at a farm or farms while spending about 4 months in Japan. The tourist visa is a 90 day visa. They are looking to understand options for extending her stay.
The two that I see are:
1) Leave partway through, spend some time in another country, and then come back. However, it seems there are cases where reentry to Japan is denied?
2) Apply for an extension to 6 months at http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/soshiki/index.html.

Which is recommended, and are there any options I'm missing?

Thanks!

Scott

beep88

Working holiday visa is good for 1 year, for certain passport holders.

Volunteer visa is good for 1 year, for certain passport holders.

RichardInSF

There is no working holiday visa available to US citizens. I never heard of the volunteer visa, so I don't know anything about that.

Easiest option for her is a visa run to Seoul midway through the trip. I have been told numerous times that it is a pain to get involved unnecessarily with the immigration bureau.

abmj-jr

Agree. Best to avoid dealing with the immigration folks if you can. I'd suggest doing a visa run to Seoul or Pusan or limiting the visit to 90 days.

Other countries like the UK and Canada have a 6 month visitor visa but US is 3 months.

Steve M

There's always a possibility of being denied entry, even at first entry. An example of how this might happen is if one were to write "4 months" as the "intended length of stay" on the landing form and when told by the immigration officer that the limit is 90 days, responding with "I know that, but I plan to make an overnight trip to Korea midway through to restart the 90-day clock."

Even though the side trip method usually works in practice and many people do it, declaring it up front would probably not be a good idea. That said, the chances of a US citizen being denied entry on the way back from a short Korea side trip are rather small, especially the first time it happens. I've heard of it being a problem for people that keep it up for the better part of a year.

beep88

Sorry missed the "US Citizen" part.

Both visa's are available for UK Citizens, for instance.

Taiwaned

Just a question about "volunteering on a farm".

Don't many countries ask this question when entering their country? I know that Canada asks this question, each and every time I go back.

Wouldn't this be something of an issue?

jpatokal

Customs tends to care about people visiting farms, because they're worried about agricultural pests etc. Immigration, on the other hand, could care less, especially when entering Japan.

nishimark

I just met someone yesterday who arrived very recently. She's here on a volunteer basis (church) and intends to stay for 3 months, with possibly a trip to Korea and back to extend the stay. She's young and doesn't have much money with her. I don't know what she said at immigration when trying to enter the country, but she said that they grilled her for over an hour in a separate room questioning how she could stay without having money or a job. However, they did finally let her in.

They'll be suspicious, but proper paperwork from the farm would probably go a long way to ease their fears.

AlwaysAisle

When officials suspect that a person is entering Japan for non-tourist reason, that can be a reason re-entry to Japan can be denied under visa waver program. I knew a friend’s friend (US passport, US citizen) who went to Japan teaching English and was getting paid under the table, entered Japan under visa waiver for tourists. Before end of 90 days bought cheap ticket to South Korea and attempted to enter Japan again. Young person in mid 20s have just spent 90 days in Japan and attempt to enter Japan again. I guess it did not take a rocket scientist to start wonder how this person is affording to stay in Japan for this long…

Also, I heard that have to be little careful about mentioning volunteer work to immigration officials. Cannot work and get paid in Japan under visa waiver program. The volunteer work may not have monetary pay, but if a volunteer get free lodging and free meals in exchange for work from an organization in Japan then that can be considered as being paid in Japan.

Your friend’s daughter have to know what to say, what not to say to passport control officials at Japanese airport, and have proper documents.

I think proper thing to do for this young lady is to ask Japanese consulate visa section for information, rather than her parent’s friend asking opinions on travel websites.

emma69

It really isn't an issue coming back to Canada - I have to answer yes each and every time I go to Europe. Depending on the person they ask me a) what sort of farm, what type of animals (they tend to care far more about cows etc. than horses - types of diseases) b) whether I have mud on my boots / clothing (I clean everything before travel, so the answer is no).

During the foot and mouth crisis in the UK I was required to walk over sanitizing mats - given the fact I was wearing spotless ballet flats that had never walked around a farm it was a little absurd (especially considering the riding boots in my bag were left untouched) but as I knew I hadn't been on a livestock farm (just crops and horses) it wasn't an issue to me.

ksandness

+1 on this. A lot depends on which Immigration official she encounters, but the potential for trouble is there. I would suggest 1) Getting a letter from the farm where she will be volunteering, 2) Limiting the stay to three months. 3) Above all, asking for advice at the nearest Japanese consulate.

Is there any particular reason why she wants to stay for four months instead of three?

joejones

I agree that explaining the trip as "volunteering on a farm" is inviting trouble -- the "temporary visitor" permit you get under the Japanese visa waiver program does not clearly cover that sort of activity and Japanese immigration officials are not very confident in their critical thinking ability, so this young lady would seriously run the risk of ending up in the holding tank for a while as more senior officials decide what visa category she falls under. I think they would ultimately let her in as a "temporary visitor" as long as the work is unpaid, but it isn't a slam dunk.

"Staying with a friend" (who just happens to live on a farm) for up to 90 days is permitted, and if the visit can be legitimately characterized as such, there should be no problems.

My understanding is that for Americans, the extension of the standard 90-day entry permit to six months is only available if you demonstrate a compelling/humanitarian need to be in the country for that additional period -- for instance, if you are injured/ill while in the country and need some more time to recover.

I agree with the suggestion to talk to your local Japanese consulate about whether you can go visa-less to Japan. (If possible, ask them by email so that if you get a favorable response, you can carry a copy to Japan with you to support your position at immigration...)

Scifience

Pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. The key points are:

1. Don't mention volunteering on a farm. You're a tourist who happens to be staying on a farm. Bring proof of sufficient funds as though you aren't getting free accommodation.

2. Don't screw up and tell immigration you intend to stay for longer than 90 days.

3. A couple days in Korea/HK/etc. around the 2 month mark won't, in my experience, be suspicious at all. Come back, you're still a tourist, get another 90 days. Unless you've done this a bunch of times or are otherwise suspicious, you're extremely unlikely to get questioned. Pushing your first entry all the way to 90 days is likely to get more scrutiny than "re-upping" somewhere in the middle.

If you stick to these points, it's exceedingly unlikely you'd have trouble.

5khours

+1

Also pay attention to clothing and appearance. Have an onward air ticket. Carry cash or travelers checks and a credit card. Write down a relatively short length of stay (e.g. 2 weeks). Put down the name of a decent hotel for your address (might want to have a booking you can cancel.)

That said, even if you don't follow these recommendations, 99% chance you will be fine. The authorities are only worried about people working or engaging in other illegal activities.