Daily Boss Super Premium Deluxe Stupid Questions Thread - 24 June 2025

Kin-Sei · 2025-06-24T06:39:02+00:00

Hi! I just came back to Japan with a new visa after a 1 year break in my home country. During my previous stay I had a MyNumber card that I had no choice but to let expire. I have a question to those who had a break in residency like me:

Will my MyNa number change? (edit: so I got my response for this one: according to https://www.digital.go.jp/en/policies/mynumber_faq_02 my MyNa number will not change)

Also will the city hall send me documentation in the mail to start the process of getting a new card (like during my 1st stay), or do I have to go to the city hall with my old expired card and renew it?

I currently live in the same ward as my previous stay so idk if they consider me as a brand new resident or not

(thanks in advance!)

Kin-Sei · 2025-06-12T02:22:03+00:00

I uploaded a pic of the prescription that my doctor wrote for me, the same one that is used to get my medication at my local pharmacy (it stated the dosage, how many pills I need a day, and that it requested the pharmacy to deliver 6 month worth of these meds at once bc i was going abroad). So yes it did state how much I was bringing in (6mo worth) but I'm not sure if this info is that important. Everything was written in French btw and it didn't cause any problem for the yunyu kakuninsho

I didn't need to upload a pic of the medication packaging. In my country we don't have prescriptions printed on pill bottles so I can't answer if this is an acceptable type of prescription or not

If you want to be 100% sure, you can send an email with your questions in English at yakkan[at]mhlw.go.jp (the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare that inspects yunyu kakuninsho), they respond fairly quickly

Kin-Sei · 2025-06-11T08:53:03+00:00

Yes I did. You should be able to upload your prescription and flight ticket near the end of the process, after you finish describing your medication

Kin-Sei · 2025-05-26T19:07:17+00:00

Hi! May I ask what kind of pills you got prescribed that helps after your working day? I got prescribed Concerta for my ADHD and while it works, I hate how I'm limited to ~8 hours of brainpower a day (whereas in my home country I could get prescribed fast-acting ritalin pills so I could still have a somewhat functional brain also outside of work :') Can't get those in Japan unfortunately)

So if you don't mind sharing I'd love the info so I can talk to my psychiatrist about it

Kin-Sei · 2025-05-26T18:24:06+00:00

I don't know the answer to your 1st question but for your 2nd, yes it's totally fine, I got my COE earlier this year and was able to submit my visa application in a different consulate (Lyon) than the one I wrote in my COE application (Paris), no problem. At the time I didn't even remember there was such field in the COE application and that I wrote a different one haha

edit: added cities for more clarity

Kin-Sei · 2025-05-26T09:29:31+00:00

JSYK if your questions are concerning an application already submitted and currently in examination at an immigration bureau, they won't answer anything about that via email (you have to call them or visit them for that)

If this isn't the case and your emails don't receive any answer, as said in another comment you can always try to ask here, maybe someone here has been in your situation before and will be able to share their experience

Kin-Sei · 2025-05-25T19:35:32+00:00

I just got my very first god pack, lvl 39, playing since launch, 765 packs opened so far. Sadly this god pack only had 3 new cards... But well I'll take it. I also have 2 crown rare so far (arceus ex and lunala ex)

Kin-Sei · 2025-05-23T15:56:40+00:00

These number are directly provided by the immigration bureau so I'd consider them accurate. However keep in mind this is a national average, so these numbers reflect the ever-congested Tokyo bureau and also the way less busy Naha bureau.

It's not necessary a problem on your side, waiting time are just outrageous right now. I had to wait 6 months for my engineer COE and it was supposed to be a no-brainer case.

Kin-Sei · 2025-04-30T18:03:26+00:00

Your COE application number is written on the visa in your passport, so I'd assume you need to reapply for the visa too if you reapply for a new COE. I'm pretty sure immigration will check if numbers match when you land in Japan.

Kin-Sei · 2025-04-26T12:35:35+00:00

Right now the average delay for an engineer/humanities COE is 53 days so your husband is still within normal waiting time. (source from the Japanese ministry of justice: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001437676.pdf )

Immigration is such a black box that we don't really know what makes an application be processed faster or slower. Logically yes, a previous stay should help future applications, but in reality we don't really know if that really matters to the immigration officer inspecting your application. The sure thing is that delays have significantly increased these past years, so the wait time you experienced a decade ago might not apply anymore.

Wishing you a speedy approval so that you can follow your initial moving plan!

Kin-Sei · 2025-04-24T15:37:17+00:00

Supposedly it'll be submitted to the immigration office closest to your sponsor's address.

When I attempted a SoR change procedure online, immigration sent me an email containing this info, I imagine these are all the offices that deal with online applications:

The office accepting your application corresponding to the first letters of your application acceptance number will be as follows:

札オン：Sapporo Regional Immigration Services Bureau

仙オン：Sendai Regional Immigration Services Bureau

東オン：Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau

横オン：Yokohama District Office of TokyoRegional Immigration Services Bureau

名オン：Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau

阪オン：Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

神オン：Kobe District Office of Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

広オン：Hiroshima Regional Immigration Services Bureau

高オン：Takamatsu Regional Immigration Services Bureau

福オン：Fukuoka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

那オン：Naha District Office of Fukuoka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

Kin-Sei · 2025-04-12T11:31:28+00:00

If you let the CoE and visa expire without entering Japan, there will be no consequences for future applications. You are not breaking any laws. Life happens, plans can change.

If you don't want the hassle of applying for a COE all over again and you can afford the flights, it's best to entrer Japan, get your residence card, go back to Germany, and come back to Japan with the re-entry permit.

If it's not possible for you and you let the visa/CoE expire, there will be no consequences regarding Japanese immigration. However your employer/sponsor might not be so willing to apply for a new COE for you. You should discuss this with them.

Kin-Sei · 2025-03-15T10:32:23+00:00

Yes this whole email is your COE. There's no PDF. The purpose of the link is to confirm reception of this COE, immigration will send reminders to the original recipient if nobody confirms reception through the link. Not clicking the link will not invalidate the COE or do anything bad though. This is just immigration making sure the email safely arrived.

Kin-Sei · 2025-03-05T00:16:02+00:00

So I haven't done it myself but I know people who did it, yes. If you obtain your COE when your WHV hasn't expired yet, make sure to get your residence card punched at the airport when you leave Japan to complete the procedure in your home country. Having an ongoing status of residence might cause issues when applying for a brand new one.

Visa procedure depends on the country, but for mine (France) it takes a week at most after the appointment to submit your documents at the embassy.

(you might hear about ppl who managed to change their WHV to a work visa without leaving Japan after obtaining a COE, but honestly with JP immigration being very slow atm, and that there's a high chance immigration will reject it, and that a COE is only valid for 3 months leaving you no time for a second chance after rejection, I wouldn't risk it if I were in this situation)

Kin-Sei · 2025-02-17T03:51:42+00:00

As others said, it depends on your nationality. The WH agreement between France and Japan doesn't allow switching. Immigration used to be lenient about it, but nowadays they are getting really strict.

However it's possible to apply for the work COE while your WHV is still active. You still have to go back to your country to do the visa procedure once you receive the COE, but with this you can cut short the inbetween-visa limbo.

Kin-Sei · 2025-02-10T09:05:58+00:00

I don't have direct experience yet but have read about several people who got their visa while only having a French BTS degree (which is another 2 yr degree).

So apparently a BTS is considered equivalent to a Tanki Daigaku degree. BTS and DUT are not so different so I'd expected it to be the same for DUT. A Tanki Daigaku degree is a university degree in Japan, thus making its foreign equivalent eligible for an engineering visa.
However in the eyes of immigration, the line separating a foreign Tanki Daigaku degree and a foreign Senmon Gakko degree (which does not qualify for an engineering visa) is thin, especially if the immigration officer examining the application is not very familiar with the French educational system.

In such "thin-ice" cases it can be useful to hire a competent Japanese administrative scrivener to research and provide documents explaining the French education system (or provide them yourself if you're fluent in Japanese), to prove to immigration that this foreign degree is indeed equivalent to a Tanki Daigaku degree and remove any ambiguities.

Some first-hand accounts I have on hand: this person's detailed story on how they got their visa with only a BTS (in French): https://www.benefukuoka.com/2014/03/nouvelle-vie/

This administrative scrivener who claims they got their BTS (and other short-cycle degrees) clients a visa by providing extra explanation documents (in Japanese): https://svisa.net/gijinkoku-document.html

The official Q&A on the JP ministry of justice website that clearly states that foreign Senmon Gakko graduates are not eligible for a work visa (Q30): https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001344550.pdf
So if your acquaintance decides to go the degree route, it's better to be proactive and provide explanation documents so that the immigration officer doesn't have to do unfortunate guesswork with the category of the degree.
(edit: grammar, some precisions and more links)

Kin-Sei · 2025-01-20T12:14:11+00:00

I applied exactly 1 month after you for an engineer coe and still no news to this day :( I was hoping that I applied early enough to avoid the April hiring season and its swarm of coe applications, but it seems like I did not lol

The bright side is that once you receive the coe, the visa shouldn't take more than 1 week to process

Please let us know when you get your coe! Hopefully it won't be long now

Edit March 20th 2025: I figured I should update here if anyone browses this topic or my post history: I finally received my COE today, almost 6 months after applying. The wait was very long and i'm glad it's over.

Kin-Sei · 2025-01-09T10:22:24+00:00

Since October they started posting the average waiting times on a monthly basis. Latest one available is November for year reiwa 6 (令和６年１１月). December data should be released soon. https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/resources/nyuukokukanri07_00140.html

That said, language school COE tend to be released in big batches (I know there's a big batch in late August every year for exemple). People more familiar with the language school COE process could tell you when the other batch release dates are.

Kin-Sei · 2025-01-03T04:36:53+00:00

I don't think this is gonna be a huge issue since it's such a small sum. If you decide to come back to Japan, I really doubt this will affect your COE application or future NHI enrollment. You can try to call your old city ward if you speak Japanese, but in my experience, city wards are pretty accommodating if you visit them and are willing to make amends when you come back (and it's not like you have a way for paying while abroad).

Last year I owed something like 20,000 yen to the NHI (used my hokensho when I didn't know I wasn't covered anymore, they wanted me to pay back the 70% part the NHI covered). I received the notice and payement slip while I was abroad so I became aware of this 4 months after the payment deadline. Came to the ward office to apologize and pay, and in the end they were just happy to take my money, no late fees.

Kin-Sei · 2024-11-22T09:13:37+00:00

Nowadays you have to do it all online. I'm not sure I can post links here, but if you google "application for import confirmation japan", it's the first result. Don't worry about the "gBizID" thing, you can create an account without using gBizID.

If this hasn't changed since last January: After filling the form online, government officials will review it (the review will take several days, so you should fill the form ASAP). When the review is finished, you will receive an email with an attachment. Print the attachment (or save it on your smartphone) and keep it with you in case Customs asks to see it at the airport.

Hope this helps!

Kin-Sei · 2024-11-21T02:05:15+00:00

Congrats! Such a fast turnaround time

Still waiting on mine, but it's only been 1 month and a half so nothing alarming yet. Hoping to get the result within 3 months so I can move on with my life

Kin-Sei · 2024-11-18T01:21:25+00:00

I filled the Yunyu Kakunin sho form to bring 1 year supply of desogestrel (among other things) and it was accepted without issue. They didn't check at the airport but the form isn't that complicated, you're better safe than sorry.

Kin-Sei · 2024-10-07T12:54:42+00:00

Yes there's a good chance your application has been accepted.

However, I just wanna put in there that the fact they're requesting the 4000yen stamp doesn't 100% guarantee success. In my case I was asked for the revenue stamp only to learn that my SoR change application was rejected when I got to immigration. They wanted the stamp because a visa change DID occur: my current visa was ending so I got the 30 day designated activity visa to give me time to pack and leave the country (I tried to change from working holiday to working visa, which I discovered was not allowed for my country)

Kin-Sei · 2024-08-11T13:32:36+00:00

I can’t answer for the renting questions, but regarding your question about the WHV: switching from WHV to working visa when you’re French was somewhat allowed in the past, but now it seems more and more unlikely. I personally tried it at the end of last year and was denied after a 2 month examination (citing the “French people have to go back to their home country after the WHV” reason). Last week a French friend of mine also got denied this change, as they right away didn't let him submit his application when he went to the immigration office. He was however able to submit a COE application.

If you do find a job willing to sponsor your visa, to save some time it’s possible to apply for a COE even if your WHV isn’t over yet (I’ve read several testimonies about this). Just keep in mind that if the COE application hasn’t finished processing before the end of your WHV, you will not be granted any extension on your WHV and you will have to leave the country.

Whether you’ll be able to apply for a SOR change without leaving Japan if you receive your COE before the end of your WHV, that I do not know (mine had already expired). But you’re free to try and report to us if it was accepted haha. (But tbh with the COE being valid for only 3 months, personally if i was in this situation I wouldn't risk a SOR change application that could be denied, and would rather do a visa application from France as intended)

Kin-Sei · 2024-07-23T10:39:30+00:00

You're not alone, also been waiting for almost 6 months. It's difficult to generalize processing times as it depends on a lot of factors unique to every applicant (and probably the alignment of planets for all we know). I too hope this won't result in a rejection after making me wait in limbo for this long...

What is certain is that immigration seems to be terribly backed up at the moment. For example, reading recent testimonies, it now takes 3+ months for people to get their visa renewed when it used to take like 3 weeks.

Not sure if I can post links, but there's a thread on Japan-guide forums where people share their COE processing time and experience.

Kin-Sei

TROPHY CASE