How Should I Solve My Illegal Stay? Part 2
QUESTION
I have been granted permission for permanent residence from the Immigration Bureau. Four years ago, I became acquainted with a Filipino who had been over-staying for 5 years in Japan, and we promised our marriage.
We submitted the marriage registration to the Philippine embassy on November 10, last year. Under this situation, we consulted with a lawyer who is currently advertising on the Internet, and he promised us that he would take over my husband’s case if I would pay 580,000 yen to him as a charge. Although it was a lot of money for me, I paid him since I think that it’s necessary expenses for carrying out his case. Then, this lawyer went to the Immigration Bureau together with us for my husband’s surrender while this lawyer had hardly made preparations for his case. However, my husband was detained into the facility of the Immigration Bureau and kept there.
I was so puzzled and got in touch with this lawyer since I would like to consult with him on a future procedure etc. However, I could not get in touch with this lawyer since I cannot contact him at all. So, I am completely at a loss and made up my mind to consult with you with reliance on your column indicated in the Philippine Digest.
As you see, under this situation, I cannot work and am also unable to lead my life, either. What should I do to obtain the visa and make him work in Japan?
I mailed you seeking for the best solution. Thank you for your consideration.
ANSWER
Well, your question absolutely refers to the “Special Permission to Stay” issued by the Minister of Justice.
As you see, a foreigner who has been overstaying in Japan, as a rule, is supposed to be deported to his/her own country after the Immigration formalities (= the deportation procedure). While the process of deportation is taking place at the Immigration Bureau, no one can work because he/she has no Immigration status (= visa) at all and is detained in the Immigration facilities.
The lawyer to whom you paid a lot of money and trusted is considered to be a fake lawyer or a lawyer who hardly gets to know about Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.
For your information, when I would be trusted in an illegal case on the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law, such as a case of illegal entrance (using a fake passport) and over-stay (unlawful stay) by a client, I will usually advance the procedure in the following order.
1) I have an interview with the person (=a suspect) himself/herself and his/her spouse directly and hold the details of his/her case.
2) When a suspect and his/her spouse would trust me, I will make two original copies of the “Business Trust Contract” based on our conclusion in Japanese or English, and hand over or send over two of it to a spouse.
3) At that time, I will hand over or send over the written information (which are needed for his/her surrender and processing his/her case), list of explanatory data required for creating the documents for surrender, remittance information of necessary expense for his/her case and etc.
4) As soon as the explanatory data and proof would be sent from a suspect and his/her spouse, I, while translating into Japanese, will create up and draw up the required documents (a written notification, a written declaration, a written statement of reasons, a petition of spouse, etc.) for his/her surrender based on these data.
5) After that, I will interview a suspect and his/her spouse again, and while handing over these documents and explaining the contents of each document, I will teach the way of correspondence to the investigation/inspection by the authority and knowhow at the time of surrendering to the Immigration Bureau.
6) Finally, a suspect himself/herself will surrender to the Immigration Bureau carrying the above-mentioned documents with his/her spouse.
(Note) I myself do not appear and sit with a suspect since the Immigration authority will not permit me to come into or accompany a person other than a suspect into the same room where the investigation will carry out.
As you see, I will explain the procedure about the investigation, inspection etc., in the Immigration Bureau to a suspect/spouse in detail at the time of an interview. The outline of it is as follows.
- Investigation by an Immigration Control Officer ⇒2. Inspection by the Immigration Inspector ⇒3. Hearing by a Special Inquiry Officer ⇒ 4. Appeal to the Minister of Justice by a suspect ⇒ 5. Final decision by the Minister of Justice (or Director General of the Immigration Bureau). Then, I will support a suspect until the final decision by the Minister of Justice (or regional Director General of the Immigration Bureau) would have decided his/her case.
If the final decision would be granted, the “Special Permission to Stay” will be carried out and a “Residence Card” will be delivered to you from a Regional Director General of Immigration Bureau.
As you quite understand, the period until you would surrender to the Immigration Bureau is very important. Especially, the final decision by the Minister of Justice is greatly influenced by the documents created up by a lawyer and its contents.
Besides, I hope you understand that a lawyer who would appear to the Immigration Bureau together with a suspect without making the documents stands no role. This “Special Permission to Stay” is supposed to be granted beneficially to a person who has some considerable circumstances or reasons. Therefore, we must find it, and if your Filipino husband would be granted it, he can stay and work in Japan. If not, he is impossible to stay and work in Japan with you and automatically deported by the Immigration authority.
In addition to this, it is also impossible to get any kind of Japanese visa for 5 years at least and to come back to Japan after more than 5 years. Let us try to solve your problem.
Office name: Miyoshi International Legal Counsel Office
Telephone/Fax (Japanese/English): 0463-61-
E-mail: miyoshi@ipcworld.co.jp or joshua-galasha@mvg.biglobe.ne.
Website: www.phildigest.jp
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Naka-gun, Oiso-cho, Higashikoiso 716-2
Nearest station: Oiso station by Tokado Line
Working hour/day: 09:00-18:00/Monday-