Foreign residents in Japan are all too familiar with the tedious process of filling out endless forms and waiting for countless hours at immigration offices to renew or extend their visas. Now that Japan is in the process of digitising its bureaucracy, however, adjustments will soon be made so visa applications can be done online instead.
Nikkei reports that starting in April 2021, Japan’s foreign residents will be able to apply to change, extend or renew their visas online via computer or smartphone. This will simplify the process considerably for foreign nationals who need to update their residence status, or fresh graduates seeking to switch their student visas to working visas.
The current system actually already allows visa status changes to be done online, but this option is limited to a handful of companies and organisations carrying out the procedure on behalf of their employees. The new system will mean individuals can handle their own applications by providing the necessary documents online.
Though details of the new system have yet to be confirmed, the Justice Ministry has put aside a budget of ¥1.25 billion to fund the upgrade.
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