As my visa is up for renewal in mid-July, my immigration lawyer and I usually start the procedure in late May. Last year, it took only two weeks from application to approval.
This year, when nothing had happened by the end of June, I started panicking. Apparently, since last October, the visa procedures have lengthened considerably, and some of the reasons cited are increased applications and reduced staff at the Immigration Offices.
By now, the Immigration Office publishes average waiting times every month: For a business visa like I have, it’s currently 37 days; an application for a permanent visa can take up to 18 months, three times as much as when I first came to Japan and looked into this.
And there is nothing you can do about it, they simply say “please wait until we get back to you…”. Obviously, this makes sense, since answering emails or calls that just want to know how long it will still take will delay the process even more. Still, it is frustrating, even knowing that there is a grace period of two months after the expiration of the visa, where the (former) visa holder can stay in the country while waiting for a response from the Immigration Office.
Anyway. I’m glad to report that my visa was extended yesterday, less than a week before its expiration. Waiting so long became quite stressful, and now I’ll have to wait for another two weeks until I get my new residence card. Let’s hope things will get better next time I have to apply for an extension of my visa.
You could always ease the process by marrying a Japanese guy. 😉 (j/k)
Glad it was all sorted in time.