deportation

Immigration detention centers are not prisons but they are facilities designed around the careful monitoring of individuals who have broken Japanese immigration laws.  As such, there are strict rules about visiting someone who is currently being held at a detention facility.  Each facility has a different set of rules but the general policies are similar.  To meet a detainee you should bring proper identification, such as a foreign residence card or passport, and visit the detention center during the center’s office hours.  The Osaka detention center is open from 9 to 12 and 1 to 4 on weekdays, although these […]

If a detained foreign national wishes to contest his or her detention, the foreigner may request a hearing to review whether the immigration inspector made any errors in deciding to detain.  This hearing should take place within three days from the request.  A special inquiry officer, designated from one of the senior class immigration examiners, will review the foreigner’s case for possible errors.  This review can include examining witnesses and evidence to establish the necessary facts of the case.

A Japanese immigration control officer can temporarily detain a foreign national if he or she reasonably believes that the foreign national has committed a deportable offence such as overstaying a visa or committing a crime.  However, this temporary detention is only allowed in situations that require urgent action and once the foreigner has been safely detained, the immigration officer must deliver the foreigner and any evidence relating to the offense to an immigration inspector within 48 hours from the start of the detention.

Deportation is used by the Japanese government as a last option for foreign nationals who refuse to obey the terms of their stay in Japan. A foreigner who stays past the authorized period of stay on his or her visa, who works in a field outside of the authorize visa activities, who is convicted of violating Japan’s anti-narcotics laws or convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to imprisonment without suspension of the sentence may be deported from Japan.