New Regulations for Foreigners Entering Japan: COE for Foreign Students and Technical Interns

On November 8, 2021, Japan will finally open the entry of long-term residents, including new students, and short-term residents, including technical trainees. I believe that many of you who have already obtained the status of residence but have not been able to enter Japan due to the new pneumonia epidemic have been impatient since April 2020.

However, they will face a problem: Is my Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which was issued in 2020, still valid now?

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan recently issued this regulation：

Immigration Services Agency of Japan

This new rule explains in detail how the validity period of the previously issued recognition of residency will be modified.

Simply put, if your status of residence is “College Student” or “Technical Internship” and the Certificate of Eligibility is issued from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, then the validity period of your Certificate of Eligibility will be automatically extended to April 30, 2022.

Measures related to the Certificate of Eligibility issued after April 1, 2021, will be formulated in accordance with the implementation of the current rules and will be announced in the future.

The airports that currently accept foreign nationals are Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Haneda Airport, and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido may be added in the future. If you have students from Fukuoka or Nagoya, please choose to enter from these airports instead of Fukuoka Airport or Chubu International Airport.

In addition, the Japanese government recommends that international students and technical intern trainees avoid Fridays and Sundays, which are the most crowded days, and choose weekdays (Monday through Thursday), which are less crowded when entering Japan. However, if your country or region does not have flights to Japan on Monday through Thursday, then this rule does not apply.

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