Visa Renewal Blues

(This can be considered on of my update series. Now up to number 6 after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)

The last time I dealt with getting my visa renewed was in the summer of 2004. As I wrote at the time, I showed up with my visa extension form all filled out and ready to go. The immigration officer looked at the form, and said, "Hmm, this form is out of date, you'll have to fill out a new form over there." So, I got a new form, and took 15 minutes to fill it out (labouriously copying out my address in Kanji, looking up my passport number and copying down my alien registration number). I went back with the second form and, after waiting in line, handed it back to the immigration officer.

"Hmmm," he said. "The visa your applying for is an instructor visa. But actually you're going to be working for a private company. You need to apply for a "specialist in humanities" visa. That's a different form."
...So back another 15 minutes, filling out a 3rd form.

The real killer is that it was the exact same form each time. The same information in the same boxes--just the heading on the top was different.
And to add insult to injury, this was all information they had right in front of them anyway. All the info I filled out on the forms could be found on my passport or alien registration card, which they had in front of them and made copies of.
But welcome to the Japanese beauracracy, right?

This time around was much, much, more frustrating.
When I was a JET and with a private ALT company, I was on a 3 year Visa. NOVA only sponsors 1 year visas (rumor has it because their turn around is so high, so they don't want to give people a 3 year pass to Japan and then have them walk off the job).

To begin with Nova waited up until absolutely the last minute before sending me the forms I needed to get the visa renewed. I had begun calling them about the visa two months before, and kept kept getting told it was coming right up. When the forms finally arrived in the mail, I was able to make it down to the passport office two days before my visa expired.

I went down to the immigration office and handed in my application. The officer looked at the date and shook his head. "Wow, this is really close," he said.

"Sorry," I answered. "It's not my fault. They didn't send me the forms until just now."

"Okay," he said. "Have a seat. I'll go over this."

After a few minutes he called me over again. "Do you have your tax forms for last year?"

"No, they didn't give me any."

"They should have."

"I've only been at this company for less than a year. Could that be it?"

"No, they have them for you somewhere. There's no such thing as an employee existing without tax forms."

I just gave him a blank look so he told me to sit down again. After a few minutes he gave me a new paper form and a self-addressed envelope. "Give this to the secretary in your office," he said. "They'll know what to do with it. Then have them mail the forms to me in this envelope. Then I'll give you a call when you get the forms, and you can come back out here."

Since it's about an hour and a half drive out to the immigration office in Oita city, I wasn't thrilled with this, but you can't fight the Japanese Beauracracy. I simply nodded and went back.

The Japanese staff didn't have a clue what to do with the form I gave them. I expected this. They're nice girls but their both 22, fresh out of college, and don't have a clue what's going on. Since we lost our old staff, no one has a clue about how the company is supposed to be run anymore.

I called up foreign personal in Osaka to ask about the tax forms.

"Oh, yeah, the tax forms," someone said to me. "Listen you're a bit up a creek with those. The old Nova was supposed to send those out to you. But the old Nova has filed for bankruptcy protection, and all its files are in the hands of the government appointed trustees, so they can't send out your tax forms."

"Oh," said I. In the back of my head I was thinking it sure would have been nice if someone had bothered to tell me I was missing these important forms when they originally sent out my visa renewal papers, before I had made the hour and a half drive down to Oita.

"What I did in my case," the guy on the phone continued, "is I went to the city hall. They should have all your tax forms there."

And so it was off to Nakatsu city hall with me. I pointed to the forms and tried to show them what I needed. Fortunately it turns out one of my students works at city hall, and she took over and did all the translating for me. After some running back and forth and some people congregating around a computer, she turned to me and said, "We don't have any of your tax forms on file. The local government has no right to take taxes from you."

"Oh," I said. "So what do I do now?"

The city hall was nice enough to call the immigration office on my behalf and explain the situation. The immigration officer apparently said something like, "Oh, well, if the forms aren't there then don't worry about it then."

The city hall gave me a special note indicating that they didn't have the necessary tax forms, and we sent that in the mail to the immigration office. I then waited to hear back from the immigration office.

After a week of not hearing anything, I called them. "Yes, we just sent you a form in the mail today," one of them said. "Since you don't have tax forms, we need copies of all your pay slips from last year. And a copy of your bank records."

...And so began a search through the apartment to find all these things. While at the same time trying to avoid a fight with Shoko, who was angry with me for not being better organized. "You promised me you were keeping all your important papers safe," she said.

"They are safe," I said. "I'm positive I didn't throw any of them out. I just have to remember where I put them." Eventually, in various parts of the apartment, I found all the papers I needed. I made copies of them at work, and then mailed them out.

(To add insult to injury, around this time Nova called me up wondering why I hadn't faxed in a copy of my renewed visa to Osaka).

After a week, I received a call from the immigration office. I could come down and get the visa.

So on my next day off I made the hour and a half drive down to Oita city.
I came in and handed them my passport. They wanted to know if I had the 4000 Yen ($40) for the visa fee, and I said yes. However for some beauracratic reason, they're not allowed to accept money in the immigration office. I had to walk out of the office, get in the elevator, go down to the first floor, walk out of the building, go down to the end of the block, and pay there. Then walk back.

This part at least I was expecting. Every time I need to get a visa renewal or a re-entry permit, I have to do this little walk down the block. I paid my 4000 yen, got a special stamp, and went back to the immigration office.

Once I got back, they had my new visa stamped on the passport. But there was one problem. "That envelope you sent us last time with your pay stubs in it was actually a bit overweight," they said. "We need 50 more yen (about 50 cents) to cover the extra cost of postage."

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be their expense or mine. After all, they did give me the envelope and I only included the documents they had asked for. But I wasn't going to argue about 50 cents. I fished it out of my pocked at laid it down on the table.

There was a bit of concern, and they held a mini-conference, and then said to me, "You know we're not allowed to accept money here, right? Could you go down the block again and pay down there."

"Okay."

"And we'll be closed for lunch by the time you get back, so just come again after 1 o'clock."

"Okay."

I killed time by looking at the bookstores near Oita station, and then came back after 1. Whilst I was going through all this, I thought I might as well get a re-entry permit on the passport as well, so I could leave Japan and come back. (My old re-entry permit expired with my old visa).

"Okay," they said, "just fill out this form."

....Wouldn't you know it, the exact same information that was on all the other forms I had filled out. Just the heading was different.

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How the Democrats Took Over and Betrayed the Peace Movement