How to request disclosure of previously submitted application documents

I have been denied for a visa application, but I do not know the reason for the denial or how to improve my documents.

I want to apply for a visa or naturalization, but I don’t know the details of my past applications.

I want to hire a foreigner, but I don’t know whether it is OK to hire him/her and apply for a residence status.

If you are having trouble in situations like these, it may be useful to file a request for information disclosure.

In this column, we will explain in detail the procedures for a “Request for Disclosure of Retained Personal Information,” a type of disclosure request.

Suppose you apply for renewal or change of visa/resident status that differs from the contents of the previously submitted application. In that case, the Immigration Bureau or the Legal Affairs Bureau may deny your visa because the documents are not authentic.

Both the Immigration Bureau and the Legal Affairs Bureau have a strict screening process, so if they discover differences from previous applications, the entire application will be considered suspicious, resulting in the denial of the permit.

However, many foreign nationals,

at the time of their initial entry into the country,

due to receiving visa application support from the school, employer, sending agency, administrative scrivener, etc,

they did not keep the documents or do not have an accurate understanding of the details of their application.

If the information is unclear and various procedures are carried out, the applicant may end up making incorrect or inconsistent applications, which may even result in

“Falsified Applications”,

A falsified application will not only result in the denial of visa, residence status, or naturalization, but may also result in the revocation of residence status, deportation (forced to leave Japan), and imprisonment for up to three years as an illegal act.

The same penalties may also apply to the organization you belong to, such as your employer, who applies on your behalf.

In order to avoid such a situation, it is useful to request “disclosure” before applying for residence status or naturalization.

Let’s take a look at the disclosure request in detail.

Types of Disclosure Requests

The main types of disclosure requests are

1. ① Requests for disclosure of immigration (emigration) records
2. ② Requests for disclosure of the alien registration card
3. ③ Requests for issuance of a copy of the alien registration card of a deceased foreign national
4. ④ Requests for disclosure of retained personal information

…etc.

In this article, we will take a closer look at ④ “Request for Disclosure of Retained Personal Information.

What is a Request for Disclosure of Retained Personal Information

　Actually, under Japanese law, you can request the Immigration Bureau to disclose the “personal information of the person in question” in its possession.

You can request the Immigration Bureau by saying, “I would like to see the application materials that you submitted in the past.” This is called a request for disclosure of personal information held by the Immigration Bureau.

Similarly, documents and materials submitted for change of residence status, extension of period of stay, etc., can also be shown to the Immigration Bureau by using this system of requesting disclosure of personal information.

　However, certain matters, such as information related to other persons, may not be disclosed.

Where to request the disclosure

　Immigration Information Disclosure Section, General Affairs Division, Immigration Bureau

　General Affairs Division of each regional immigration bureau

(Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu, Fukuoka)　

How to request

• By mail
  • In addition to identification documents, a request by mail must be accompanied by a resident certificate issued within 30 days of the date of the request,
  • Please note that a certificate of residence issued within 30 days of the date of issue is not acceptable.
• Bring it to the counter.
  • The counter is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (closed Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and year-end and New Year holidays).
    • An advance appointment is not necessary.

Who can request

• The applicant himself/herself
• Legal representative (based on parent-child relationship or adult guardianship)
• Voluntary representative (available from April 1, 2022)
  • A letter of attorney is required.

Required documents

• Disclosure Request Form
  • Click here for the disclosure request form.
• In the case of the applicant himself/herself

1. a. Identification documents

(driver’s license, health insurance card with address, residence card, My Number card, etc.)

• • A notification card is not a document that can verify the applicant’s identity.

1. b. Revenue stamps worth 300 yen (per case)
   • Fee for disclosure request
   • Can be purchased at a post office.
2. c. A returning envelope
3. d. The returning stamp
4. e. Certificate of residence issued within 30 days (without the Individual Number)
   • Only in case of mailing

• In the case of a legal representative
  • In addition to the above documents a through e, the following documents
    1. ① Legal representative based on parent-child relationship
       • (In the case of Japanese nationals) A copy of the family register or extract from the family register, etc., that confirms that the applicant has parental authority
         • (All should be originals made within 30 days before the date of request)
       • (In the case of a non-Japanese national) A copy of the certificate of residence with the family name and relationship to the applicant
         • (Issued within the last 30 days)
    2. ② Legal representative under the adult guardianship system
       • Certificate of registered matters of adult guardianship registration (original) or certificate of family court (original)
         • (Issued within the last 30 days)
• In the case of a voluntary representative
  • In addition to the above documents a through e, the following documents must be submitted
    1. ① “Certificate of seal registration” after affixing the personal seal of the proxy to the letter of attorney
    2. ② “A copy of a document issued only once to the principal” (driver’s license, personal number card, etc.)

Please submit both ① and one of ② (Driver’s license, personal number card, etc.).

(The letter of attorney and certificate of seal registration need to be the original and must be made within 30 days of the disclosure request.)

Processing time from receipt of notice to decision on disclosure

• Typically, a decision on disclosure will be made within 30 days from the date of the disclosure request,

1.           However, it may be extended in some cases.

• Only the person himself/herself, a legal representative (when requested by a legal representative), or a voluntary representative (when requested by a voluntary representative) can receive the notice of disclosure decision at the counter.
  • If you are unable to come to the office, you can also receive the form by mail, although you will be charged for the postage.
• If you live abroad and do not have a certificate of residence, what documents can be used as an alternative?

1. A certificate of residence issued by a diplomatic office abroad, either a certificate of residence (PDF) or a certificate of accommodation issued by the administrator of the facility where the person requesting disclosure is located.
2. In the case of a request made at the counter, it is possible to send the documents to a different address,
3. However, in the case of a request by mail, the certificate of residence will be mailed to the address on the residence certificate, etc.

Summary

In this article, we introduced how to view documents submitted in the past by using the “Request for Disclosure of Retained Personal Information” method.

Please note that if you do not provide accurate information regarding your application for residence status or naturalization, it will have a significant impact on the approval or denial of your application.

In addition to the request for disclosure of personal information, there are other ways to check your immigration history.

Please make sure to use the various procedures to conduct a thorough investigation and make an accurate application.

If you have any concerns about your application for residence status or naturalization, are worried about proving your relevant work experience, have any doubts about the application procedures, or have difficulty finding out about the application procedures by yourself due to lack of time, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our group is based in Osaka (Abeno and Tennoji) and Tokyo (Shibuya and Ebisu), and we offer free initial consultations and online consultations.

If you are not comfortable consulting in Japanese, we have interpreters from various countries such as Vietnam, Nepal, China, Bangladesh, and English-speaking countries on staff.

First of all, if you have any concerns about your residence status or visa, please feel free to contact us, even if it is a trivial matter.

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Apart from the information we shared this time, we have numerous blogs about residence status. Please check them out here.

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