Lost or Expired Passport While Overstaying in Japan: Can You Still Report Yourself to Immigration?

Your period of stay has expired, and your passport is not in your hands. Perhaps it was lost or stolen. Perhaps an employer took it and will not give it back. Perhaps it simply expired and you were never able to renew it. Many people in this situation want to go to the Immigration Services Agency and report themselves, but conclude that there is no point in going without a passport, and so another month passes, and then another. Not having a passport is not a reason to give up on voluntary appearance. This article explains, following the text of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Control Act), what to do first and what to do next when your passport is missing or expired.

Can I report myself to immigration if I have lost my passport

Yes. Going to a Regional Immigration Services Bureau on your own initiative and reporting that you are overstaying is not conditioned on presenting a passport. The requirements for a departure order set out in Article 24-3 of the Immigration Control Act do not include holding a valid passport. The absence of a passport may become relevant later, in the form of the question of how far your preparations to leave Japan have progressed, but it does not stand in the way of appearing. On the contrary, if you wait for a replacement passport and are detected by the authorities in the meantime, the outcome changes significantly, as explained below.

If my passport has only expired, is that a crime

An expired passport and unlawful residence are two separate matters. Remaining in Japan beyond your period of stay without having obtained an extension or a change of status falls under Article 70, paragraph (1), item (v) of the Immigration Control Act. The statutory penalty is kōkinkei (custodial sentence) of up to three years, or a fine of up to three million yen, or both. At the same time, the same situation constitutes a ground for deportation under Article 24, item (iv)(b). In other words, overstaying is not merely an administrative problem. It is a criminal offence. Whether your passport is still valid does not change that provision or that penalty. What it changes is the practical question of how the arrangements for your departure, or for your continued stay, have to be designed.

Should I get a new passport at my embassy first, and only then go to immigration

The better approach is not to wait for the passport and then go, but to move on both tracks at the same time. Embassies and consulates in Japan differ greatly in how they handle passport reissuance and in whether and how quickly they issue a travel document for return, and months can pass while you wait. If, during that time, an investigation into violations under Article 27 begins, you will no longer fall under Article 24-3, item (i)(a) of the Immigration Control Act, which covers a person who, before the start of the investigation into violations, appears at an immigration office on their own initiative with the intention of leaving Japan promptly. You will instead fall under item (i)(b), which covers a person who expresses that intention after the investigation has begun but before receiving the notice under Article 47, paragraph (3). That distinction feeds directly into the period during which you will be denied landing in Japan, as set out below. The practical answer is to gather the documents your embassy requires while simultaneously preparing your appearance.

Can I still receive a departure order without a passport

The requirements for a departure order are listed in Article 24-3 of the Immigration Control Act, and holding a passport is not among them. All five of the following must be satisfied.

• The person falls under Article 24, item (ii)-4, item (iv)(b), or items (vi) to (vii), and either appeared at an immigration office on their own initiative before the investigation into violations began, with the intention of leaving Japan promptly (item (i)(a)), or expressed that intention to an immigration inspector or immigration control officer after the investigation began but before receiving the notice under Article 47, paragraph (3) (item (i)(b)).
• The person does not fall under any of Article 24, items (iii) to (iii)-5, item (iv)(c) to (iv)(y), item (viii) or item (ix).
• After entering Japan, the person has not been sentenced to kōkinkei (custodial sentence) for the offences of breaking into a residence, counterfeiting of currency, documents, securities or electromagnetic records for payment cards, gambling, homicide, injury, unlawful capture and confinement, kidnapping and abduction, theft and robbery, fraud and extortion, or offences relating to stolen property, nor for offences under Articles 1, 1-2 and 1-3 of the Act on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others, the Act on Prevention of Larceny, Articles 15 and 16 of the Act on Prohibition of Possession of Special Picking Tools, Article 2 or Article 6, paragraph (1) of the Act on Punishment of Acts Inflicting Death or Injury on Others by Driving a Motor Vehicle, or Article 22 of the Act on Prevention of Disposal of Stolen Specified Metal Products.
• The person has not previously been deported from Japan, and has not previously departed under a departure order issued pursuant to Article 55-85, paragraph (1).
• The person is expected to leave Japan promptly, with certainty.

Where the absence of a passport can genuinely matter is the fifth requirement, namely that prompt departure is expected with certainty. When a departure order is issued, the supervising immigration inspector sets a departure deadline not exceeding fifteen days, under Article 55-85, paragraph (1). What counts in practice, therefore, is whether you can explain concretely, with supporting materials, when your travel document is expected to be ready and how far the process at your embassy has progressed. Simply stating that you have no passport, having done nothing, is received differently from arriving with a receipt of application and a realistic timeline.

How can I prove my identity and family relationships if my home country issues almost no documents

In some countries the civil registration system is incomplete. In others, civil conflict or disaster has left government offices unable to function, or the mission in Japan is in practice unable to process requests. Even then, the route to proof is not closed. Article 50, paragraph (5) of the Immigration Control Act provides that, in deciding on special permission to stay, the Minister of Justice considers the reasons for wishing to stay, family relationships, conduct, the circumstances of entry into Japan, the length of stay in Japan and the legal status during that period, the facts constituting the grounds for deportation, and the need for humanitarian consideration, along with domestic and international circumstances and the effect on unlawful residents in Japan. What is being asked about is not the existence of official documents as such, but whether those circumstances actually exist. Evidence generated on the Japanese side can therefore be built up layer by layer: records of marriage and birth notifications, materials on housing, income and tax payments, medical and school records, and written statements from people in your neighbourhood and workplace. The key is to organise which document corresponds to which of the statutory factors, and to submit them in that structure.

Can I ask for special permission to stay while I have no passport

Yes. Article 50, paragraph (1) provides that, even where a person is subject to deportation, the Minister of Justice may grant special permission to stay, on the application of the foreign national or ex officio, if one of the items of that paragraph applies. Most overstay cases are examined under item (v), which covers other circumstances in which the Minister finds that stay should be specially permitted. The sequence of the procedure matters. Under Article 50, paragraph (2), the application is made by a foreign national who has been detained under a written detention order or who has received a supervision measure decision. Under Article 50, paragraph (3), no application can be made after a written deportation order has been issued. The proviso to Article 50, paragraph (1) imposes a heightened requirement on those sentenced to kōkinkei (custodial sentence) for life or for more than one year, but a case involving only unlawful residence, that is, only Article 24, item (iv)(b), does not fall within that proviso. That is a point in your favour. Where special permission is refused, Article 50, paragraph (10) requires that you be notified promptly in writing with reasons attached.

What difference does it make to act before being detected

The absence of a passport does not resolve itself with the passage of time, and the passage of time pushes the landing denial period in an unfavourable direction. Under Article 5, paragraph (1), item (ix)(e), a person who departs under a departure order is denied landing for one year from the date of departure. By contrast, a person who falls under Article 24-3, item (i)(b), that is, who expressed the intention to leave only after the investigation into violations had begun, and who then seeks to enter Japan to engage in the activities of a temporary visitor, is denied landing for five years from the date of departure under item (ix)(f). If detection means the requirements for a departure order are not met at all, the matter proceeds as deportation: five years from the date of deportation under item (ix)(c) for a person with no prior deportation or departure order, and ten years under item (ix)(d) for a person who already has such a history. Where deportation follows from Article 24, item (iv)(e) to (iv)(y), Article 5, paragraph (1), item (x) applies and no fixed period is set. The Guidelines on Special Permission to Stay, revised in March 2024 and in force from 10 June 2024, state expressly that appearing voluntarily at a regional immigration office in order to report one's unlawful residence is treated as a positive factor. Prolonged unlawful residence, on the other hand, is assessed as a negative factor. Waiting for a passport is not a reason to stay still.

About our office

Funado International Law Office is located on the third floor of the Fuse Building main wing, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo. Our main areas of focus are criminal defence for foreign nationals, with a particular concentration on clients of Chinese nationality, and immigration procedures. Daisuke Matsumura, a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association (registration number 59077, admitted in 2019), handles every stage of a case personally, from the first visit at the detention facility through to the close of trial, without delegating to clerks or junior lawyers. A dedicated Chinese-language interpreter experienced in cases involving foreign nationals is on staff, so that clients can rely on an interpreter working for them, separate from the interpreter appointed by the investigating authorities. For other languages, we arrange an interpreter as the circumstances of the case require. Renewals and changes of status of residence after criminal proceedings conclude are handled on a one-stop basis together with an affiliated administrative scrivener.

One resolved case is directly relevant where passports and home-country documents are scarce. A client who had come to Japan as a tourist had a child with a Japanese woman, but had lost his status of residence and was arrested and prosecuted for unlawful residence. The marriage and acknowledgement of paternity had not been completed, and the authorities initially declined to accept the filings. Mr Matsumura negotiated with the authorities from a constitutional standpoint and secured both the marriage and the acknowledgement, and conducted questioning of the defendant and examination of witnesses with the criminal trial under the Immigration Control Act clearly in view. Even though almost no official documents issued by the country of nationality existed, favourable evidence was assembled, and after analysing past cases in which the immigration authorities had granted permission, special permission to stay was obtained in a single set of proceedings.

In another case, a woman was wrongly accused of promoting illegal employment and faced deportation. Against the established practice that grounds for deportation require neither intent nor negligence, we brought proceedings testing how far the principle of individual responsibility extends, and litigated through to the appellate stage. Special permission to stay was subsequently granted by the immigration authorities. The first consultation is free of charge, and fees are quoted according to the circumstances of each case.

Closing remarks

While you stand still because of a missing passport, the period of unlawful residence continues to lengthen and the possibility of detection remains. The first step is to run the consular process and your preparation for voluntary appearance in parallel. Simply deciding what to do, and in what order, already changes the outlook. This article is a general explanation. For your own situation, please consult a lawyer directly. Past cases reflect their own particular circumstances and do not guarantee a similar result.

Author

Daisuke Matsumura, Attorney at Law

Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association (registration number: 59077, admitted 2019)

Funado International Law Office (Fuse Building main wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)

Main areas of focus: criminal defence for foreign nationals, with a particular concentration on clients of Chinese nationality, and immigration procedures.

Results include an acquittal in a case under the Stimulants Control Act (possession for the purpose of profit), a decision not to prosecute in a specialised fraud case, and the grant of special permission to stay in a case regarded as difficult.

Contact

Funado International Law Office

Website: https://matsumura-lawoffice.jp/

WeChat ID: matsumura1119

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