I want to apply for special landing permission. How can I do this?
Ok let’s first talk about what ‘special landing permission’ is. This refers to special permission granted by the Minister of Justice for those currently barred from entry into the country. An example of this would be if you have been deported from Japan for whatever reason. This could be for overstaying a visa or on the more extreme end been found guilty of a crime and subsequently deported upon release from prison. In these cases, a person is as a rule barred from entering Japan for 5 years. This naturally may vary, especially in the case of a criminal conviction which may even lead to a lifetime disbarment.
If this applies to you then naturally you won’t be able to apply for a normal visa and simply fly to Japan and expect to be allowed into the country. This is where ‘special landing permission’ comes in. In this case the only chance for being able to get into Japan would be to explain that although you have this experience of being deported from Japan there are extenuating circumstances. What I mean by this is that we must prove to the immigration bureau that by not allowing you entry in Japan they are infringing on your human rights. Examples of this would be if you have a spouse or child in Japan. However, if it would be reasonable for your spouse to live in your home country the chances of special landing permission being granted drop significantly. Further, as the main intention for barring entry into Japan is to block so-called ‘undesirable’ foreigners from entering Japan we also have to explain that despite your past you are not ‘undesirable’.
