Departure is the “exit” of your residence in Japan. It is crucial to understand the types of departures, how to achieve them, and specifically, to gain knowledge on avoiding certain unfortunate types of exits.
When a foreign resident leaves Japan, they will always fall into one of the following five forms of departure. Residents should aim for “Simple Departure” or “Departure with Re-entry Permission,” which are legal forms of exit. One should avoid departures involving illegality, such as a Departure Order (at landing), Deportation, or the Exit Order system.
Simple Departure (Complete Departure)
This is a voluntary, autonomous, and legal form of departure where you completely leave Japan for your own reasons. This form of departure is taken when your period of stay ends peacefully. Most departures fall under this category.
Departure with Re-entry Permission
This is a form of departure for temporarily leaving Japan during your stay. This form is used for purposes such as returning to your home country or visiting other countries for vacation. Even if you intend to leave only temporarily, if you forget to process this re-entry procedure, it will be treated as the “Simple Departure” mentioned above, and you will lose your status of residence. You must be careful not to forget the procedure.
Departure Order (at Landing)
A Departure Order is issued when a person arrives from overseas and is denied landing after an examination at the airport. This is due to failure to meet the conditions for landing; therefore, it is important to confirm before coming to Japan that you will meet these conditions without issue. While an obligation to leave is imposed, as long as you comply, no coercive procedures will be taken.
Deportation (Forced Departure)
Deportation is generally imagined as the most severe form of departure. This is a form of departure where, during your stay, you fall under the “grounds for deportation” (a list of bad conduct or undesirable persons) and are forced to leave Japan through coercive procedures. Although departure is forced, it does not necessarily involve physical violence. If you are deported, a denial of landing period (entry ban) will be established in proportion to the severity of the grounds.
Exit Order
This is a lighter version of the deportation process. Among behaviors that would normally lead to deportation, this form is taken when departure can be expected without coercion—for example, when a person realizes their period of stay has expired and voluntarily reports the violation to leave. In this case, the landing refusal period is shortened to one year.