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What is Certificate of Eligibility (COE)?

Application procedure, Required documents, Examination duration, Application window

Introduction

Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is the first material that non-Japanese national get before he/she gets Japanese visa and starts to stay in Japan.

Although, non-Japanese national does not necessarily have to get COE except for some exceptional cases, it is strongly recommended to get it so as to smoothly get Japanese visa and enter Japan.

In this article, we will explain the procedure of application for COE, required documents, and frequently asked questions.

This article teaches you:

  • What is Certificate of Eligibility (COE)?
  • Flow of application of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
  • Required documents for application of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
  • Issuance fee of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
  • Duration of examination of application
  • Where to submit the application documents

=> Jump to the conclusion of this article

What is Certificate of Eligibility (COE)?

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The meaning of Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is defined in Japanese Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Article 7-2.

Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

a certificate (hereinafter referred to as “certificate of eligibility”) stating that the foreign national conforms to the conditions set forth in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii)

Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951) Article 7-2

“Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii)” in the above definition is one of 4 legal requirements for entering Japan, which are as follows:

  • Article 7, paragraph (1), item (i): the passport possessed by the foreign national and the visa affixed thereto must be valid, when a visa is required
  • Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii):
    – the activities stated in the application to be conducted while in Japan are not false,
    the activities stated in the application to be conducted while in Japan fall under any one of the activities set forth in the Immigration Control Act (Conformity to Status of Residence), and
    – the applicant satisfies the landing permission criteria (Conformity to Landing Permission Criteria)
  • Article 7, paragraph (1), item (iii): the period of stay stated in the application must conform to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order pursuant to the provisions of Article 2-2, paragraph (3)
  • Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ix): the applicant does not fall under any reasons of denial of landing

The main roll of COE is to prove that the applicant conforms abovementioned Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii), which allows examination / inspection on visa issuance and entrance to Japan to be proceeded smoothly.

Extra Info.

To know the details of “Conformity to Status of Residence” and “Conformity to Landing Permission Criteria”, please check the following article.

Related Article: “Conformity to Status of Residence” and “Conformity to Landing Permission Criteria” (ENG. ver. coming soon!)

Flow of Application of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

Below image shows the general flow of application for COE.

在留資格認定証明書申請の流れ(英)

* The above chart is made supposing the case where the application is made by certified agent (called “Shinsei-Toritsugi-Sha” in Japanese). In case certified agent dose not make application, the processes handled by certified agent in the above chart must be dealt with by representative (such as family of applicant or institute that the applicant to belong to).

① Document preparation

Firstly, documents required for the application have to be prepared.

There are 2 kinds of documents: documents to be prepared in Japan (such as application sheet); and documents to be prepared out of Japan by the applicant (such as certificate of graduation of university). Thus, document preparation has to be proceeded under the careful communication between representative / certified agent and the applicant.

② Document filing

Application sheet and required documents must be filed to regional Immigration Services Bureau. In principle, the documents must be filed in the actual location.

Those who can file the application documents are limited to the persons set forth in Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Article 6-2, paragraph (4).

(i) a staff member of a public interest incorporated association or foundation with the purpose of promoting smooth acceptance of foreign nationals (hereinafter referred to as a “staff member of a public interest corporation”) or a staff member of a registered support organization entrusted by an organization of affiliation of the specified skilled worker based on the contract under Article 2-5, paragraph (5) of the Act to carry out implementation of all of the support plan for specified skilled workers (i) (hereinafter referred to as “staff member of the registered support organization”) and whom the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds appropriate; and

(ii) an attorney at law or administrative scrivener who has notified the director of the regional immigration services bureau exercising jurisdiction over the area where the bar association or the administrative scrivener association to which the attorney or the administrative scrivener belongs is located through the association; or

(iii) a legal representative of the foreign national.

Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Article 6-2, paragraph (4)

In short, only
(i) staff member of specific institute,
(ii) Certified Administrative Scrivener with a special license, and
(iii) legal representative (such as family) of the applicant
can file the application documents on behalf of the applicant.

③ Examination by Immigration Bureau

After the application documents are accepted by the Immigration Bureau, examination by the Bureau is started. Generally, the examination takes 1 to 3 months.

In some cases, additional documents are required by the Bureau in the middle of examination.

④ Receipt of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

In case the application is permitted, original of COE is mailed to the representative / certified agent from the Immigration Bureau.

On the other hand, if the application is denied, the notification of application denial is mailed.

⑤ Forward original COE to applicant

Original of COE has to be forwarded to the applicant abroad for visa application.

Extra Info.

COE cannot be re-issued even if it is lost.
So that it is not lost during the transportation, it is recommended to use transportation services with tracking service such as EMS or DHL.

Required documents for application of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

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Required documents for application of COE differ according to the status of residence (= the activities that the applicant is planning to do in Japan) and the category of the institute (such as company and school) that the applicant is to belong to.

On the other hand, the documents to be filed by the applicant who is not to belong to any institutes in Japan (= those who apply for the statuses such as “Spouse or child of Japanese national” or “Spouse or child of permanent resident”) do not differ in accordance with the category of the institute.

The required documents of each status of residence are listed in the below page.

External Link: Materials to be submitted according to status of residence (application for Certificate of Eligibility)

Term of validity of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

Term of validity of COE is 3 months from the issue date. The applicant must apply for visa issuance and enter Japan within this period.

However, in an exception case shown in the below image, entrance to Japan may be permitted even if term of validity of COE has already passed.

在留資格認定証明書_期限切れ例外(英)

In the case of above image, although visa was issued within the term of validity of COE, the term has already passed at the timing of entrance inspection. In this case, sometimes entrance inspector exceptionally considers the expired COE as still valid and permits the applicant to enter Japan.

The reason why this kind of action is taken is said to be because there are some cases where examination on visa application takes too long time to enter Japan within the term of validity of COE.

Extra Info.

As of April, 2022, term of validity of COE is exceptionally extended for those who cannot enter Japan because of the impact of the pandemic of COVID-19.
For more detail, please refer to the following article.

Related Post: Japanese Special Measure “COE Extension” due to Omicron Variant

Circumstance change after issue of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

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COE proves that the applicant conforms to Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii).

However, it shall be noted that what COE proves is just the circumstances of the applicant at the timing of issuance of COE. In other words, the applicant would be considered NOT to conform Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) if the applicant has lost the conformity after the issuance of COE.

In this case, entrance inspector denies the applicant to enter Japan because conformity to Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) is one of the legal requirements to enter Japan.

There are many reasons of lost of the conformity to Article 7, paragraph (1). Following cases are taken as examples:

  • Applicant got the COE of “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, however, the company that the applicant were to join has gone bankrupt.
    In this case, the place to work does not exist although applicant’s purpose to come to Japan is to work. Therefore, conformity to Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) is considered to have been disappear after the issuance of COE.

  • Applicant got the COE of “Spouse or child of Japanese national”, however, the applicant divorced before he/she enters Japan.
    In this case, the applicant is no longer a spouse of Japanese. Therefore, conformity to Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) is considered to have been disappear after the issuance of COE.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is online application available?

A. Online application is available.

However, it is available only in Japan. This is because IP addresses out of Japan are regulated to access the WEB page of online application.

Also, IC card reader-writer is required to scan My Number Card when applicant (= non-Japanese national) uses online application.

External Link: Immigration Services Agency of Japan / Online Application System

Q. How much is issuance fee?

A. Issue of Certificate of Eligibility is for free.

However, stamps to attach on the return envelope has to be bought by the applicant.

Q. How long is the duration of examination?

A. Standard time of period to process is 1 to 3 months. Examination may take longer than 3 months because the standard time of period is just a reference and is not the object of legal binding force.

Thus, it is recommended to make the application rather early assuming that the examination would take long time. However, it shall be noted that too early application may lead to the expiration of COE before the planned timing of the entrance to Japan.

Q. Can Certificate of Eligibility be re-issued? I have lost original COE.

A. COE cannot be re-issued even if it is lost or stained. In this case, application for issuance of COE has to be made again.

As a side note, the applicant can file the document called “Request for Document Diversion” when applying again for issuance of COE. This document is for requesting Immigration Bureau to consider the documents that have been filed in the previous application as the ones filed for the re-application. With this system, applicant can save the saves the time of preparing the required documents again for the re-application.

Q. Which Immigration bureau (office) must I file the application documents to?

A. Application documents shall be filed to the Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over the location of accepting organization or your intended place of residence.

As of April, 2022, there are 17 Regional Immigration Services Bureau / Immigration Center / Branches in Japan, and each institute has local offices in its area of jurisdiction.

It shall be noted that some institutes do not accept the application of COE. Therefore, it is recommended to check, in the following WEB page, the available services of each institutes before you visit.

External Link: Immigration Services Agency of Japan / Outline of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan

Q. Is visa application definitely permitted if I have Certificate of Eligibility?

A. Application for visa can be denied even if applicant has COE.

This is because, issuance of COE is controlled by Ministry of Justice, and issuance of visa is controlled by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This means that COE issued by Ministry of Justice is, for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just a referential document that has been issued by other ministry. From this viewpoint, Ministry of Foreign Affairs can make the final decision whether to permit visa application or not with their own examination.

Summary

The points of this article are as follows:

  • What is Certificate of Eligibility (COE)?
    The documents proving that;
    the activities stated in the application to be conducted while in Japan are not false,
    ➋ the activities stated in the application to be conducted while in Japan fall under any one of the activities set forth in the Immigration Control Act (Conformity to Status of Residence), and
    the applicant satisfies the landing permission criteria (Conformity to Landing Permission Criteria)
    ⇒ The main roll of COE is to allow examination / inspection on visa issuance and entrance to Japan to be proceeded smoothly.
  • Flow of application of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
    Document preparation by both applicant abroad and representative / certificated agent in Japan.
    Submission of documents by representative / certified agent at Regional Immigration Services Bureau. The documents must be submitted at the actual site.
    Original COE is mailed to representative / certificated agent in Japan.
    Representative / certificated agent mails the original COE to the applicant abroad.
    The applicant brings the original COE to Japanese Embassy or Consulate for visa application.

  • Required documents for application of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
    Required documents for application of COE differ according to the status of residence (= the activities that the applicant is planning to do in Japan) and the category of the institute (such as company and school) that the applicant is to belong to.
    The required documents of each status of residence are listed in the below page.
    External Link: Materials to be submitted according to status of residence (application for Certificate of Eligibility)

  • Issuance fee of Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
    Issuance fee is free (= JPY 0), however, stamps to attach on the return envelope has to be bought by the applicant.

  • Duration of examination of application
    Standard period of time to process is 1 to 3 months, however, examination may take longer than 3 months because the standard time of period is just a reference and is not the object of legal binding force.

  • Where to submit the application documents
    Application documents shall be filed to the Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over the location of accepting organization or your intended place of residence.
    You can check the list of Regional Immigration Services Bureau in the following WEB page.
    External Link: Immigration Services Agency of Japan / Outline of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan

If you have some questions or points to be more deeply explained, please feel free to ask us through the contact form!

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