Friday, January 27, 2012

Japan Relocation Change- New Residence Card / New Juminhyo Entry

The following article in italics is a very good outline from my colleagues at GaijinPot on the new immigration system in Japan to be implemented in July 2012 (see below under my commentary).

However, it does interest me how the Immigration Bureau is neglecting to make an official comment about what is going to be required at your local ward office or city / town hall.

For those of you who are unaware, the new residence card system is not going to reduce any of the burden in terms of applications at your local authorities. In actual fact the burden is going to increase;
1. You need to register for your residence card (with the Immigration Bureau)
2. You will need to register at your local ward office or city / town hall

Now, while part of the residence card application is going to be undertaken by your local authority, unlike before, you are also going to be placed in the Japanese "Juminhyo System" (Citizen Registration System), like any other Japanese person. This was never done before! So, while the new residence card has many improvements, please don't forget that you have one other system to apply into, which is another application form at your local authority (and more likely than not, this will differ between authorities).

If you are currently resident in Japan, you may have already received a letter from your local authority checking your details. This is why.

What are the benefits of this?
You are going to be treated more like the rest of the population, on the same system. I don't know of any further advantages at this stage.

What are the disadvantages?
1. Another application you are going to need to make.
2. Each authority is likely to do things a little differently- the lack of uniformity here could cause some issues, as some local authorities don't have many foreign residents, so sometimes just "don't get it".
3. Whenever you move, you have to make an application at the local authority to leave, and then an application at the new local authority to enter their system (under the alien registration card, you only needed to go to the new local authority).
4. The "kisaijikoshomeisho" (Certificate of Details on your Alient Card) will not be issued anymore- so what will take its place?

I am following this closely, and it has been disappointing that the Immigration Bureau has been good about informing everyone about their new system, but has totally neglected to inform everyone of the other requirements that will come about because of this change. Watch this space for further information as I receive it!

GAIJIN POT ARTICLE
On July 9, a new system of residence management will be implemented that combines the information collected via the Immigration Control Act and the Alien Registration Law respectively. Foreign nationals residing legally in Japan for a medium to long term are subject to this new system.

The government started accepting applications for new residence registration cards on Jan 13, which will then be issued after July 9. To apply for the new card, you are required to appear in person at the nearest regional immigration bureau.

The Ministry of Justice says the new system ensures further convenience for such persons by extending the maximum period of stay from 3 years to 5 years. In addition, a system of “presumed permit of re-entry,” which essentially exempts the need to file an application for permission for re-entry when re-entering Japan within one year of departure, will be implemented.

Upon introduction of the new system of residence management, the current alien registration system shall become defunct. Medium- to long-term residents will get a new residence card which they will be required to always carry with them. Children under the age of 16 are exempt from the obligation to always carry the residence card.

Foreign nationals residing legally for a medium to long term with a status of residence under the Immigration Control Act, EXCLUDING the persons described below, shall be subject to the new system of residence management:
- Persons granted permission to stay for not more than 3 months
- Persons granted the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor”
- Persons granted the status of residence of “Diplomat” or “Official”
- Persons whom a Ministry of Justice ordinance recognizes as equivalent to the aforementioned foreign nationals
- Special permanent residents (for example, of Korean descent)
- Persons with no status of residence

Permanent residents, meanwhile, will have to apply for a new residence card within three years from July 2012.

What is the residence card?
The residence card will be issued to applicable persons in addition to landing permission, permission for change of status of residence, and permission for extension of the residence period, etc. The card is equipped with an IC chip to prevent forgery and alteration, and the chip records all or part of the information included on the card. Fingerprint information will not be recorded in the chip. The card will contain a portrait photo of the individual and the following information:
1. Legal items given
2. Name in full, date of birth, sex, nationality
3. Place of residence in Japan
4. Status of residence, period of stay, date of expiration
5. Type of permission, date of permission
6. Number of the residence card, date of issue, date of expiration
7. Existence or absence of working permit
8. Existence of permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted under the status of residence previously granted

New visa and re-entry system
(1) Extension of the maximum period of stay
The status of residence with a period of stay of 3 years under the present system, will be extended to 5 years. As for the status of residence of “College Student,” the maximum period of stay will be extended to “4 years and 3 months” from the current “2 years and 3 months” starting from July 1, 2009.

(2) Revision of the Re-entry System
A foreign national with a valid passport and a residence card will be basically exempt from applying for a re-entry permit in cases where he/she re-enters Japan within one year from his/her departure. In cases where a foreign resident already possesses a re-entry permit, the maximum term of validity for the re-entry permit shall be extended from 3 years to 5 years.

Conditions of Revocation of Status of Residence
Implementation of the new system of residence management includes establishment of the following provisions concerning the conditions of revocation of status of residence and deportation, and penal provisions:
- The foreign national has received, by deceit or other wrongful means, special permission to stay
- Failing to continue to engage in activities as a spouse while residing in Japan for more than 6 months (except for cases where the foreign national has justifiable reason for not engaging in the activities while residing in Japan)
- Failing to register the place of residence within 90 days after newly entering or leaving a former place of residence in Japan (except for cases with justifiable reason for not registering the place of residence), or registering a false place of residence
- Forgery or alteration of a residence card
- Being sentenced to imprisonment or a heavier punishment for submitting a false notification required of medium to long term residents, or violating the rules concerning receipt or mandatory presentation of the residence card

For further information, visit
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/en/index.html or call the Immigration Information Center at 0570-013904 (weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.)

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Top Relocation Providers in the World

HRO Today has identified the top relocation and training providers based on customer survey data. Each respondent was asked about services provided, scope and scale of services, and the quality and satisfaction with the services.

Breadth of Service Winner: Mobility Services International (MSI)
Size of Deals Winner: Paragon Relocations
Quality of Service Winner: NEI Global Relocation

OVERALL WINNER: GRAEBEL

Overall Rankings;
1. Graebel
2. Weichert
3. NEI Global Relocation
4. Cartus
5. Brookfield
6. Prudential (Pricoa)
7. Sirva
8. AIReS
9. The MIGroup
10. The Lexicon Group
11. Paragon
12. ACS Relocation & Assignment Services (Xerox)
13. Mobility Services International

Congratulations to Graebel, Weichert and NEI Global Relocation! The best of the best!!

You can see further details here; http://www.hrotoday.com/content/4838/2011-bakers-dozen-customer-satisfaction-ratings-relocation-providers



More Than Japan Housing, More Than Japan Cars and Furniture, More than Japan Serviced Apartments, More Than Japan Destination Services, More Than Japan License Conversion, More Than Japan Information!
The H&R Group is MORE THAN RELOCATION!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Washington's Assault on American Expats

You do have to feel sorry for all our American clients and colleagues who are over taxed by their home country, when relocating overseas. This is for them;

The U.S. is the only developed nation in the world that taxes its citizens on income they earn abroad.
By WILLIAM MCGURN

This new year, spare a thought for that most underappreciated class of citizen: American expatriates.

In a world where 95% of consumers live outside our borders, Americans working abroad serve as the sales and marketing force for Brand USA. All things being equal, people go with what they know: An American engineer will turn to American technology, an American businessman will hire fellow Americans, and an American contractor will likewise prefer American goods and services. In a nation trying to reach President Obama's goal of doubling exports by 2014, that makes the expat a pretty valuable resource.

Alas, the U.S. tax code—the ugliest of ugly Americans—doesn't work that way. To the contrary, new changes in tax law regard foreign financial institutions (banks, pension funds, etc.) as colonial subjects who must be dragooned into enforcing ill-thought-out U.S. regulations, or face huge fines. Indeed our tax code appears to rest on the assumption that the American expat is a criminal and must be treated that way.

This assumption is embodied in the IRS's new Form 8938, which requires Americans who live abroad to report any foreign financial assets from stocks to partnerships to derivatives above a designated threshold. It comes on top of another form (the FBAR, or Foreign Bank Account Report) already required if a citizen has any foreign accounts that add up to more than $10,000. In some cases, you can be fined for failing to file even if you don't owe the IRS any money.

As bad as this is, the burden will fall more heavily on foreign financial institutions. Within the next two years, these companies will be required to register with the IRS and to report information about their U.S. customers to the IRS—or face a 30% withholding tax on securities transactions that originate in the U.S. It's all part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), which Mr. Obama signed into law in March 2010 as part of one of his larger "jobs bills."
Now most Americans have never heard of Fatca. Overseas, by contrast, it has become notorious.
Financial associations on several continents are screaming foul, and some foreign banks have responded the way you would expect them to respond to something that makes dealing with American customers more costly and burdensome: They're dropping their American customers.
One reason attention in the U.S. has been so muted is because of the nature of those affected. Though the State Department reckons 6.3 million Americans (not including military) are now living overseas, these people come from all over America and thus have no single voice in Congress. In addition, they are easily demagogued by our political class as fat cats living the glamorous life overseas.

The idea behind Fatca is that by cracking down on Americans abroad, the IRS would bring in $8.7 billion in tax revenue over the next 10 years. Even assuming it works—a big "if"—that's about $1 billion a year. By any measure it's a puny amount, not to mention the damage it does to the U.S. economy by making Americans more costly and difficult to hire.

Last month IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman acknowledged that foreign financial institutions have "major concerns," but he continues to push with the determination of Inspector Javert. That's probably to be expected in an IRS official. Yet surely there's a larger perspective missing here, one that might begin by asking why we are the only developed nation in the world that taxes its overseas citizens, forcing them to pay taxes in America as well as in the country where they are residing.

Yes, collecting tax revenue is important. Far more important in our century, however, is creating an economy capable of attracting the world's most precious resource—capital. That capital is human as well as financial. Frank Lavin, a former U.S. ambassador to Singapore who now serves as chairman of public affairs at the global PR firm Edelman Asia Pacific, suggests that Americans overseas provide a vital component.

"The future," Mr. Lavin says in an email, "belongs to the networkers—those who can bring together ideas, people, products and financing from around the world. The expat community is the human counterpart to the social sites—and they help ensure that the best America has to offer is connected with individuals and businesses around the world."

At the end of the day, after all, the global economy is really about human beings interacting with one another, bettering themselves and enriching their societies as they do. From the Ohio contractor working in Baghdad to feed his family back home, to the American professor teaching in Hong Kong, to the Boston-bred banker working in London, these individuals are overwhelmingly productive and law-abiding. In an ever more competitive global marketplace, their presence provides a critical boost to American fortunes in key parts of the world.
So here's a New Year's resolution for the IRS and its allies inside the Beltway: Maybe it's time we treated these Americans as economic assets instead of criminal liabilities.

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