COEs to be issued electronically

IMPACT — MEDIUM

The Japanese government announced that it will begin issuing Certificates of Eligibility electronically.

Key Points:

• As of March 17, foreign nationals who applied for a COE online or completed user registration online before visiting a regional Immigration Services Bureau office can receive their COE via email.
• Foreign nationals living overseas are now able to apply for a visa and a landing application by showing authorities the COE email confirmation.
• More information regarding the COE application process is available here.

Additional Information: Foreign nationals who have a paper COE can submit a copy of it when applying for a visa. If a representative applies for a visa, they can submit the original COE, a copy of the paper COE or a printed email. Paper copies of the COE should include the front and back.

BAL Analysis: Japanese authorities decided to issue COEs electronically to reduce the mailing and processing times for those living overseas.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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