COE vs. Change of Status of Residence in Japan and How I Successfully Got my Zairyu Card

According to my research and understanding, there’s a difference between the COE (Certificate of Eligibility) and change of status of residence. When you apply for COE while you are in Japan, it won’t let you stay in Japan till you get the result of your application. It simply means that you need to go back to the Philippines after your tourist visa expires. However, even if you are not in Japan, your husband can apply for your COE and once it’s granted, it needs to be sent to you in the Philippines then you need to apply for a visa with COE in an accredited travel agency. Please check Reli tours’ website for the list of requirements for the visa application with COE as reference. While applying for the change of status of residence from tourist will allow you to stay in Japan until you get the result of your application. On the other hand, 40 days after your tourist visa expired and you still don’t know the result of your application, you have to contact the immigration to check whether you can stay or leave Japan. Please see this notice for further information.

P.S I am not confident if I explained it well but I tried to recall what my husband told me about it. 

This is the back part of the receipt that I got after my application. The notice to the applicant is written here.

 

Stamp of the application date of change of status of residence on your passport

But, there’s a trick, not everyone is allowed to apply for the change of status of residence, sadly. When we arrived at the immigration my husband just wanted to file for the COE simply because the line was long but I insisted to have a consultation first at the information counter. The staff at the information counter advised us to go to the 2nd floor D5 counter and ask permission if we can apply for it. If they won’t allow you, you don’t have a choice but to apply for COE. After handing over the documents that we prepared for the immigration staff at D5 counter, my husband told her that we wish to apply for a change of status of residence. She then checked our documents and my passport. She went back to us and gave back our documents placed in a plastic folder then gave us a sheet of paper and instructed us to get a number from another counter which means she was allowing us to apply for the change of status of residence. Yehey!

Our documents placed on the plastic folder together with the number

We waited long at the immigration before our number was called but it all went smoothly. Done, my application for change status of residence was accepted which means we only needed to wait for the result.

The receipt and please keep this because you need to submit this in claiming your Zairyu card.

What we knew was the process would take up to three months and to our surprise, a postcard from the immigration where I wrote my name and address arrived in our mailbox after 6 days. Wow! It was incredibly fast.

The postcard from the immigration. They will ask you to write your name and address during the application.

You would know if your application is approved if there’s a check on the card saying that you need to buy revenue stamps of 4,000 yen (this amount is for the change of status).

This is the back part of the postcard from the immigration office. The documents that you need to bring are written here.

We went to the immigration in Shinagawa, Tokyo the day after we got the postcard. It instructed us to go directly to the 2nd floor A1 counter. At the A1 counter, we submitted the required documents stated on the postcard which where:
Passport
Receipt
Postcard
4,000 yen revenue stamp

We got this number at A1 counter and again, you need to wait for your number to be called.

Number from A1 counter.

And of course, patience is a virtue. It took us probably 2 hours before we were able to get my residence card. Yes, finally, we got my zairyu card also known as residence card.

My zairyu card and is valid for 1 year. I need to renew before it expires.

This is how the stamp on your passport looks like after you get your zairyu card.

January 17, 2019 - application date

January 22, 2019 - the immigration sent the post card to us

January 23, 2019 - we received the postcard

January 24, 2019 - we claimed my residence card at the immigration bureau in Shinagawa

Here's my blog on how I Got Married in Tokyo - zellechan’s diary