Renewing an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services Visa After Repeated One-Year Permissions

This is a case of extending the period of stay under the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (EHI) visa. The applicant, a full-time employee, had renewed several times but kept receiving one-year permissions. We reviewed the application documents and applied, and this time a three-year period of stay was granted.

The Situation

The applicant was working in Japan under the EHI visa and needed to extend the period of stay (the extension procedure). They had lived in Japan for many years and had renewed several times since changing to the EHI visa, but each permission had been for one year. Our office took on the case starting with this renewal.

Challenges Before Applying

The applicant’s work centered on management, and nothing in their residence history raised concerns. We therefore concluded that the room for improvement lay in the application documents. However, the workplace also involved on-site manual work, and when we took on the case, we did not know how the duties had been described in earlier applications.

Our Support and the Outcome

Our office handled everything from interviewing the person in charge at the employer to preparing and submitting the documents, and communicated with the applicant in English. The key was showing, through multiple documents and not only the applicant’s own explanation, that the duties fell within the scope of the status of residence.

The employer provided documents on the duties and how working hours were divided among them, as well as proof of employment. We then prepared a cover statement explaining why each document was submitted, so that, taken together, they showed that the duties fell within the status of residence. With the documents prepared this way, we filed the application, and this time a three-year period of stay was granted.

What This Case Shows

The period of stay is decided when each application is reviewed, and outcomes vary with each person’s circumstances. Even so, when short periods of stay keep being granted, it may be one option to take another look at whether the documents fully convey what the application is about.

How We Can Help

• Extension of period of stay: As a registered immigration specialist, we file applications with the immigration authorities on your behalf
• Supporting documents: We substantiate, through the documents submitted, that the requirements of the status of residence are met
• Communication with your employer: We handle communication about the documents your employer is asked to provide
• English support: We work with you in English from consultation to application