On being an illegal immigrant

Earlier I wrote how I learned the hard way that you shouldn't leave Japan while waiting on a visa. What I didn't get into in that post is how when I initially applied for the visa it was an emergency application. Because on the morning that I applied I had found out that I was inadvertently an illegal immigrant! And where did I make the realisation I was an illegal immigrant: in a branch of the police department! Actually, they made the 'realisation' for me...

I had gone to Saitama Prefecture Driver's License Center early in July to get my international driver's permit renewed. I handed in all the necessary paperwork and was waiting for them to give me a numbered ticket when the receptionist said to me 'are you waiting on your new visa?' I had no idea what she was talking about, which was obviously written all over my face. She started to explain that my alien registration card was expired, when - I kid you not - three people popped their head up over a partition their desks were behind. 

All of sudden, the whole office was interested in the illegal immigrant trying to renew her international driver's permit! At least one of them was a police officer (as Driver's License Centers are overseen by the police). There may have been more, but he was the only one in uniform. They proceeded to question me. I explained that I didn't know it had expired. They explained that it is a big deal and prompted me to get to Yono (where the Saitama branch of the immigration office is) immediately. They didn't have to tell me twice!

There are parts of a visa application form that my husband has to fill out and sign as a Japanese national. So I rang him and explained the situation, so that he would be ready to come with me to the Immigration office. I drove the 40 minutes home, picked him up, went to our town hall, got the necessary forms, and drove over an hour to Yono! He filled out the form while I queued in the long long line. We had a scissors and glue with us and I had the photo I had intended to use for my international drivers permit. So we were all set... or so we thought...

What we didn't know is that you can't just apply for a new spouse visa when your old one has expired. We had to apply for an emergency one instead and my husband had to sign various forms and write an explanation on why / how we had let my old visa expire. It was only expired two weeks, by the way. But it doesn't matter, once its expired you're in trouble! We were literally reprimanded at the counter when applying for the emergency visa. Moreover, we were told that it wasn't guaranteed we'd be granted one. That it had to be sent up to top management for approval. I had a vision of officers turning up to escort me to the airport for deportation!

My husband who had been taking it all in his stride until we were reprimanded by the immigration officer at the desk, suddenly grasped the gravity of the situation. I think he thought I was joking or exaggerating when I had rang him earlier in the day to say I was an illegal immigrant! I wish I was joking. All's well that ends well, but I hope I never inadvertently become an illegal immigrant again!