The 5th Public Discussion Meeting on Special Residence Permits was held

The Public Forum on Special Permission to Stay is studying various topics related to special permission to stay in order to make recommendations to the Immigration Control Policy Forum.

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, Mr. Osamu Takahashi (Tokyo Bar Association) gave a presentation on "Special Permission to Stay and the Refugee Recognition System" at the Itabashi Ward Cultural Center.

First, it was pointed out that the second stage of the refugee recognition procedure, following the first stage of the application procedure, will be changed from the previous "objection" to a "request for review" from April 2016, and that the procedure must be completed within seven days, and that the person himself must apply, appear, and be interviewed. In the case of denial of refugee recognition, if special permission to stay is granted as a "humanitarian consideration," the status of residence will be "designated activities" (1 year) or "long-term resident" (1 year), and if permission is denied, the disposition will be that permission for the status of residence will not be granted. In contrast, in the case of rejection of the request for review, if special permission for stay is granted as a "humanitarian consideration," the disposition will be that permission for the status of residence at the time of denial will not be granted, and if permission is denied, no decision will be made.

By the way, in recent years, the current system of refugee recognition, which allows multiple applications, has been negatively reported in the mass media. In this regard, Attorney Takahashi emphasized the significance of reapplication as follows. In other words, the reapplication system has positive significance in the following cases: ① if the situation in the country worsens after the initial application is decided, ② if the applicant engages in new political activities, ③ if new documents are discovered, etc., depending on changes in the domestic and international situation. However, it was reported that, despite the fact that there are no legal restrictions at present, under the name of "expedited processing," B and C cases (cases that clearly do not fall under the grounds for persecution and cases with the same claims as last time) are being processed within three months, and D cases (normal cases) within six months. Furthermore, it was pointed out that there have been only a few A cases (cases with high possibility of becoming refugees, cases in which humanitarian consideration is required due to a civil war in the home country) during this period.

Next, the most important issue was discussed, the relationship between "refugee reapplications" and "petitions for reconsideration." To summarize, in cases where a deportation order is issued first, Article 50 of the Immigration Control Act applies, and a petition for reconsideration is permitted even after the refugee application. However, in cases where a refugee application is applied first, Article 50 does not apply (petitions for reconsideration are not permitted), and only a refugee application under Article 61-2-2 is possible. Therefore, for example, a person who marries a Japanese national after applying for refugee status early cannot petition for reconsideration for special permission to stay, and has no choice but to repeatedly apply for refugee status under the "expedited processing" system.

Finally, key points were raised regarding the problems of so-called "judge-prosecutor exchanges," and the meeting was closed with a general question-and-answer session (e.g., the scope of application of "humanitarian considerations").