Felony and entry into Japan.
 

Hello,
Someone I know wants to go to Japan and has a Class B felony on his record. I have heard that some countries will not allow felons? How is Japan on this?

Also, even if they don't allow them. How would they know? I highly doubt they run a background check at the airport. Running a background check even in the USA cost a lot of money and takes a few weeks to process.

Anytime I have entered a country all they do is look at my passport, look at me, and maybe ask a few questions then let me through. Never checked my background.

Any clues on this?

What country are you from and whereabouts have you visited? If you're a European citizen and visiting in Europe then you have the right to free movement and settlement, so they won't check more than a passport. If you were travelling to Japan, say, then I believe they take fingerprints and more from all non-Japanese citizens on arrival. What a particular country does on your arrival varies immensely.

To get a visa I'd imagine they'd do a background check then, including for tourist visa, probably. Celebrities like Russel Brand and Paris Hilton have been refused entry for criminal records, so there has to be checks along the line somewhere. How they check you on a tourist visa though, I'm not too sure . . .

injure & drugs
It is especially severe with this 2 varieties.

In the US, does not service that erases criminal record exist?

We are traveling from US with US passports. The offense is neither drug related or violence related. It is an old burglary II charge. No jail time, just a few hours of community service. He didn't steal anything, but he took the plea charge like a dummy. He should of taken it to court and gotten trespassing. But hindsight is 20/20.

I called the Japanese embassy on the west coast and they could not answer the question. They said the decision is solely decided by immigrations at the airport. You cannot even find out before hand because the visa process starts when you land in the airport. So I cannot call ahead for instance and find out. I can only find out by landing in Japan. :/

I looked up Japanese embassy website and found this info:

Overseas Japanese diplomatic establishments may not issue a visa to an applicant who comes under the following categories or is suspected of coming under these categories:

- If the contents of the application are false.
- If the applicant has a criminal record including more than one year's imprisonment.
- If the applicant has a criminal record involving narcotics, marijuana, stimulants, prostitution, etc.


He doesn't fit either of those two categories.

Is there anyone else who's had a minor felony try entering Japan on this forum?

to answer siokan he can get expungement but he has to wait till 2014.

The guy at the embassy said his feeling was that he would be OK, but of course he could not verify that as it's not up to him.

There is no "visa process" when you land at the airport. You don't get a visa per se.... What is stamped on your passport is a Landing Permission, good for 90 days. Your status there is of: temporary visitor. I imagine they can revoke that at will and send you back to the States, though one probably has to really mess up for that.... My guess is that visas are for a more-than-temporary stay in Japan. They fingerprint both your index fingers and they photograph you.

Ok I guess what the embassy guy meant is the approval process doesn't start till you land in Japan.

Don't they finger print and photo you for the landing permission?

Yes, they do. I apologize for adding that at the end and confusing you.

I wonder if the finger print searches the whole USA criminal database?

That sounds highly doubtful considering how much massive amounts of information that is.

But Canada and the USA apparently do as they have a very tight relationship. But that would make more sense as they are right next to each other and hooking up the databases wouldn't be that hard. And i don't think USA and Japan are THAT cozy with each other.

What the Japanese Embassy website says about the fingerprints/photo is this:

By collecting visitors ID data such as fingerprints and facial photos we are able to identify persons considered to pose security risks, such as terrorist, and persons traveling with fraudulent passports. This will help us to prevent terrorists.

He ain't anywhere close to a terrorist. Looks like they are more looking for high profile terrorist then little petty crimes?

Who knows.

US and Japan are that cozy, but I believe you are right, the conviction he has is not on the list on crimes that would block entry.

I recently heard that Americans with drunk driving convictions cannot enter Canada for a certain number of years.

Immigration Bureau of Japan Website
information centers
Email address:[email protected]

It is early to hear it from Immigration Bureau of Japan.