Canadian traveling to Japan for 90 days. Is ferry ticket good enough to get back in?

[milk]

Hello, I am traveling to Japan this January. I would like to stay for April as this coincides with the Cherry Blossom Festival and the start of some of the Japanese sports seasons.

Because I am Canadian I do not need a visa, I am allowed 90 days in Japan as long as I have a return ticket with me when I enter the country. What I am planning to do however, is to take the Ferry to Korea for a two weeks in March.

I was told by the Japanese consulate here that this will reset my 90 days which is fine. But what I am wondering is that if my round-trip ticket from Canada says I am returning in April (that would put me over the 90 day limit), would it suffice to show my ferry ticket to Korea to the immigration officials to prove that I will be leaving the country before my 90 days are up?

To be more clear, will a ferry ticket to Korea substitute for a return plane ticket back to Canada (I will still have a return ticket to Canada, but it will be for the middle of April which is about 100 days, not 90)? Thanks.

[Nyororin]

What they will want to see is not necessarily a return ticket, but rather proof that you are leaving the country before your tourist visa expires. You will see "return ticket" a lot, but that isn't an official requirement. It is just the proof for most of the visitors to Japan.
Your ferry ticket to Korea should give you no problems. A lot of these things are also down to the discretion of the immigration officer, so should they question it at all do show them your return ticket and explain your plans. You will have solid proof not only of leaving the country before your visa expires, but proof that you will be leaving the country soon after returning from the Korea trip.

[Tsuwabuki]

Yes. I had three tourist visas in a row (unusual, but possible) because I always showed "intent to leave." The first two were Korean ferry tickets, the third was an active job start date in Korea that immigration considered proof of "intent to leave" because who would have a job in Korea and no job in Japan and stay in Japan?

In fact, I burned both of my Korean ferry tickets (as in, did not use them) as I was waiting on my company in Japan to provide me with a Certificate of Eligibility so on my return to Korea I could get my Japanese visa. That's precisely what happened, but I never told that to immigration, and they never asked. The fact of the matter was, at that moment, I did indeed have residency in Korea and I did indeed have a job in Korea, even though I was quitting it.

If you show your Korean ferry ticket to immigration when you land from Canada, that will suffice for "intent to leave." When you come back from Korea, just show your Canadian ticket, and that will suffice for the second "intent to leave." Since you are a true tourist and not someone trying to jump through the visa hoops while in Japan, you should have an easier time of it, and I didn't have real difficulties.

[milk]

Ok, that is what the consulate said. I phoned the immigration office at Narita airport, and the man said it was up to the discretion of the immigration officer. Is there any potential we could be turned away? I only ask because we are buying "sale" tickets that will not allow us to change our return ticket date. We do not want to be stuck at the Japanese airport having to buy new return tickets. Thanks again for the answers.

[Tsuwabuki]

The first thing to know about Japanese immigration is that every agent has FULL discretion. If they find you even remotely suspicious, technically, they can deny you entry.

On my third tourist visa, at first the agent was very suspicious, and had a right to be, because the law had changed while I was on my first tourist visa. When I came, the law said you could go to the immigration office and change from a tourist visa to a working visa, but it changed in the months I was waiting for my CoE, and they took so long, that my 90 days ran out before it came (and more!). So technically, I was not supposed to be waiting in Japan for my CoE. Once the agent realised that I had a legitimate home to go back to in Korea (as opposed to somewhere far away and expensive to get to, like America), I was no longer considered a risk of overstay, and I got my last visa- and then my CoE came like a week later anyhow.

That being said, I find it highly unlikely that your straight forward easy to understand situation would lead to denial of a landing permit. I've seen crazy immigration stuff, but that would just about take the cake. You have nothing to worry about.

[Nyororin]

It is their full discretion, but they are likely to only be concerned if you give them a reason to be.
Basically, your situation is very far from being suspicious and isn`t that uncommon a pattern. Lots of people travel to Japan and then head on to another country (or the other way around).

If you, say, had been in and out of Japan 3 or 4 times in a short period of time, had done the Korea ferry multiple times, etc - basically the type of thing that made it look like you were living/working in Japan and violating your visa - they have the discretion to turn you away.

In your case, there isn`t much of anything suspicious, so I find it hard to imagine they will do much more than glance at your papers and stamp away.