In recent years, the number of Vietnamese international students and technical interns encountering legal issues in Japan—including law violations and absconding—has increased significantly. It is crucial to note that fleeing from your training facility or workplace is a serious matter, regardless of whether your visa is still valid or has expired.
In some cases, students and trainees choose to abscond even while their visa is still valid. However, this does not mean they are not violating Japanese law. In reality, even if the residence card is valid, abandoning your place of study or work is considered illegal conduct and can lead to your visa being revoked.
If you leave your designated organization and your school (for students) or company (for trainees) has not yet notified the Immigration Services Agency, your visa may remain temporarily valid. This means you might still be able to travel freely or visit home. However, once they report your status, your visa will be invalidated—even if it technically has 2 or 3 years remaining.
How to Check If Your Visa Is Valid or Revoked
The checking process is quick and simple.
First, visit the website below. Since this is an official government website, it is secure, and you don't need to worry about personal information theft.
On the screen that appears, enter the required information:
（１）在留カード等番号: Enter your Residence Card (Zairyu Card) number, located at the top right of the card.
（２）在留カード等有効期間: Enter the card's expiration date. If the month or day is a single digit, add a leading zero. For example, if the expiration date on the card is July 9, 2012, enter 2012年07月09日.
In the third box, enter the verification characters shown.
After entering the information, click the 問合せ (Inquiry) button to see the results.
Here is the result:
You only need to look at the bottom line labeled 問合せ結果 (Inquiry Result).
失効していません: The VISA has not been revoked (it is valid). You can rest assured.
この在留カード等番号は有効ではありません: The VISA is no longer valid. I'm sorry to hear that.
I hope this information helps you check your VISA status in Japan yourself and avoid any unnecessary trouble.
Wishing you all the best, and may your result always be 失効していません (Not Revoked).
Hello everyone. I'm an IT engineer working in Japan. I created this blog to share about life and experiences during my study and work journey. I hope this article will be helpful to you.
