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The original was posted on /r/japanlife by /u/BreadfruitSeabiscuit on 2023-08-10 01:49:04.
Need some help. Will we run into issues getting back into Japan as long-term residents without the re-entry slip stapled into the passport when leaving Japan?
We have a new passport, the zairyu card and photocopy of the long term resident visa, but the old passport that contained it has still not been returned to us by US passport services (and we’re concerned they may have lost it).
Background: Back in the beginning of April, we came back to the US for a few months and were warned that we should get our daughter’s passport renewed ASAP due to the massive processing backlogs hitting the US. We booked the earliest appt we could (in early May), paid for expedited processing, and finally received the new passport in mid July. The US Passport services would not offer us any help on determining the status of the old passport until we entered 14 days before our flight. They then told us they did not know where it was but would send a note to the agency responsible for processing supporting documentation. Not very promising.
We tried calling the Japan visa hotline, who told us we needed the re-entry slip but we need to contact our nearest japan consulate for assistance. I then called the consulate who told us they could not help us and we should instead email the visa matters alias. We then emailed, which got routed back to the consulate who responded by telling us we would need to contact the immigration office in Tokyo to request a letter verifying that my daughter is indeed a resident of Japan.
At this point, I’m starting to despair that I’m just caught in a bureaucratic loop. This can’t be that uncommon given how casual the US passport agency is about having no idea where the old passport is, right?
Has anyone ever been in this situation? If so, how did you get back in? As I mentioned at the start of this loooong post, we do have the new passport, the zairyu card, and a photocopy of the long term resident visa that was in the old passport.