Louise Bremner wrote:
> CL <flothru@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Medgya wrote:
>>> On Oct 10, 4:27 pm, CL <flot...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> One BIG advantage to a spouse visa is that you now get a re-entry
>>>> permit for the same number of years as your visa instead of having
>>>> to renew annually.
>>> It's a little bit off-topic, but I've always been able to do this with
>>> my work visa... get a re-entry permit for the same number of years
>>> that the visa is valid. Usually I get the re-entry permit the same day
>>> that I pick up the renewed work visa. Has something changed?
>> Until recently, re-entry permits had to be renewed annually no matter
>> how many years your visa was good for.  Now, they run together and you
>> renew them at the same time.
> 
> ...but there is a gotcha that got me once.
> 
> The re-entry permit does _not_ run for exactly the same time as the
> visa. It's three years (or one year) from the time you acquire the
> permit. So if you renew your visa early and get the re-entry permit at
> the same time, the re-entry permit will expire before that visa does....

Well, _that's_ sent me scurrying to my recently re-issued spouse visa 
and I find that both expire on the same day.  You probably have to work 
on being more obsequious.  I just make sure they see that there are knee 
pads in my briefcase when I genuflect before the window.

I got bitten once on the one-year re-entry permit when I realized in 
Narita that I hadn't renewed before going on a trip to Hawaii with my 
wife.  The Nyuukoku guy at the airport was a complete dickhead and made 
it seem as though he was going to have to personally call the Justice 
Minister to get permission to enter a one-time permit into my passport. 
  He held things up right until the last possible second and then made 
us run to catch the flight.

-- 
CL