Thai in immigration row won't return for mom's funeral

0 Comments | Asian Political News, Jan 4, 1999

OSAKA, Dec. 28 Kyodo A Thai woman caught in a legal battle over whether she can legally stay in Japan after her Japanese husband left her plans not to attend her mother's funeral in Thailand due to uncertainty over whether she would be allowed to return to Japan, her lawyer said Monday. The Osaka High Court on Friday reversed a lower court decision and ordered the government to allow Peancai Midchid, 39, a beautician from Wakayama, western Japan, to continue staying in Japan even though she no longer lives with her husband.

But as the decision is subject to appeal there is no guarantee that Peancai would be let back in the country if she departed to attend the funeral, said her lawyer, Noriko Ishida. ''Even though it's painful (not returning for the funeral), all my efforts to date would go to waste if I wasn't allowed to return to Japan,'' Peancai said. Her mother died of cancer Dec. 22. Government officials said they have not yet filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, but Ishida said she has told Peancai there is a strong chance the government will challenge the High Court ruling. Peancai married the man in February 1988 and came to Japan in April 1989 with a one-year residence permit as the spouse of a Japanese citizen. She renewed her resident status every year through 1993, but her application was rejected when she applied for renewal in April 1994 because she and her husband were living separately. She reapplied in July that year after confirming her marriage remained legally valid, but immigration authorities again turned her down. The Osaka District Court ruled in December 1996 that since their marriage had effectively failed, she could no longer be regarded as the spouse of a Japanese citizen, and therefore would not be allowed to stay in Japan.