What Is Permanent Residence?
Permanent residence is a residence status that allows you to stay in Japan without any limit on your period of stay. Once obtained, you no longer need to renew your period of stay, and restrictions on employment are removed. It is a residence status with major benefits for foreign nationals who have established the foundations of their life in Japan.
Benefits of Permanent Residence
- No need for extension of period of stay procedures
- No restrictions on employment (you can do any kind of work)
- Advantageous in screening for home loans and similar
- Increased social credibility
- Since you do not acquire Japanese nationality, you can keep the nationality of your home country
The Three Requirements for Permanent Residence
1. Good Conduct Requirement
You must comply with the law and lead a life that is not subject to social censure in your daily conduct.
- No criminal record
- No traffic violations (excluding minor ones)
- Proper payment of taxes, pension contributions, and health insurance premiums
- No violations of the Immigration Control Act (overstaying, etc.)
2. Independent Livelihood Requirement
You must not be a burden on the public in daily life, and, in view of your assets or skills, you must be expected to lead a stable life in the future.
Guideline annual income: A household annual income of 3 million yen or more is regarded as one guideline. If you have dependents, the guideline is that amount plus roughly 700,000 to 800,000 yen per person.
Example: spouse + 1 child → 3 million + 700,000 + 700,000 = approximately 4.4 million yen or more
3. National Interest Requirement
Your permanent residence must be recognized as conforming to the interests of Japan. Specifically, you must satisfy the following conditions.
In principle: continuous residence in Japan for 10 years or more. However, you must have resided for 5 years or more with a work-related residence status or a residence-based status.
Holding the longest period of stay available for your current residence status. In many cases you need to hold a “5-year” period of stay (a “3-year” period may also be accepted in some cases).
Cases Where Permanent Residence Can Be Obtained in Under 10 Years
If you fall under any of the following, you can apply for permanent residence even without 10 years of residence.
| Eligible Person | Required Period of Residence |
|---|---|
| Spouse of a Japanese national, permanent resident, or Special Permanent Resident | 3 years or more since marriage + continuous residence in Japan for 1 year or more |
| Child (biological) of a Japanese national or permanent resident | Continuous residence in Japan for 1 year or more |
| Long-Term Resident | Continuous residence in Japan for 5 years or more |
| Highly Skilled Professional (70 points or more) | Residence in Japan for 3 years or more |
| Highly Skilled Professional (80 points or more) | Residence in Japan for 1 year or more |
Required Documents
The main documents required for a permanent residence application are as follows.
- Application for permanent residence permission
- Photo (4 cm high x 3 cm wide)
- Statement of reasons
- Letter of guarantee (with the guarantor’s certificate of employment and certificate of income attached)
- Certificate of residence (for all household members)
- Certificate of employment
- Certificates of resident tax assessment and payment (for the most recent 5 years)
- National tax payment certificate (Form 3)
- Pension records (Nenkin Teiki-bin, etc.)
- Copy of health insurance card
- Presentation of passport and residence card
Processing Period
The processing period for permanent residence is generally around 4 months to 1 year. Screening has become stricter in recent years, and cases taking more than 1 year are not uncommon.
Note: If your period of stay expires during the screening period, you must separately file an application for extension of period of stay. Your period of stay is not extended merely because a permanent residence application is pending.
Cases That Tend to Be Denied
- Unpaid or overdue taxes, pension contributions, or health insurance premiums
- Traffic violations (especially drunk driving or repeated speeding)
- Annual income below the standard
- Many days spent outside Japan (be careful if you are abroad for 100 days or more per year)
- Insufficient content in the statement of reasons
Our Support
Kaneko Hidetaka Administrative Scrivener Office supports permanent residence applications with a track record of a 98% approval rate.
- Detailed confirmation of application requirements
- Support in collecting required documents
- Preparation of an effective statement of reasons
- Filing applications with the Immigration Bureau on your behalf
- Handling requests for additional documents
Support in Chinese and Vietnamese is also available, so please feel free to consult us.