Permanent Residence Application

A. In principle, 10 years of continuous residence is required, but there are exceptions. Spouses of Japanese nationals: marriage 3 years + residence 1 year; long-term residents: 5 years; highly skilled professionals 80+ points: 1 year, etc. The route differs depending on your residence status and situation. Under the guideline as revised on 1 October 2026, the spouse exception becomes marriage 5 years + residence 3 years, and biological children 3 years of residence (for applications filed on or after 1 April 2027).

A. The Immigration Services Agency has never published a figure. The widely quoted "¥3 million a year, plus ¥500,000-800,000 per dependent" is a practical rule of thumb, not a standard the Agency has given. From 1 October 2026, whether household income reaches a level above the average income of Japanese households according to household size becomes a consideration. That amount, too, has not been stated. We do not put up figures that have not been settled. If you consult us, we will look at your family composition and income and tell you specifically where you are weak and what you need to build up.

A. Per the Immigration Services Agency nationwide average (permissions granted in July 2026): about 295 days to the end of examination, and about 310 days to notification of the decision. This is significantly longer than other residence statuses, and Tokyo Immigration jurisdiction may take even longer. Those with visas expiring soon need separate visa renewal procedures.

A. Yes, until March 31, 2027 (Reiwa 9), under the transitional measure, "3-year" residence period is also treated as "the longest residence period." Some applicants benefit from applying within this transitional period.

A. No. If you held a work-related status while job hunting, it does not start over in principle. Those five years ask whether you continuously held a work-related or residence-based status, not whether you were working the whole time. The typical reset happens when an extension is refused and the status becomes "Designated Activities (preparation for departure)", which is neither of those. You may hear that "not carrying out your activity for three months or more can lead to revocation". That is the status revocation system (Article 22-4 of the Immigration Control Act), a different scheme from the five years for permanent residence. The similar numbers cause confusion.

A. Yes. What is looked at is whether you hold the longest period of stay at the time of application, not how much of it remains. If your period of stay expires while the permanent residence application is under examination, you simply apply for an extension. The two applications run in parallel, so your status will not lapse. One client nearly gave up, thinking a result would not come before their expiry two years away. That was not necessary.

A. The thing to watch most closely is the re-entry deadline. Special re-entry permission, which only requires an indication at departure, lasts one year; a re-entry permit applied for in advance lasts up to five years. If you do not return to Japan within that period, you lose the permanent resident status itself. A single day late cannot be undone. If you plan to stay away for more than a year, obtain a re-entry permit before you leave. If you file a moving-out notification, you cease to be insured under the National Pension and National Health Insurance, so no premiums fall due (a separate notification to the pension counter is required, in addition to the moving-out notification). Resident tax, however, is fixed for a full year based on your address as of 1 January, so the following year’s assessment follows you abroad. Without appointing a tax agent it will be treated as delinquent.

A. Late payments are not considered "remedied" even after paying. From the new application date, public obligations must be properly fulfilled within the new verification period (5 years for resident tax in working visa cases, 2 years for pension). You need to wait until the last late/unpaid record falls outside the verification period.

A. The independent living requirement is judged at the household level. If household income, savings, or assets together demonstrate stable living, the requirement may be met. Spouses of Japanese nationals/permanent residents are exempt from the independent living requirement itself. However, the supporter's public obligations status will also be checked.

A. The current guideline sets no figure for days spent abroad. The widely quoted "90 days at a stretch, 100 days a year" is a practical rule of thumb, not a standard published by the Immigration Services Agency. The guideline as revised on 1 October 2026 states that, within the 10 years before the application, a single absence of six months or more without reasonable grounds, or absences totalling two years and six months or more, will in principle be assessed negatively (for applications filed on or after 1 April 2027). Either way, reasonable grounds such as business travel, nursing a family member, or study abroad can be taken into account if explained in the statement of reasons. The number of days alone is no reason to give up.

A. Generally no problem. If non-payment occurred due to reasons not attributable to you (e.g., your employer failed to remit withheld taxes as a special collection agent), it should not be evaluated negatively.

A. Opinions differ. We will be straight with you. An exemption is a proper legal scheme and is not the same as non-payment. In practice, though, some take the view that being granted an exemption itself shows your income was unstable in that period, and a fair number of offices warn of a negative assessment. There is no published standard from the Immigration Services Agency. The distinction that matters is whether you applied for an exemption while you had income, or whether you genuinely had none. If you lost your job through no fault of your own and truly had no income, the exemption follows the proper route for unemployment and the circumstances can be explained in the statement of reasons. Where back-payment is possible we consider it, but paying later does not erase the fact that you could not pay at the time. We work out together how best to present it.

A. Yes. We analyze the denial reasons, address requirement gaps, redesign application timing, and rebuild substantiation strategy for reapplication. Our office handles reapplication after denial (additional fee applies).

A. Yes. We support simultaneous applications for spouses and children at discounted rates per additional family member. Substantiating consistency across the entire family situation enables efficient processing.

A. Visa renewal is needed separately even during a permanent residence application. Visa expiration is a serious disadvantage, so we offer optional support for visa renewal.

A. No retainer fee required. Full post-payment after the application is filed with Immigration. If denied, we will rewrite the reason statement and re-apply at no extra cost, once per applicant and status of residence.

A. Yes. The first 60 minutes are completely free. Consultation not premised on commissioning is welcome. We will assess approval prospects and advise on application timing.

A. Yes, we support nationwide. Consultation and document preparation are available online from anywhere in Japan (Google Meet, mail/PDF for documents). However, permanent residence applications cannot be filed online and must be submitted directly to the Immigration office. You can choose between 2 submission methods: (1) We submit on your behalf: Tokyo Immigration jurisdiction (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Yamanashi, Nagano, Niigata) is travel-fee free. Outside this area, separate travel/transport fees apply. (2) You submit yourself: We hand over the prepared application documents and you submit them at the relevant Immigration office (no travel fee). Nationwide support is available through either method.

A. No visa renewal is needed, but residence card renewal (every 7 years) is required. Address change and residence card item change reporting obligations also apply to permanent residents. With the cancellation system effective April 2027, continuous fulfillment of public obligations is also important.