P02 three requirements for Permanent Resident Permission

3 requirements to meet

Unlike other statuses of residence, Permanent Resident permission can not be obtained as a status of residence when entering Japan for the first time.
In addition, since the merits of permission are great, the examination at the time of application is very strict.

First of all, in order to receive a Permanent Residence permission, you basically need to meet the following 3 requirements.

Please let me discuss these 3 requirements in more detail below.

1. Good conduct requirement (The person is of good conduct)

You have to have lived here in Japan without violating Japanese law.
In other words, it is necessary for you to have no history of imprisonment, or fines for crimes or traffic violations.

However, it doesn’t mean that you will not be able to receive Permanent Resident permission if you violate the law just even once. 
And depending on the degree and number of violations, you may be granted Permanent Resident permission.

In the case of imprisonment with work or imprisonment, the possibility of Permanent residence will come up after 10 years after release, and the fine will be the same if more than 5 years have passed after payment. (If the sentence is suspended, you can apply for Permanent Residence 5 years after the end of the suspension.)
In the case of traffic violations, if you just had minor parking violations, etc. less than 5 times in the past 5 years, there is still a possibility of Permanent Resident permission.

And this requirement also includes the responsibility to supervise family members. If a family member has a “permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted” and is doing part-time work, etc., you have to have him/her work within 28 hours per week as required by law.

2. Independent livelihood requirement
(The person has sufficient assets or ability to make an independent living)

They will check whether you can make a living without receiving public assistance in the future.
Specifically, an annual income of 3 million yen or more is required for the past 5 years, and if you have dependents, you need to add 700,000 yen per person to the calculation.

[Example: a family of 3]
In the case of a family of 2 parents and a child, if the husband applies for Permanent Residency, his annual income of 4.4 million yen is required including 1.4 million yen for wife and child.

By the way, since you can report as annual-household-income, you can also add your spouse’s income, but please note that you can not add it if your spouse’s status of residence is not a work status. 
In other words, you can’t add your spouse’s part-time income if the income is earned with “permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted” for “family stay = non-working status”)

And as detailed in [3-1 a.] below, if you are a full-time housewife and wish to apply for Permanent Residence from the status of residence of “Spouse of Child of Japanese National”, there is a possibility that you will be granted Permanent Residence without YOU meeting the income requirement if your husband’s annual household income meets the requirement, which is his annual income of “3 million yen + 700,000 yen for each dependent”.

Regarding dependents, if you have family members in your home country as dependents for tax saving measures, you must remove them first.

Unfortunately, if you are receiving public assistance, it will be difficult to obtain Permanent Resident permission.

3. National Interest Conformity Requirements
(The person’s permanent residence is regarded to be in accord with the interests of Japan)

The national interest conformity requirements are stipulated as follows.

3-1. residence requirement

You have to have lived in Japan for at least 10 years and have been working for the last 5 years with a work permit. 
There is no problem with changing jobs, but part-time jobs are not counted.
In addition, “Technical Intern Training” and “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” are not eligible.

And since it is “continuously”, if you have traveled abroad for “100 days or more in total” or “3 months or more at one time” in each of the past 10 years, you do not meet the requirement.
In that case, it’s difficult for you to obtain a Permanent Resident permit.

Additionally, there are 4 exceptions to the above “10 years living in Japan” requirement.
If you’re applicable to any of 4 exceptions, your required period of living in Japan is  shortened.

So, they are listed below.

3-2. Fulfilling public obligations such as tax obligations and immigration law notification

It is required that you have properly paid your resident tax, national health insurance premiums, national pension insurance premiums, etc.
Especially for the last 2 years, you need to have paid for all of them on time.
If you have not been able to do so, we recommend that you leave a payment history without delay for the next 2 years before applying for Permanent Residence.

In addition, in the case of company managers and executives, it is necessary to pay all corporate taxes (corporate tax, business tax, consumption tax, corporate prefectural tax, corporate municipal tax, etc.) and all personal taxes on time.
In addition, it is mandatory to enroll in the legally required employees’ pension and labor insurance, and to pay insurance premiums.

Also, it is necessary to properly submit notifications related to changes in status of residence, etc., as stipulated by the Immigration Control Act.

3-3. You have to have the longest period of stay currently permitted

According to the examination criteria at the time of writing this article, you can apply for Permanent Residency with a period of stay longer than 3 or 5 years.
*FYI, this period may change in the future.

3-4. It is recognized that you pose no risk of being harmful from the viewpoint of public health, or that you pose no risk of significantly harming the public interest.

It is necessary not to be a patient with an infectious disease, or a chronic addict to narcotics, cannabis, opium, stimulants, etc.
In addition, although it’s almost the same as 1. good conduct requirement, it is necessary to have no history of imprisonment or fines for crimes or traffic violations.
*However, this is a matter of degree, and if the number of times is small and it is light, you may still be able to receive a Permanent Resident permission.

extra. Be able to secure a guarantor

A guarantor only bears moral responsibility, not legal responsibility.
And he/she doesn’t have to take financial responsibility because that’s not a “joint guarantor” that you are often advised better not to be.
For example, he/she will not be obliged to bear the return expenses of the guaranteed person who has been deported.

So, if you need a guarantor, you have to clarify the above points to the possible guarantor, first of all.
And if you have a Spouse VISA and are considering a Permanent Resident permit, we recommend that you ask your spouse to be your guarantor.
If you are thinking of changing from your work status to Permanent Residency, we recommend that you ask your boss, colleagues, or Japanese friends at work to be your guarantor.

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