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"The conditions for obtaining the 3 year validity of a residence status" January 21, 2003 |
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This is a common concern among foreign residences who have stayed in Japan for several years, but still have the one-year visa. All of them have the common desire to obtain the three-year visa or even the permanent residence status, because the three-year visa saves you from going to the immigration office every year to extend your visa, not to mention that the permanent resident status. However, we must be aware that the criteria for the three-year visa are not officially released, meaning the criteria are not clearly defined by the immigration law of Japan. Also, the criteria differ according to the type of visa you currently have and any other individual cases. So, the information we will be giving you today is only some advises Mr. Nakano through his long experiences in dealing with such a matter. These are some points that are suggested relevant for the immigration officers to consider granting the three year validity of a resident status. One is the eligibility of your activity to your residence status, that is, whether they are in mine or not, specially for the different types of working visa. For example, if you are a translator working under the residence status of specialist in humanities or international services, the immigration officers will check your eligibility for the job, the nature of the business of the company or your employee, and the exact nature of your work to know whether who are really involved with the job expected for the status. If you are a chef working under the skill labor status, the immigration officers will look into your eligibility through the revenue of the restaurant to know whether the business is doing well based on its skill with you as the chef. Another criteria that is considered relevant for obtaining the three-year validity of status is the stability of residence. If you are a regular employee, the immigration officer may check whether you have been receiving any promotion and position or any raise in salary, or also if you have tendency to change your place of work. If you are a holder of the invest or business manager status, things that are more likely to be investigated are the revenue and growth of the business and the increase in the number of employees and their respective salaries if applicable. Simply saying, in general, for holders of working visa, the eligibility and stability of one's status counts a lot. The aware that there must be other criteria yet to meet and all depend on each situation living as to speculate what they are. So, the best way is to submit to the immigration bureau all available documents that could support your eligibility and stability with regards to your residence status and those that could prove your credibility as a residence of Japan. So far, we have talked about getting a three-year working visa. What about the three-year spouse visa? The most critical criteria for the three-year spouse visa are the integrity and stability of the marriage. The integrity of the marriage can easily be certified by cohabitation. If your spouse has to leave or has to live separately because of relocation of place of work, a document certifying the transfer issued by the employer will do to justify the inevitable separation, because relocation is common in Japan. Now, stability of a marriage implies the trans of the husband and wife's relationship. Do they get along well? How much are they devoted each other? One basic way to provide evidence for a stable marriage is the existence of your child or children. But, what if the couple can't have their own child or don't have children yet? For such couples, the stability of their marriage is judged in different ways. A marriage couple has an obligation to live together and help each other to support their living. This is referred to us an obligation of cooperation and support in Article 752 of the Japanese civil law. In accordance with this provision, it is necessary to show that you have sufficient income for a decent living and that your life is going very well to prove a stable married life. There are many factors that can prove a happy and stable married life, for example, any promotion and salary increase in the company, increasing savings, how you are margined well in your local community and how you are involved in community services. Documents that can support any of these circumstances can be approved of a happy and stable life. If you are in your spouse's managing business or a company, documents showing the increase in revenues, growth and expansion of the company, they serve as proof of a happy and married life. Providing other details you can think of is also helpful. The point is to suggest improvements in your life in Japan because of the devotion, mutual respect and support between you and your spouse. You can submit a letter addressed to the immigration bureau stating how you become adapted to the Japanese society and how much you have improved your Japanese language literacy. If you can't write or still are not confident to write in Japanese, it is still effective to hand in a composition written in your mother tongue together with its Japanese translation when you apply for the three-year visa. You can also ask your spouse to write the composition on your behalf. Don't forget to express in the letter your strong will to have the three-year visa. Be aware also that to obtain the longest validity of a status, it is important to express your will at your own initiative, the scene applies when you plan to apply for the permanent residence status. |
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