r20020903e

"How many years should a foreign national stay in Japan to become
eligible for the permanent resident status?" Sep 3, 2002

RealAudio

Today, as a continuation of our series on frequently asked questions, we will be
answering common inquiries regarding the permanent resident status which is the
best status for any foreign nationals residing in Japan. As holder of this status
need not extend their visa and has no limitation on their activities in Japan
provided that the activity is not against the law. Most of ask foreigners wonder how
many years should a foreign national stay in Japan to become eligible for the
permanent resident status.

Recently, the required years of stay in Japan had been shortened, good news
indeed. Until couple of years ago, there used to be no clear definition on the
required years of stay and it has been said one needs to stay for more than 10 or
even 20 straight years. It was because in general, the Japanese government had a
tendency not to grant the permanent resident status to a foreign national.
However, in 1998, the government had reconsidered the matter and has revised
the standard rules governing the required period of stay of a foreigner to become
eligible for the permanent resident status in Japan.

The required period of stay was shortened especially for those who are married
to Japanese national. A foreign national who is a spouse of a Japanese national will
be granted the permanent resident status provided that he or she had stayed in
Japan for more than 3 straight years after the marriage. The required period of
stay can be shorter than 3 years in case that the married couple had child or
children in the early years of the marriage. In case where the couple got married
outside Japan and both had continuously stayed abroad for more than 3 years, the
spouse of the Japanese national can apply for the permanent resident status only
after more than 1 year of residing in Japan. On the other hand, the Japanese
descents and holders of the long term resident status will be eligible for the
permanent resident status if they had continuously stayed in Japan for more than
5 years.

So, how about the foreign nationals with working visa? In general, 10 straight
years of residence or more is enough for a foreign national with a working visa to
be eligible for a change of status to that of the permanent resident. However, one
has to take it note of the way as to how the Immigration Bureau counts the 10
straight years of stay in this case. For example, let's take the case of a former
student of a Japanese university who got his working visa upon getting a job at the
company in Japan after his graduation. In such case, the Immigration Bureau will
take into account the period of stay of the concerned since he was a student. So,
if he studied in Japan at the language school for one year and has studied at the
university for 4 more years after which he got a job in one of the company here
and has been a holder of the working visa for about 5 years, the length of stay in
Japan of the concerned will be counted as 10 which means he will be eligible to
apply for the permanent resident status. Bear in mind that the length of stay in
such case will be counted as 10 years provided that the concerned did not leave
Japan too long like 1 year in between those period we mentioned otherwise some
length will not be considered. So, the point here is the length of a stay must be
continuous within the required period. Still, it can be said that the eligibility of a
holder of working visa for the application of permanent resident status is actually a
case-by-case basis. Some may be eligible to apply for the permanent residence
even they had just stayed for less than 10 years, but there are some that might
need to stay for more than 12 years before they could become eligible. So, we
highly recommend those who had worked for more than 4 years after they
graduated from a Japanese University to consult with the Immigration office about
the possibility of getting the permanent resident status. One may be advised to
apply immediately or to wait for one year or so before he could be eligible for the
status.

Now, there are some important matters that one should keep in mind if he has
plans to apply for the permanent resident status. Before one can be eligible, one
must be a holder of a status with the longest validity allowed for the status which
is basically 3 years for the working visa, resident status of spouse or a child of
Japanese national and long term resident of visa. As I mentioned earlier, another
theme one must remember is that the period of residence must be continuous so it
can be credited for the summation of the total period of stay. This means that if
the period of stay was interrupted for certain reasons, one then should go back to
base one. Reasons of interruption could be following, if one forgot to extend his
visa, if one had returned home or went abroad after the expiration of his visa and
have reapplied for another visa, if one had departed Japan without getting the
reentry permit, if the reentry permit had expired while staying in another country,
or the validity of the resident status had already expired.

Now, one had to be aware that interruptions on the period of stay also includes
those period when one change their status and become a holder of a status with
the shortest validity. For example, one had been a holder of the 3 year validity of
working visa, and had applied for a change of status to that of Investor/Business
Manager visa, he had been granted the status, but with only the one year validity,
because for some reasons, the Immigration Bureau is not confident that the
applicant can be given the longest validity of the status. In such case, the
concerned must wait until he will be issued the 3-year validity before he can apply
for the permanent residency. Such interruption halt you also in a case when one
changes their place of occupation even the nature of the job of the concerned in
the new place of employment stays the same. Once one changes his place of
employment, he must reapply for the working visa because the Immigration Bureau
will judge based not only on the credibility of the applicant but also to the
credibility of the new employer. So, the status of the concerned could be back to a
one-year validity even though he had been a holder of the 3-year validity of
working visa during his stay with his previous employer. Consequently, the
concerned had to wait again a couple of years before he could apply for the
permanent residency. Therefore, if one plans to apply for the permanent resident
status, one should consider all the consequences when he will leave Japan
temporarily and when he will change his resident status or place of employment
while staying in Japan. If one is already a holder of a status with longest validity, it
may be preferable to have it change to that of the permanent resident status
before changing your activity or place of employment or you leave Japan
temporarily. Remember, holder of permanent resident status need not extend their
visa nor they have any restriction on their activities in Japan provided that the
activities are not against the law.

Now, if you are not sure as to what should be done, better stick advice from the
Immigration office to avoid any disadvantage situations we mentioned. Or you can
consult the Immigration specialists like Mr. Nakano.