Causes of Permanent Residence Application Denial

Poorly written Statement of Reasons

Whenever you apply for permanent residence, you are required to submit a "Statement of Reasons." Many people who apply for permanent residence on their own do not know how to write a statement of reasons effectively. Many people have been denied because of the inadequate statement they wrote themselves. It is a waste of time and money to have your application rejected even though you meet all the other requirements for permanent residence. We recommend leaving it up to a professional who has all of the technical know-how to write an effective statement of reasons and increase your chances of getting approved.

Annual household income is less than 3 million.

For permanent residence applications, there is an independent livelihood requirement, and the standard is to have an annual household income of at least 3 million yen. There are cases where the household income is not considered and only the applicant`s income is judged so please be careful.

Have been out of Japan for a long time

Even if you have lived in Japan for a long time, if you leave Japan for more than 90 days in a single trip, the number of years you have lived in Japan will be reset, and you will be counted from the first year again. Even if you leave Japan for less than 90 days in a single trip, if you leave Japan for a total of 150 days or more in a year, your residency period will be reset for that year. Those who wish to apply for permanent residence in the future should pay attention to the number of days they leave the country. There are many people who have been out of the country so many times that their applications for permanent residence are quickly denied.

Too many dependents

If you have too many dependents, it will be difficult to obtain permanent residence.

Even though having many dependents can decrease how much tax you're paying, if it is found that you are supporting people who are not deemed fit, then this will also affect your chances of being granted permanent residency.

Despite this, the reality is that many foreign residents in Japan have dependents such as parents or siblings living back in their home country.

If you are including someone as a dependent even though they don’t need it, you must remove that person immediately and file a revised tax return.

The number of dependents is heavily considered during the permanent residence application process, so be careful and adjust to an appropriate range.

Non-payment of National Health Insurance & failure to pay on time

For people who haven’t paid national health insurance at all or for those who have made late payments, it is very difficult to get approval for permanent residency.

National Health Insurance payments are examined very strictly during the review process.

If you are covered by social insurance at your place of employment, then there is no issue because it is deducted automatically from your income, but if you pay national health insurance individually, then you have to be extremely careful about paying on time.

Failure to Pay Pension

If you do not pay the national pension, it is very difficult to obtain approval for permanent residency.

However, unlike with national health insurance, just because you don’t pay doesn’t mean that you will be denied 100% of the time.

Those who are enrolled in the employee pension system at their company will have no problem, but if not, you will have to pay the national pension yourself, so be sure to make your payments on time.

You have unpaid taxes.

If you haven’t paid your taxes, then 100% of the time, your application will be denied.

Take extra care regarding the following:

              Taxes that are not deducted automatically by your workplace

              People who own a business

People who don’t pay taxes are considered to be “not aligned with Japan’s interests” and will be denied permanent residence. Make sure to keep track of and pay all of your taxes in full.

Many minor traffic violations.

Minor traffic violations, such as violating a stop sign, parking prohibition, or disregarding a traffic light, can be a cause for denial of permanent residence. This is because "good conduct" is required for permanent residence applications. If you drive a car, you need to be careful of traffic violations on a daily basis. Bicycles are sometimes treated the same way as cars these days, so even if you ride a bicycle, you should be careful. If you do not remember your traffic violation history, you can obtain reliable information by obtaining a "Driving Record Certificate" using the application form available at your local police station.

Insufficient years of residence in Japan

In principle, an applicant for permanent residence must have resided in Japan for at least 10 years and, within those 10 years, must have resided in Japan with a work status for at least 5 years. (*If you are married to a Japanese national or permanent resident, one or three years may be sufficient.) One of the most common questions we receive is, "I have been here for 9 years and 6 months, can I apply for permanent residence?" In principle, it is not possible. 9 years and 6 months + 6 months of time it takes for immigration to review your application does not equal 10 years.

My spouse has an overstay visa.

Dependent status allows you to work up to 28 hours per week even if you have permission to engage in activities other than those permitted under the status of residence. If you work more than 28 hours per week, you will be violating your visa and will be considered to be illegally working. When applying for permanent residence, the applicant must submit tax certificates and taxation certificates for three years, but there are many situations in which the applicant must submit tax certificates and taxation certificates for family members living with the applicant. If the annual income of the family member is extremely high, the applicant will be found to be working more than 28 hours per week, and their permanent residence will be denied. The applicant for permanent residence themselves will be disapproved for "failure to supervise" family members. Furthermore, the applicant may not be able to renew the status of residence for family members, so please be sure to work within the scope of activities permitted under the status of residence.

The guarantor is not an appropriate person.

The guarantor in an application for permanent residence must be a Japanese national or a permanent resident if you are asking a foreigner to act as your guarantor. A foreigner on a work visa or a foreigner staying with family cannot be asked to act as a guarantor. If you are married to a Japanese national, please ask your spouse (Japanese national). A guarantor has only a moral responsibility, but their role is to guarantee the financial aspects and to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. Therefore, the guarantor must have a regular job, have a solid income (the rule of thumb is an annual income of 3 million or more), and fulfill their tax obligations. Please do not use a guarantor service. Using a guarantor service may cause your application to be rejected.

Your current status of residence is not for more than 3 years.

In order to be approved for permanent residence, your current status of residence must be 3 or 5 years; you cannot obtain permanent residence with a 1-year status of residence.