Spouse or Child of Japanese National visa → Permanent Residency approval

Those who are currently on a Spouse or Child of a Japanese national visa

(i) In the case of a spouse of a Japanese national: You must have been married for at least three years and lived in Japan for over one year.

(ii) In the case of a biological or adopted (special case) child of a Japanese national: The child must have resided in Japan for at least one year.

Supplemental Explanation ①.

Since the Immigration Bureau is very strict about what constitutes a real marriage, if the couple has been living separately even though they are married, their marriage will not be deemed acceptable, and cannot receive approval for permanent residency.

More than 3 years must have passed since getting married, with a minimum of one year spent continuously living in Japan. If you have already been married for over 3 years before coming to Japan, you just need to live in Japan for one year before applying. Specifically, this applies to cases where the couple came to Japan for one year after being married and living together overseas, but such cases are relatively rare. In reality, there are many cases where an applicant applies after getting married in Japan and living with their spouse in Japan for 3 years.

Supplemental Explanation ②.

A biological child of a Japanese national can apply for permanent residence after living in Japan for at least one year. A special adoption means that the child is adopted after being separated from their real parents by age six. Please note that an ordinarily adopted child cannot apply for permanent residence through this method.

If you are curious about which category your adopted child falls into, “ordinary” or “special”, I would suggest looking it up for further details. As Japan has different rules regarding adoption as opposed to other countries.

Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident → Permanent Residency

This refers to a foreign spouse married to a permanent resident or a special permanent resident.

Other than the spouse, children of permanent residents can also obtain this status. In this case, children of permanent residents can include both ordinary or specially adopted children.

In this section, I would like to explain the requirements for being granted permanent residency by the "spouse or child of a permanent resident” status.

Requirement 1: Permanent residence is deemed to be in Japan’s best interest.

This is called the national interest compatibility requirement, which means that the foreign national applying for permanent residence must meet the interests of Japan. Specifically, the following:

A: You must have been continuously residing in Japan for at least one year (after three years of marriage).

There are two types of patterns in the requirements for continued residence in Japan: the case of a foreign spouse married to a permanent resident or special permanent resident and the case of a biological child or specially adopted child of a permanent resident or special permanent resident.

I: Spouse married to a permanent resident or special permanent resident

As is the same in the case of a Japanese spouse, the marriage must have continued for at least three years, and the couple must have been continuously residing in Japan for at least one year. In the case of separation, if the reason for the separation is reasonable, there is a possibility that it won`t count against you.

In addition, if more than three years have passed since the marriage with a permanent resident or special permanent resident, the applicant needs to have resided in Japan for at least one year.

And, as with a spouse of a Japanese national, it is sufficient to be the spouse of a permanent resident or a special permanent resident in terms of status under the substantive law, and it is not necessary to obtain "spouse of permanent resident, etc." status of residence. For example, a person who is married to a permanent resident or a special permanent resident but currently resides in Japan under the status of "Engineer/Humanities/International Services" is also applicable to the requirement of being married for more than three years with actual marriage and remaining in Japan for more than one year. For those who have received special permission for residence or special permission for landing, even if the marriage has lasted for more than three years, they are required to have stayed in Japan for more than three years from the date of receiving special permission for residence or special permission for landing, instead of one year.

II: In the case of a biological child or specially adopted child of a permanent resident or special permanent resident

The child must have resided in Japan for at least one year. Ordinary adoptees must have resided in Japan for at least 10 years.

B: Fulfillment of public obligations such as tax obligations.

Payment of various taxes. These taxes include inhabitant tax, national health insurance tax, national pension, and others. Most company employees are covered by social insurance and have various taxes deducted from their salaries, but there may be some who pay their own taxes. Some of you may also be running your own companies. Again, such people need to be careful and make sure that they are paying on time. In particular, National Health Insurance Tax and National Pension are disallowed as not conforming to the national interest if they are not paid on time. If you are running a company, it would be both taxes as a company (corporate tax, business tax, consumption tax, corporate prefectural and municipal inhabitant tax, etc.) and taxes as an individual (inhabitant tax, income tax, etc.). Also, it is important that your company has various insurance coverage (membership). You must be covered (enrolled) in employees' pension, welfare pension, unemployment insurance, labor insurance, etc., and pay various types of taxes. And in the same way, please note not only whether or not you have paid various taxes, but also whether or not you have paid them on time. If you have not paid your taxes on time, you should accumulate a record of on-time payment for the last year before you apply for permanent residence. Then, you may be able to get your application approved by presenting your reasons for not paying on time, your remorse, and measures taken (e.g., using an automatic direct debit system, joining social insurance at your company, etc.) in a statement of reasons.

In addition, as in the case of a spouse of a Japanese national, etc., if you do not meet the income requirement of at least 3 million yen (plus 700,000 yen per dependent) as a practical condition of the permanent residence examination, you are likely to be denied. In addition, if you are in a tax-exempt status, it means that you do not conform to the national interest. However, if your income is more than 3 million yen (plus 700,000 yen per dependent) in the most recent year, rather than 3 million yen for 3 years as in the case of permanent residence from work status, it is highly likely that you will be approved.

C: The longest period of stay for the status of residence currently held.
This means that although "5 years" is the maximum period of stay under the law, if you apply to renew your visa and get a “3-year” or “1-year” visa after you have held the most prolonged possible visa for your category, then you cannot apply for Permanent Residency. For example, if you are currently holding a 5-year visa and renew your visa and receive a 3-year visa, you cannot apply for permanent residency until you receive a 5-year visa again.

D: Not likely to be harmful from the standpoint of public health

This means chronic addicts of narcotics, marijuana, stimulants, etc.

Other infectious disease patients include class I contagious diseases such as Ebola, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, pox, plague, polio, tuberculosis, diphtheria, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), etc. Patients with designated and new infectious diseases are treated as potentially harmful from the public health standpoint. As proof of not being a hazard, you may wish to attach a medical certificate.

E: It is recognized that there is no risk of committing an act that is significantly detrimental to the public interest.

This is the same as the good conduct requirement and is also examined as conformity with the national interest requirement. I already stated this above, but it’s imperative, so I would like to reiterate it here.

Specifically, I and II are below.

I: Have never been sentenced to penal labor, imprisonment, or a fine for violating the laws and regulations of Japan.

II: Persons who have not repeatedly committed illegal acts or acts that disturb public morals in their daily or social lives.

III: Persons with ongoing protective dispositions under the Juvenile Law

This applies to those who have an ongoing protective order under Article 24 of the Juvenile Law.

Requirement 2: A guarantor must be present.

Foreign nationals who are staying as a spouse married to a permanent resident or special permanent resident or as the biological child of a permanent resident or special permanent resident are required to ask their spouse (permanent resident or special permanent resident) or parents (permanent resident or special permanent resident). If your spouse or parents will not cooperate with you as a guarantor for your permanent residence, it is important to clear up the misunderstanding, since you may have misunderstood the meaning in the first place. The most common example of misunderstanding is a cosigner. If the guarantor does not cooperate even after a thorough explanation of the guarantor, it is likely to be disapproved because it is not recognized that the marriage in reality is continuing.

Long-Term Resident to Permanent Resident

This is different from the spouse visa mentioned above but, I would also like to take some time to talk about long-term residents. Some people in Japan with the status of "long-term resident" come to Japan as stepchildren, people of Japanese descent, and some even refugees. The long-term resident status was created to help foreigners with special circumstances live in Japan thus there are many different situations in which someone might become a long-term resident. Some reasons are defined by the law, others are not, so there is a great variety of circumstances. In the rest of this article, I would like to explain the requirements for being granted permanent resident status coming from a long-term resident visa.

Requirement 1: Good conduct.

This is the same requirement as mentioned in other articles, but there is one additional requirement which will be discussed in"c".

This is precisely what the title says. The bottom line is that the person must not have a criminal record. On the other hand, if a person has committed a crime, will they be denied permanent residence? The answer is that they may be granted permission after a specific period of time has passed. The particular period is 10 years after release from prison (or 5 years after the expiration of a suspended sentence). For those who have been fined, detained, or penalized, 5 years after payment it is no longer considered to have violated Japanese law and will not be considered a crime when reviewing your record. You also need to be careful of minor violations. Minor violations are not punishable by penal labor, imprisonment, fines, detention, or penalties. However, committing multiple minor offenses will put you in the category of “those who regularly engage in illegal activities/ those who repeatedly disturb public morals.” These crimes include driving violations (cellphone use, parking violation) and when a family member on a dependent visa works when they are not permitted to, or if they do have permission to work, they consistently work over the weekly 28-hour limit. So, please be aware of your everyday life in Japan. 

c: Persons with ongoing protective measures under the Juvenile Law

This applies to those who have an ongoing protective order under Article 24 of the Juvenile Law.

Requirement 2: Have sufficient assets or skills to earn an independent living.

This is called the independent livelihood requirement, and there are similar requirements to the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa. The shared requirement is to have a stable income and live independently. In the case of the Business Administration visa, you must be able to run a business and, as a result, must not be a burden on the public by receiving public assistance.

The stability and continuity of the company are essential, especially when considering the company`s future. If the company is continuously in the red, or even if the finances are okay, if there is a large amount of debt and is over its liabilities; likely, it will not meet this independent livelihood requirement. It is vital to ensure that the president`s annual income has been at least 3 million yen over the past three years.

As an additional note, suppose the applicant is a homemaker and not working. In that case, it may be possible to apply for permanent residence even if the applicant is unemployed, as long as the applicant’s spouse meets the independent livelihood requirement. The independent livelihood requirement is not necessarily something the applicant must have.

The significant points to note are the following:

a: Career change

Changing jobs itself is a good thing. For example, if a person's salary increases by 1.5 times due to changing jobs, it will be considered a career change and will not be a problem. However, if the salary and position before and after the job change are at the same level, or even lower, it is not yet considered a stable lifestyle. We recommend applying for permanent residence with your new company after being employed there for at least one full year.

b: Number of dependents

The amount of your annual income and the number of your dependents are essential. In other words, how many dependents do you have, and how are they supported? Even if your income is high, you will have less money if you have many dependents. If you have many dependents, your income tax and inhabitant tax will be lower, meaning that you are not contributing to Japan in terms of taxes. If the number of dependents increases by one, the annual income must be considered plus 700,000 yen. If you wish to apply for permanent residence on your own, a yearly income of 3,000,000 yen is required. For example, if you support your wife, an annual income of at least 3,700,000 yen is desirable. In addition, if you have one child to support, it would be desirable to have a yearly income of at least 1.4 million yen for the wife plus the child, which totals 4.4 million yen.

Requirement 3: Permanent residence is deemed in Japan’s best interest.

This is called the national interest compatibility requirement, which means that the foreign national applying for permanent residence must meet the interests of Japan. Specifically, the following:

A: As a general rule, the applicant must have continuously resided in Japan for at least 10 years, of which at least 5 years must have been spent in Japan with employment status.

This is called the requirement for continuous residence in Japan, which requires that you have lived in Japan for at least 10 years and have worked for at least the last 5 years with a work-related status. It is fine even if you have changed jobs. Please note that if you are working part-time, it does not count as work experience.

“Continued" means that you continue to reside in Japan without interruption in your residence status which means you must be careful if you leave Japan mid-to-long term. If you leave Japan for more than 100 days in a year or more than three months at a time, there is a high possibility that you will not be considered "continuing" and will not have a basis for living in Japan. If you have to leave Japan for a year or once for any reason (such as childbirth, business trip, etc.) you need to explain the reasons for your departure reasonably and persuasively. In addition, you should also explain your asset situation in Japan (whether or not you have real estate in Japan) and your family situation (spouse, children attending school in Japan, etc.). Suppose there is concrete evidence that there is a high probability that the applicant will continue to live in Japan. In that case, the application may be approved, although it will be a comprehensive judgment based on all aspects.

For those who were married to a Japanese national and had "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status and were granted "Long Term Resident" status due to divorce or bereavement of the spouse (Japanese national), it is not necessary to "stay in Japan for 5 years or more after being granted "Long Term Resident" status" but it is necessary to stay in Japan for 5 years or more in combination with the "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" status. In this case, the requirement is considered to apply to those who have stayed in Japan for 5 years or more in combination with the status of "Spouse or Child of Japanese National".

B: Fulfillment of public obligations such as tax obligations.

This overlaps with what we have explained so far, but it means basically paying various types of taxes. These taxes include inhabitant tax, national health insurance, national pension, etc. Most company employees are covered by social insurance and have various taxes deducted from their salaries, but there are some who pay their own taxes.

Some of you may also be running your own companies so, you need to be careful and make sure that your taxes are being paid on time. In particular, national health insurance and national pension, with these you need to be especially careful because if these are not paid on it is considered going against the national interest compatibility requirement If you are running a company, it would be both taxes as a company (corporate tax, business tax, consumption tax, etc.) and taxes as an individual (inhabitant tax, income tax, etc.). Also, it is important that your company has various insurance coverages. You must be enrolled in employees' pension, national pension, unemployment insurance, labor insurance, etc., and pay various types of taxes. In the same way, please note not only whether or not you have paid your taxes, but also whether or not you have paid them on time. If you have not paid your taxes on time, you should accumulate a record of on-time payments from the last year. Then, you may be able to get your application approved by presenting your reasons for not paying on time, your remorse, and measures taken (e.g., using an automatic direct debit system, joining social insurance at your company, etc.) in a statement of reasons.

C: The longest period of stay for the status of residence currently held.
This means that although "5 years" is the maximum period of stay under the law, if you apply to renew your visa and get a “3-year” or “1-year” visa after you have held the most prolonged possible visa for your category, then you cannot apply for permanent residency. For example, if you are currently holding a 5-year visa and renew your visa and receive a 3-year visa, you cannot apply for permanent residency until you receive a 5-year visa again.

D: Not likely to be harmful from the standpoint of public health

This means chronic addicts of narcotics, marijuana, stimulants, etc.

Other cases include infectious disease patients from class I contagious diseases such as Ebola, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, pox, plague, polio, tuberculosis, diphtheria, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), etc. Patients with designated and new infectious diseases are treated as potentially harmful from the public health standpoint. As proof of not being a risk to public health, you may wish to attach a medical certificate.

E: It is recognized that there is no risk of committing an act that is significantly detrimental to the public interest.

This is the same as the good conduct requirement and is also considered together with the national interest requirement. I already stated this above, but it’s imperative, so I would like to reiterate it here.

Specifically, I and II are below.

I: Have never been sentenced to penal labor, imprisonment, or a fine for violating the laws and regulations of Japan.

II: Persons who have not repeatedly committed illegal acts or acts that disturb public morals in their daily or social lives.

III: Persons with ongoing protective measures under Juvenile Law

Requirement 4: A guarantor must be present.

Many foreign residents who are staying in Japan ask their relatives, spouses, or boss at their employer.

List of Required Documents

 Main Documents

Documents required from Japanese spouse

＊For those who are company employees

＊If you own a company

Reference materials regarding guarantor (Japanese spouse is required.)

Documents that would be advantageous if they were available