Does anyone know the requirements for getting a permanent residential visa?

[Revenant]

I will look it up on the net also, but I was hoping I could get advice or input on the best way of getting one of these.

I am married to a Japanese, I have a part-time job teaching English at Elementary schools, and I have been here 7 years.

Will the fact that I am only a part-timer affect my ability to get one?

[DoctorP]

Have a look at these FAQ's They may have what you are looking for.

http://www.hiraganatimes.com/hp/visa/file/list-e.html



Here is some specifics from that very FAQ (the red letters are my comments)

I'll explain the requirements in this response and describe the necessary documents in my next response.

1. The applicant's behavior must be of a high standard. This means s/he should not have been involved in any crimes or tax evasions.

2. The applicant needs to have enough assets or skills to be able to live independently in Japan. His/her living situation must not be a burden to the public and s/he should be able to continue living a stable life in the future, considering his/her assets and skills. It is believed that applicants must have a specific amount of savings to obtain a permanent visa, but this is not correct. There is no set savings amount, but you usually need a letter from your bank stating the amount of assets you have available. This can be in the form of money, bonds, CD's, or even Real estate.

3. The applicant's permanent residence meets Japan's national interests. This means your permanent residence must be recognized as being useful for Japanese society and the economy.This is not a big factor, being that you are married to a Japanese citizen in itself can actually serve as enough reason.

4. The above are general requirements. The length of stay is one of the individual requirements. If you are a spouse or a child or an adopted child of a Japanese, or a permanent visa holder or you are a recognized refugee or resident, you may apply for the visa with a duration of one year, three years or five years. However, this generally requires 10 years stay in Japan.

5. In addition to the personal requirements, it is necessary that you are currently holding the longest term visa. As you have a three-year visa, you are already qualified.

[Maciamo]

If you are married to a Japanese, work (even part-time and self-employed), and already have a 3 years' spouse visa, you should be able to get a permanent visa. My advice would be to get a good letter of recommendation written by a native Japanese speaker who can write well.

[GaijinPunch]

you should be able to get a permanent visa.

Right, but even these people can get shot down. I think the kicker is that there are no definites, as the above can show. You're very much up to the decision made by the person that reads your applications.

[Revenant]

I have another Q. If after I get a permanent residential visa, am I required to reside in Japan for a certain amount of time each year to retain it? Would I have to give it up were I to decide to go back to Canada for a coupe of years?

[Mike Cash]

I think you would be well-advised to consult with an immigration attorney. You can usually find their offices conveniently (and conspicuously) located around your nearest Immigration office.

[Revenant]

Right! So now the wife's considering getting me a permanent residential visa.... well she would have to be my sponsor in that case, so her cooperation is quite necessary to getting one of these.

Anyways, I was wondering which would be easier to get, a "Long Term Visa" after I'm divorced, or a "Permanent Residence Status" before I get divorced.

The immigration lawyer we talked said that a "Permanent Residence Status" would just take a month and a half here. They must not get too many applications in this area.

My wife wants to submit the applications for divorce this month, so she's thinking of submitting the Permanant Residence Status application just before she submits the Divorce forms. Is that possible? Would there be some database that immigration can use to verfiy whether I'm still married or not? I don't suppose anyone would actually know that.... just thought I'd ask anyways.

The other question I have is whether the Japanese proficiency test has been implemented. It was an idea being tossed about last January. (http://http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080116a1.html) My Japanese is quite limited.

[Mike Cash]

If she's been patient and cooperative this long and a PR visa only takes a month and a half in your area, ask for her indulgence in waiting to file the divorce papers until you have the PR stamped in your passport. Then your ability to remain is a sure thing, instead of being a roll of the dice on a special Long Term visa after a divorce.

If you're going to remain here permanently and be absent a spouse (at least for a while, presumably) it is going to be all the more important that you get up to speed on Japanese ability. Everything that she has taken care of up until now is going to be falling squarely into your lap.

[Glenski]

Revenant,
You started this thread 2 years ago and have still not done anything to get PR? What gives?

Get the PR before the divorce, and then you are set.
Long-term Resident visa may be an option after the divorce, and a regular work visa certainly is. Getting PR after the divorce is also very possible, but why have you waited 2 years to apply?

You are required to stay no certain number of years in Japan under PR. You have to use the reentry permit like everyone else to leave and reenter Japan, and the limit on that is 3 years. That is, you can be gone 3 years before it invalidates the PR. There may even be wiggle room on that in terms of extenuating circumstances, but I would think 3 years outside Japan is plenty of time to avoid most situations.

As for the language requirement, there has been no significant progress on that, but I believe it will NOT apply to PR applicants. Too vague to say right now. Read this thread for the latest.
http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?p=573791#post573791

[Revenant]

Revenant,
You started this thread 2 years ago and have still not done anything to get PR? What gives?I know, but the wife decided at that time that she didn't want to get me Permanent Residence Status (and her cooperation in getting one of these is essential, since she would be the guarantor), saying something about my needing to learn to not to depend on other people (I don't quite get her). Later she simply wanted to get divorced as soon as possible so she'd be free to look for another partner, but we've been stuck in negotiations for quite some time. She's changed her mind just yesterday as we were filling out the divorce forms.

Thanks for the link btw.

[Glenski]

If you look at the application form, your wife is not the only person who can serve as guarantor for PR.
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/16-4-1.pdf

I realize that she is now, because of spouse visa status, so all the more reason to get your application in soon. However, have you contacted immigration to ask what documentation is needed other than her name on the application form? I don't recall what I had to provide. If it's just her koseki, you might be able to get that yourself.

[epigene]

I agree with Glenski and think that your wife is not the only person to ask to become guarantor. Having a child who is a Japanese national and wanting to live close to him are strong reasons for granting permanent residence. I have heard that approval has been granted for similar cases, even after the divorce has been finalized. I recommend you check this out with immigration authorities. I think they will be cooperative with you.

I don't remember clearly, but I think you can leave Japan with permanent resident status for the length of time granted on your reentry permit (required for permanent residents going abroad). So, what was the maximum length of time? 3 years?

[Glenski]

I don't remember clearly, but I think you can leave Japan with permanent resident status for the length of time granted on your reentry permit (required for permanent residents going abroad). So, what was the maximum length of time? 3 years?
I explained that 2 posts ago.

[epigene]

I explained that 2 posts ago.
Oops... gomennasai!! :relief:

[FrustratedDave]

I am pretty sure I didn't need a sponsor, but it was a long time ago so I am not really sure..

[GaijinPunch]

How long have you been married? I swung by the PR desk when I got my visa renewed. They told me I needed 3 consecutive married years in Japan to apply (or that it wouldn't be a waste of my time if I had that). The 1 year prior and 2 years abroad married to a Japanese and 6 years as a swingin' bachelor in Japan seem to not matter once you abandon Japan once.

[Revenant]

With a Permanent Residence Status, one can stay out of Japan pretty much indefinitely as long as one comes back to Japan to get a new re-entry visa valid for three years before the prior one expires.

I've been married nine years....

[FrustratedDave]

How long have you been married? I swung by the PR desk when I got my visa renewed. They told me I needed 3 consecutive married years in Japan to apply (or that it wouldn't be a waste of my time if I had that). The 1 year prior and 2 years abroad married to a Japanese and 6 years as a swingin' bachelor in Japan seem to not matter once you abandon Japan once.
When I went for mine, I was told that I needed 2 consecutive 3 year visas to even be eligable for PR. I am not sure if being married cuts that down, but when I was asking they were saying that the same aplies for spouse visa too.

[Glenski]

With a Permanent Residence Status, one can stay out of Japan pretty much indefinitely as long as one comes back to Japan to get a new re-entry visa valid for three years before the prior one expires.
I've been married nine years....
I hate to be nitpickey, but it's not a reentry visa. It's a reentry permit.

When I went for mine, I was told that I needed 2 consecutive 3 year visas to even be eligable for PR. I am not sure if being married cuts that down, but when I was asking they were saying that the same aplies for spouse visa too.Guidelines are flexible. Some people have stayed away for many years, being married to a Japanese during that time, then got PR right away upon entry to Japan. I got mine after being married 5 years and being on the tail end of a second spouse visa. Go for it. It doesn't cost anything if they turn you down.

[Mike Cash]

A loooong time ago it used to be either:

1. Five years in Japan and one year married or
2. Five years married and one year in Japan

However, we all know that fast-n-firm definitions are very lacking and that whether a given application is approved or not can hinge upon something as trivial as whether the reviewing official's wife burned his breakfast that day or not.

[Revenant]

So we're still waiting on some documentation, especially my wife's proof of employment papers. Most of the stuff has been collected. I just have a question about the application form itself. The form asks for my hometown / city, should I put down my Canadian hometown, or the city in Japan that I' registered in. The Japanese reads as "本国における居住地”。

[mr.sumo.snr]

The form asks for my hometown / city, should I put down my Canadian hometown, or the city in Japan that I' registered in. The Japanese reads as "本国における居住地”。

That's your Canajun address.

The next line of the application form actually asks for your "Address In Japan".

But I 'feel' your confusion having spent the last two weeks filling in and re-writing a private-pension scheme application form. My wife had to carefully, but not too neatly, pencil in the necessary kanji details for me to trace over. My own kanji were considered too poor and would be dismissed as fake. I tried to make it plain to the insurance company salesman the utter absurdity of this declaration but, as all good PRs know, it's much easier to just go with the flow (Nutters in the North not withstanding).

Ironically, as the salesman and I patiently waited for my wife to finish her artwork, he asked me if I was planning to 帰る to the UK this summer...

--

[Revenant]

I'm just wondering, I'm living alone, the wife and son live together in another apartment, and we're using our honseki at my parent-in-law's address for the Permanent Residence Status application. Thing is, is that my old address (where the wife and son still live) has been used for employment purposes, my old workplace used to send payslips there, and I'm wondering if immigration could track that down, and if they could, what they could do to me if they feel I misrepresented info on my application form. Deportation? Fines? Prison time?

I'm thinking it might not be a good idea to apply for Permanent Residence status, which would leave me the options of long-term residential visa (3 years) after I get divorced, or if I can't get that, a working visa somewhere (I acn do that after ten years here even without a University degree).

[Mike Cash]

Instead of playing Mr. Nice Guy (who, as the old saying goes, always finishes last), you need to tell your wife to play nice and share a roof until you get the PR approved....or you're going to not cooperate with the divorce. It sounds like she already pretty much has the next guy picked out, and even if she doesn't she's in a rush to get on with things. If you refuse to play ball on the divorce, you can drag things out a year or two as she muddles through the molasses of the Japanese legal system.

[timtak]

I agree with Mike cash. Unless your wife does something very nderahnd like s teal y our inkan and act as if you agreed to the divorce, it is diffficult to get a divorce from a spouse that does not want to. You are being too nice.

[FrustratedDave]

They are not going to do anything about the different address, I did the same thing. Of corse I was living with my wife at a different address at the time.

[Kenjirou]

0.0 I had enough trouble getting a student visa to Japan... this sounds just incredibly difficult...

[Revenant]

Hi all. An entire year after I applied, I finally called Immigration to see what was happening with my application for Permanent Residential Status. They had the papers already approved, and apparently they either forgot to send the postcard to notify me, or the post office lost it, or my parents-in-law did something with it (unintentionally I'd guess).

Just thought I'd thank those here that helped me figure it out. It's great to have Permanent Residential Status as it opens more options for me.

[Mike Cash]

I was wondering just the other day what ever became of this. Thanks for the update and congratulations on having the Visa Monkey off your back.

[Glenski]

Congrats, R.

Now, all you have to do is backdate your pension plan, and you are set.