The do’s, don’ts and pitfalls when applying for permanent residency in Japan

Securing permanent residency in Japan just got a lot harder.

Long a golden ticket for a stable, open-ended stay and broad employment freedom, permanent residency has transformed from a predictable administrative milestone into a far more demanding process.

Under updated guidelines from the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) that took effect Oct. 1, officials are enforcing stricter household income benchmarks and deeper audits of pension and social insurance history, with mandatory Japanese language requirements set to follow under upcoming phases. In a particularly disruptive move, the revised standards are also being applied to applications filed as far back as April this year.

Fees for successful applications have also skyrocketed and now come to ¥200,000, up from ¥10,000 before the increase.

The policy shift has triggered widespread anxiety across Japan’s international community. Expat forums and social media are brimming with posts, conflicting reports, speculative timelines and cautionary tales from long-term residents who saw seemingly minor, years-old administrative oversights derail their applications.

Even applicants who speak fluent Japanese, earn above-average salaries and are married to Japanese citizens have reported being rejected. With official guidance leaving wide room for interpretation, many are left wondering if their records are clean enough to survive the added scrutiny, or whether they should hold off on applying altogether.

To cut through the noise and clarify what these changes mean on the ground, The Japan Times spoke with Susumu Yokoyama, a Tokyo-based administrative scrivener (gyōsei shoshi) who handles immigration and visa cases for clients from around the world.

This interview was conducted in Japanese and has been translated and edited for brevity and clarity.

What are the main advantages of PR over a work or spousal visa?

It really comes down to whether you constantly have to renew your status. With a spouse visa, you can usually renew as long as everything is going fine in your marriage. But if something unexpected happens — like a divorce or your spouse’s death — your legal basis for staying disappears, leaving your status vulnerable. Work visas are similar, because you’re tied to remaining employed.

Once you get PR, you’re essentially free from those constraints. Even if you lose your job or your marital status changes, you don’t have to worry about renewals or having your status revoked as long as you haven’t committed a deportable violation. That peace of mind is a massive benefit, especially if your current situation feels uncertain.

Susumu Yokoyama, a Tokyo-based administrative scrivener (gyōsei shoshi) who handles immigration and visa cases for clients from around the world. | Courtesy of Susumu Yokoyama

Is naturalization actually easier than getting PR?

If you strictly look at the residency requirement, naturalization used to seem like the easier path — you could apply for citizenship after five years in Japan, whereas PR required 10. However, naturalization has always required proven Japanese language proficiency, unlike PR guidelines, which didn’t test for language skills in the past. For non-Japanese speakers, that made naturalization the higher hurdle overall.

Japan is unique because you can apply for naturalization directly without getting PR first, which isn’t the case in the U.S. But for many people, PR is more appealing simply because they don’t want to give up their original nationality.

What kind of applicant is successfully getting PR right now, and who is more likely to run into problems?

Approval comes down to stability and compliance. If you work for a major company with a steady salary and pristine tax records, the process tends to go smoothly with fewer hiccups. Where people run into issues is with freelancing, self-employment or complex tax filings. Even in Japan, staying compliant with every detail of tax law can be tough, and many applicants miss things without realizing it. Once your background gets complex, inspection points multiply — and minor delays or unpaid dues can quickly lead to a refusal.

What are the most common pitfalls that cause PR applications to be rejected?

It often comes down to small administrative details. For example, when switching jobs, payroll deductions stop, and you have to pay local taxes manually. People often miss this transition, pay late, or lose their receipts.

The statement of reasons (riyūsho) is another big area. Other gyōsei shoshi might see it differently, but in my view, officers only care about whether you meet the requirements. It’s best to be helpful and lay out how you hit each requirement, step-by-step. Pure passion doesn’t work, though backing up how you’ll contribute to Japan in the long term can actually help, given current trends.

Just avoid extra details or documents — that can open a whole can of worms. Officers have to verify everything you submit, so extra information just forces them to investigate things they wouldn’t have checked otherwise, dragging out the process.

Why do so many applicants get tripped up by Japanese legal rules?

When foreign nationals first arrive, nobody actually walks them through these rules — especially when it comes to taxes and pensions, which immigration scrutinizes heavily. Staying fully compliant is tough on your own, and without professional legal support from the start, people simply stay uninformed. Even Japanese employers often don’t understand the rules because they apply specifically to foreign residents.

Is it risky to change jobs or start a business while preparing for or awaiting a PR decision?

Yes, it’s very risky. If you hold a work visa, Immigration reviews your application based on the exact circumstances at the time you apply. Any major change can mean you no longer meet the basic requirements.

For instance, if you leave your job during the review to launch your own business, you’re now managing a business — an activity that isn’t covered by a standard working visa like Engineer, Specialist in Humanities or International Services. That alone is grounds for denial, and the updated guidelines explicitly highlight this.

What if an applicant has a missed payment on their record — does that mean an automatic refusal?

Right now, immigration screening is really focused on fault-finding. If there is a mark on your record, applying immediately usually isn’t a good idea. Instead, you need to wait out a clean period — typically two years of on-time pension and social insurance payments — to establish a spotless history before submitting your application.

What is the income requirement for PR, and how far back do they check?

Under the new criteria, the ISA simply states that your household income must consistently stay above the average income of Japanese households of equivalent size, but no specific figures have been published.

As for how far back they look, they evaluate the past five consecutive years under a working or residency visa. If you’ve met the threshold for all five years, you’re fine. But if you were below it starting out, like as a fresh graduate, and then steadily built your income up, current guidelines don’t make it clear whether you can still qualify.

Does being married to a Japanese national give you an advantage when applying for PR?

Yes, Japanese law actually favors family-based applicants quite a bit. Statutory requirements like maintaining independent financial self-sufficiency, as well as certain public interest criteria, are legally waived or relaxed if you are married to a Japanese national or permanent resident, or if you are their child. Because of those exemptions, spouses face a much lower hurdle than people applying on standard work visas.

Japan's immigration policy shift has triggered widespread anxiety across Japan’s international community. | Johan Brooks

Does enrolling a child in an international school or homeschooling put a family at an actual disadvantage under the new guidelines?

The latest guidelines explicitly say that children need to be attending school during their elementary and junior high school years, so if they aren’t, that could lead to a refusal. The problem is that it’s still unclear whether things like unaccredited international schools, homeschooling or online programs count. Until immigration gives clearer guidance, the safest approach for families seeking PR is to enroll their children in an accredited Japanese school.

If an application is rejected, does the ISA give you a clear reason?

You can go directly to the Immigration Bureau and ask to speak with someone, and they will give you a fairly clear explanation. Whether that covers every single issue with your file is hard to say, but at the very least, they will point out the main reason — explaining that because you didn’t meet a specific requirement, your application was denied. In fact, I’m helping quite a few people who tried to do it on their own, failed, and now need to reapply.

Can you file for PR entirely on your own, or does hiring a gyōsei shoshi improve your chances of approval?

It really depends on the case. Some people can apply on their own without any issues, but the window for that has narrowed. In the past, the process was much simpler: Immigration might just look at your salary threshold and approve you. Today, the checklist has grown, and there are so many points of scrutiny that it’s tough to know on your own whether you’ve cleared every single requirement.

How much does it typically cost to hire a gyōsei shoshi for a PR application?

Fees vary depending on the firm and scope of work, but standard market rates generally run between ¥100,000 and ¥200,000. That base rate usually covers the specialist submitting the application on your behalf. Costs go up depending on extra requirements, like translating documents or drafting legal explanation letters for complex cases.

How long is the processing wait time right now when you file, and how does that compare to the past?

During the pandemic, applications in Tokyo took roughly a year to process. Today, wait times have stretched significantly, with applicants routinely waiting a year and a half to two years for a decision. Once an application is submitted, there is no way to predict the exact timeline, and the ISA provides no status updates during the review period.

What can people do now to make a future PR application go smoothly?

The best approach is to start planning early rather than waiting until you’re ready to apply. If you’re thinking about applying for PR a few years from now, it’s worth getting legal advice in advance so you know how to stay on track and handle any changes along the way. Maintaining a clean record — paying your taxes and social insurance on time, keeping steady employment and reporting any required changes to immigration — is critical.

Given all these changes, when is the best time to apply for PR?

If you meet all the criteria, it’s best to apply as soon as possible. Screening rules are clearly getting stricter ahead of the upcoming policy changes next April. For example, new revisions will introduce formal Japanese language requirements. Those who cannot speak Japanese will face a much harder path later on, as they will have to achieve fluency before they can even qualify. If your record is clean today, there’s no reason to wait.