If you are the “Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident,” you can apply for permanent residence after being married for at least three years and having lived in Japan for at least one year. Children are also eligible to apply for permanent residence if they have lived in Japan for at least one year. For spouses and children of permanent residents, the payment status of social insurance (health insurance and pension) is examined particularly strictly. This part will explain application preparation and review points, along with other review points.
Requirements to become a Permanent Resident – “Guidelines for Permanent Residence Permission” –
The requirements for obtaining a permanent residence permit are published in the “Guidelines for Permanent Residence Permission” on the Immigration Services Agency’s website.
▶Immigration Services Agency「Guidelines for Permanent Residence Permission」
There are three main requirements listed in the guidelines.
(1) good conduct requirement（素行善良要件）, (2) independent livelihood requirement（独立生計要件）, and (3) conformity with the national interest requirement（国益適合要件）.
1. Legal requirements
(1) Be of good conduct
They abide by the law and live their daily lives without being socially criticized as residents.(2) Having sufficient assets or skills to support one’s livelihood independently
They do not become a burden on the public in their daily lives, and based on their assets and skills, they are expected to live a stable life in the future.
(3) The person’s permanent residence is deemed to be in the interests of Japan.
a) In principle, they must have continuously resided in Japan for 10 years or more. However, they must have continuously resided in Japan for 5 years or more with a working status (excluding the statuses of residence “Technical Intern Training” and “Specified Skills No. 1”) during this period.
b) You have not been sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, etc. You have duly fulfilled your public obligations (tax payments, public pension and public health insurance premiums, and obligations such as filing notifications as stipulated in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act).
c) For the status of residence that you currently hold, you are residing in Japan with the maximum period of stay stipulated in Appendix 2 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.
d) There is no risk of it being harmful from a public health perspective.*However, if you are the Spouse or Child of a Japanese national, Permanent Resident, or Special Permanent Resident, you are not required to meet (1) and (2).In addition, if you have been recognized as a refugee, a person recognized as a recipient of complementary protection status, or a third-country resettled refugee, you are not required to meet (2).
Immigration Services Agency「Guidelines for Permanent Residence Permission」
As stated here, not only those whose status of residence is “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”, but also those who are married to a “Permanent Resident” or children of a “Permanent Resident” will be intensively examined with regard to (3) Conformity with National Interests Requirements. However, for “must have continuously resided in Japan for 10 years or more,” the special exception applies to Spouse or Child of Japanese National.
(3)Conformity with the national interest requirement
(3) Conformity with national interest requirements, which have tended to be examined very strictly in recent years. In particular, the fulfillment of public obligations is being rigorously scrutinized down to the very smallest detail.
Requirements regarding the period of stay for a “Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident“
For those who are married to or children of a person with “Permanent Resident” status, there is a special exception regarding “must have continuously resided in Japan for 10 years or more”.
In the case of the spouse of a Japanese national, permanent resident, or special permanent resident, the spouse must have been in a substantial marriage for more than three years and must have continuously resided in Japan for more than one year. In the case of a biological child, the child must have continuously resided in Japan for more than one year.
Immigration Services Agency「Guidelines for Permanent Residence Permission」
A spouse (wife/husband) of a Permanent Resident may apply for permanent residence after at least 3 years of marriage and at least 1 year of coming to Japan. Children are also eligible to apply if they have lived in Japan for at least one year.
However, they must fulfill the requirement that “For the status of residence that you currently hold, you are residing in Japan with the maximum period of stay stipulated in Appendix 2 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act”.
In the case of “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident,” the period of stay is “1 year,” “3 years,” or “5 years,” but at this time, it is possible to apply as long as you have “3 years” or “5 years” of stay.
Proper fulfillment of public obligations
Two aspects of the fulfillment of public obligations can be observed: the fulfillment of notification obligations and the fulfillment of tax and social insurance payment obligations.
Payment of tax, public pension and public medical insurance premiums
Particular attention should be paid to social insurance and tax payments.
It is not enough to have “no unpaid taxes” for the period for which you are required to submit them; you must have never missed a single payment deadline. Please note that if you miss the deadline for payment even by a single day, your Application for permanent residence permit will likely be denied (in fact, most applicants who have missed the deadline have had their applications denied).
Although there are various taxes subject to examination, the due dates of payment will be checked for “inhabitant’s tax,” “national health insurance,” and “national pension”. If you are a company employee and have inhabitant tax and social insurance deducted from your salary, there is no need to worry about this. However, if you are a company employee and pay your own inhabitant tax (ordinary tax collection), or if you are self-employed and have joined the “National Pension Plan” or “National Health Insurance”, you need to check all the receipts in detail.
In addition, for those who are married to a Permanent Resident and are supported by the Permanent Resident, documentation proving the tax status of the Permanent Resident must be submitted.
Notification Obligation
Typical examples of notification requirements are the “Notification of Relationship with Spouse(配偶者に関する届け出)” to be submitted to the Immigration Services Agency and the “Notification of Moving Out and Notification of Moving In(転出届・転入届)” to be submitted to the municipal office when moving to a new residence.
Has not been fined or imprisoned
One thing you need to be aware of is traffic violations.
There are two types of penal regulations to pay after committing a traffic violation: fines and penalties. If you commit a serious violation and receive a red kip (traffic ticket), you will be fined and will not be able to apply for permanent residence for a while (roughly 5 years). On the other hand, a blue ticket is an administrative penalty, not a fine.
Even in cases other than traffic violations, those who have been fined or imprisoned can only apply for permanent residence after some time has passed. In the case of a fine, the application must be made at least five years after the date of payment, and in the case of those who were imprisoned, at least 10 years after the end of the execution.
Required Documents for Application for Permanent Residence – In the case of Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident-
This section introduces the documents required for a spouse (wife/husband) or child of a “Permanent Resident” status holder to apply for permanent residence. This information is also available on the Immigration Services Agency’s website. Depending on the situation and individual circumstances, documents for reinforcement may be submitted in addition to the basic documents listed below.
| Required Documents for Application for Permanent Residence – In the case of Spouse of Permanent Residence |
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| １．Permanent residence permit application form ２．Photograph（4cm×3cm） ３．Marriage certificate(婚姻証明書) with spouse（Japanese translation for foreign languages） ４．Resident certificates(住民票) for all family members (households) including the applicant ５．Any of the following documents certifying the occupation of the applicant or the applicant’s supporter: (1) If you are employed by a company, etc.： Certificate of employment (在職証明書) (2) If you are self-employed, etc. Copy of final tax return(確定申告書),Copy of business license(営業許可書) * Self-employed individuals are required to provide proof of their occupation, etc. (3) Other cases： Occupation description (free format) and supporting documents as appropriate ６．Documents verifying the income and tax payment status of the applicant and his/her supporters for the past three years One copy each of the resident tax (or exemption) certificate(住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書) and tax payment certificate (納税証明書) for the past three years Documents proving that you have paid your resident tax at the proper time for the past three years (copies of your bankbook, receipts, etc.)*For ordinary tax collection ７．Tax payment certificates for withholding income tax and special income tax for reconstruction(源泉所得税及び復興特別所得税), self-assessed income tax and special income tax for reconstruction(申告所得税及び復興特別所得税), consumption tax and local consumption tax(消費税及び地方消費税), inheritance tax(相続税), and gift tax(贈与税) (part 3) ８．Any of the following documents to prove your income: Copy of bankbook (as appropriate) Similar to a above, as appropriate ９．Documents verifying your recent (past two years) public pension insurance premium payment status “Pension Regular Mail”(「ねんきん定期便」)/Print screen of “Pension record for each month” on Nenkin Net/National pension insurance premium receipt(国民年金保険料領収証書) (copy) １０．Documents verifying your recent (past two years) public health insurance premium payment status Health insurance card (copy)/National Health Insurance Card (copy)/. National Health Insurance (Tax) Payment Certificate/National Health Insurance (Tax) Receipt (Copy)） １１．Present your passport １２．Present your residence card(在留カード) １３．Letter of guarantee(身元保証書) １４．Documents that clarify the guarantor’s identity （Copy of driver’s license, etc.） １５．Letter of Understanding(了解書) |
| Required Documents for Application for Permanent Residence – In the case of a child |
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| １．Permanent residence permit application form ２．Photograph（4cm×3cm） ３．Birth certificate (出生証明書)（Japanese translation for foreign languages） ４．Resident certificates(住民票) for all family members (households) including the applicant ５．Any of the following documents certifying the occupation of the applicant’s supporter: (1) If you are employed by a company, etc.： Certificate of employment (在職証明書) (2) If you are self-employed, etc. Copy of final tax return(確定申告書),Copy of business license(営業許可書) * Self-employed individuals are required to provide proof of their occupation, etc. (3) Other cases： Occupation description (free format) and supporting documents as appropriate ６．Documents verifying the income and tax payment status of the applicant and his/her supporters covering the most recent year. One copy each of the resident tax (or exemption) certificate(住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書) and tax payment certificate (納税証明書) covering the most recent year. Documents proving that you have paid your resident tax at the proper time for the past three years (copies of your bankbook, receipts, etc.)*For ordinary tax collection ７．Tax payment certificates for withholding income tax and special income tax for reconstruction(源泉所得税及び復興特別所得税), self-assessed income tax and special income tax for reconstruction(申告所得税及び復興特別所得税), consumption tax and local consumption tax(消費税及び地方消費税), inheritance tax(相続税), and gift tax(贈与税) (part 3) ８．Any of the following documents to prove your income: Copy of bankbook (as appropriate) Similar to a above, as appropriate ９．Documents verifying your recent (covering the most recent year) public pension insurance premium payment status “Pension Regular Mail”(「ねんきん定期便」)/Print screen of “Pension record for each month” on Nenkin Net/National pension insurance premium receipt(国民年金保険料領収証書) (copy) １０．Documents verifying your recent (covering the most recent year) public health insurance premium payment status Health insurance card (copy)/National Health Insurance Card (copy)/. National Health Insurance (Tax) Payment Certificate/National Health Insurance (Tax) Receipt (Copy) １１．Present your passport １２．Present your residence card(在留カード) １３．Letter of guarantee(身元保証書) １４．Documents that clarify the guarantor’s identity （Copy of driver’s license, etc.） １５．Letter of Understanding(了解書) *If you are applying at the same time as your parent and have duplicate documents, you need only submit one copy (you do not need to submit two copies). |
*For children, one year of tax-related documents is sufficient. If the child is a minor or otherwise dependent, submit the parent’s (supporter’s) documentation. If the child is independent (not a dependent), submit the child’s own tax status.
*The above is an example. For more details, please click here.
Conclusion
The above is an explanation of application points and required documents for an application for permanent residence for a person residing as the “Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident“.
In the application for permanent residence, in addition to your own documents, you must also collect documents regarding your family members who will live with you. In particular, if you are living as a dependent of a “Permanent Resident”, you will need documents related to the tax payment of the “Permanent Resident”. In addition to the difficulty of gathering the documents, another feature of the application for permanent residence is the long examination period. If you want to make sure that your application is filed without wasting time, we recommend that you consult a specialist (lawyer or administrative scrivener) for status of residence (visa).
