Regarding Pension Records in a Permanent Residence Application

What Are Pension Records in a Permanent Residence Application?

To obtain Permanent Residence, you must submit pension records showing that you have paid pension for the most recent 2 years. It is not enough simply to have paid; you are required to have paid at the appropriate times.

In the case of sole proprietors, enrollment in National Pension is required. For National Pension, we recommend setting up payments via account transfer. This eliminates the risk of inadvertently forgetting to pay.

If you pay National Pension by payment slip, be careful not to miss the deadlines. Also, be sure to keep the receipts when you make payments. Receipts state the date of payment, so they serve as documents proving that you paid at the appropriate times.

For company employees, in most cases social insurance is handled through the employer, so this rarely becomes a major issue. This is because it is deducted from salary every month, so being unpaid is impossible, and there are no delays in payment timing either.

However, caution is required if you have had periods enrolled in National Pension due to a job change or the like. This is because you must switch to National Pension yourself and make the payments yourself by the payment deadlines.

This page explains pension for obtaining Permanent Residence.

Regarding the Pension Records Submitted in a Permanent Residence Application

First, we describe how to submit the pension records required for a Permanent Residence application. The following documents are required, so please confirm them.

Required Documents for Pension Records Submitted in a Permanent Residence Application

Documents proving the payment status of public pension and public medical insurance premiums for the applicant and the person supporting the applicant.

(1) Documents Showing Pension Payment Status for the Most Recent 2 Years

A printout of the “Monthly Pension Records” screen from Nenkin Net
* You can register for Nenkin Net through the Japan Pension Service’s website.

Registration for Nenkin Net takes about 4 days, so prepare with plenty of time to spare.

(2) If You Were Enrolled in National Pension Within the Most Recent 2 Years

National Pension premium receipts (copies)
* If you were enrolled in National Pension at any point in the most recent 2 years, please submit copies of all receipts for that period.

National Pension premium receipts are difficult to have reissued if lost. If you are considering a Permanent Residence application, be sure to keep them. In the unlikely event you lose them, you will need to explain this in a written statement of reasons, but having the receipts is far preferable.

Regarding the Period for Which Pension Records Must Be Submitted

For obtaining Permanent Residence, the period for which pension records must be submitted is, as a general rule, 2 years. In a Permanent Residence application, it is not enough simply to have paid; you must have paid pension at the appropriate times.

If there are unpaid amounts, obtaining Permanent Residence is difficult, but even when amounts have been paid, if there have been delays past the payment deadlines, it is difficult to obtain approval for a Permanent Residence application. A Permanent Residence application requires that the appropriate payments have been made at the appropriate times.

In addition, those who have had periods within the most recent 2 years during which pension was not subject to special collection (withheld from salary) must submit, for those periods, documents proving that pension was paid at the appropriate times (copies of the receipts for those periods).

In other words, caution is required if you have had periods of changing jobs or being unemployed. This is because during periods of changing jobs or unemployment, pension is not deducted from salary, so you need to pay it yourself. Basically, a payment slip is mailed to you by the administration, so there is no problem as long as you pay by that deadline.

If you inadvertently forget to pay, it becomes difficult to obtain Permission for Permanent Residence at that point. The application would then have to come after 2 years of payments made at the appropriate times.

Summary: Pension Records in a Permanent Residence Application

We have explained pension records for obtaining Permanent Residence. The key point is that pension payment requires not merely the absence of unpaid amounts but also payment at the appropriate times.

In other words, within the most recent 2 years, pension must have been paid and there must be no delays in payment.

If there are unpaid amounts, it can be said that obtaining Permission for Permanent Residence is difficult even if you go back and pay the most recent 2 years’ worth in a lump sum. This is because it is not payment at the appropriate times.

If you have had no job changes or the like within the most recent 2 years and pension has consistently been deducted from your salary, you can satisfy this requirement without issue.

If a delay in payment has unfortunately arisen due to a job change or the like, we recommend continuing pension payments with no delays for 2 years to satisfy the requirement before applying.

If you have concerns about pension payments, please contact our office.