The Approval and Denial Rates for Permanent Residence Applications

The Approval and Denial Rates for Permanent Residence

Regarding the approval rate for Permanent Residence applications, it currently stands at roughly 50%. In other words, the reality is that half of all applications are denied. This is an application with a low approval rate compared to applications for other Statuses of Residence.

This page explains the approval and denial of Permanent Residence applications.

Permanent Residence Applications in Recent Years

Compared with the period before 2019, the difficulty of Permanent Residence applications has increased. The reason is that the review requirements have become stricter. The following sections describe the review points that have become stricter compared to before 2019.

Regarding the Income Requirement

One of the important points for obtaining Permanent Residence is income. Regarding income, from July 2019, applications from work-related Statuses of Residence have required the submission of taxation certificates for the most recent 5 years (previously, the most recent 3 years). Previously, the submission of 3 years of taxation certificates was sufficient, but since this has become 5 years, you must maintain a stable income over a longer period, and the bar for the income requirement has been raised compared to before.

Specifically, an annual income of at least 3 million yen is required, and this must be satisfied for 5 consecutive years. The document used to verify whether the income requirement is met is the taxation certificate issued by the municipality. In other words, taxation certificates for the most recent 5 years, calculated from the time of the Permanent Residence application, must be obtained. If you have consistently met the 3-million-yen annual income threshold based on these taxation certificates for 5 consecutive years, your chances of clearing the income requirement are high.

Regarding Payment of Resident Tax

Related to the above, submission of resident tax payment certificates for the most recent 5 years has also become required. In particular, in recent Permanent Residence applications, it is not enough for payment to simply have been made; resident tax must also have been paid 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 taxes have been paid at the appropriate times. In other words, those who have had periods within the most recent 5 years during which resident tax was not collected through special collection (withheld from wages) must submit, for those periods, documents proving that resident tax was paid at the appropriate times (copies of bankbooks, payment receipts, etc.).

Regarding Pension and Health Insurance Premiums

When obtaining Permanent Residence, you must submit documents showing payment of pension and health insurance premiums. As a rule, these cover 2 years. This has not changed from before 2019, but in recent years, it is not enough for the amounts to simply have been paid; pension and health insurance premiums must also have been paid at the appropriate times.

The conditions are the same as for the resident tax described above: those who have had periods within the most recent 2 years during which pension and health insurance premiums were not collected through special collection (withheld from wages) must submit, for those periods, documents proving that pension and health insurance premiums were paid at the appropriate times (copies of bankbooks, payment receipts, etc.).

Regarding the Documents to Be Submitted

From October 1, 2021, a document called the [Letter of Acknowledgment] was added to the documents submitted for a Permanent Residence application. The content is a pledge that, if you change jobs or become unemployed during the review period, you will promptly report this to the Immigration Bureau. This can also be considered as one of the income conditions.

With the addition of this [Letter of Acknowledgment], in addition to satisfying the requirements at the time of the Permanent Residence application, you must also continue to satisfy the income requirement during the review period.

Also, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent times, there may be cases where you change jobs or become unemployed. Even in such cases, the income conditions are not currently relaxed, so please be aware of this.

Our Office’s Approval Rate

As explained above, the requirements for Permanent Residence applications have become stricter year by year. So what is our office’s Permanent Residence approval rate? To put the conclusion first: our office’s approval rate is over 95%.

Why is there such a wide gap between our office’s approval rate and the national average Permanent Residence approval rate, which is around 50%? The reason is our experience and research capabilities. The requirements for Permanent Residence applications change frequently, and Permanent Residence visa applications that would previously have been approved can sometimes be denied.

In other words, what is required to maintain a high Permanent Residence visa approval rate is acquiring information in a timely manner and responding accordingly. The reality is that such a response is difficult unless you are an office specializing in Permanent Residence applications.

Our office has obtained approval for many Permanent Residence visas to date. We have also handled numerous consultations from people whose Permanent Residence visas were unfortunately denied when they applied on their own.

Based on this experience, we assess the likelihood of obtaining a Permanent Residence visa before the application is filed. As a result, we maintain a high Permanent Residence approval rate.

Conclusion on the Approval and Denial Rates for Permanent Residence

This page has explained the approval and denial of Permanent Residence applications. Permanent Residence applications can be said to be the type of application whose requirements change the most. It is necessary to always grasp the latest information and respond appropriately.

Our office is always gathering the latest information and, by cross-referencing with past approved cases, making the optimal application. If you are struggling with a Permanent Residence application, please feel free to contact our office.