The Permanent Residence Application Process

For Those Considering a Permanent Residence Application

For those who are considering a Permanent Residence application going forward, you may be wondering what steps the process should follow. With a Permanent Residence application, getting the order of steps wrong can lead to unnecessary delays and the hassle of having to re-obtain documents you have already collected. This page explains the flow of a Permanent Residence application.

The Flow of a Permanent Residence Application

Consultation with the Immigration Bureau with Jurisdiction

First, before applying for Permanent Residence, consult the Permanent Residence review section of the Immigration Bureau with jurisdiction to confirm whether you satisfy the requirements for obtaining Permanent Residence. At the Permanent Residence review section, you will be asked about your current Status of Residence, history of coming to Japan, any criminal record, family relationships, and so on. If it is determined that you satisfy the requirements for a Permanent Residence application, you will be informed of the minimum required application documents.

Consultations at the Immigration Bureau are free of charge, but the Immigration Bureau is generally always crowded, so depending on your luck, considerable waiting times can occur. Please allow yourself plenty of time when going for a consultation.

Collection of Required Documents

Collect the required documents that the Immigration Bureau has informed you of. However, the documents the Immigration Bureau lists are the minimum required for the application to be accepted, so documents that are likely to be advantageous in the review need to be collected at your own discretion. There are 2 major points to note when collecting the required documents.

The first is that documents obtained from various Japanese government offices (municipal offices, tax offices, the Legal Affairs Bureau, etc.) must be issued within 3 months counted from the time the Permanent Residence application is submitted to the Immigration Bureau. If more than 3 months have passed, you will need to obtain them again, even if the contents have not changed.

The second is translation. Documents obtained from overseas must be translated into Japanese. When obtaining documents from overseas for a Permanent Residence application, please translate them into Japanese before submitting them to the Immigration Bureau.

In addition, it is necessary not only to collect the required documents specified by the Immigration Bureau but also to confirm the contents of the documents you have collected. Depending on the contents, you may end up no longer satisfying the requirements that are a prerequisite for the Permanent Residence application, so it is essential to confirm the contents of all the documents.

Preparation of the Application Form and the Written Statement of Reasons

Once collection of the required documents is complete, you can begin preparing the application form and the written statement of reasons based on the documents collected. The format of the application form is available on the Immigration Bureau’s website, but there is no format for the written statement of reasons, so you must describe the reasons you wish to obtain Permission for Permanent Residence on your own. Needless to say, care must be taken with regard to typos, omissions, and entry errors in the application form.

Application to the Immigration Bureau with Jurisdiction

Bring the collected documents and the prepared application materials to the Immigration Bureau with jurisdiction to file your application on a weekday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The department to apply to is the Permanent Residence review section. As with step 1, the Immigration Bureau is very crowded, so please allow yourself plenty of time. In addition, if there are missing documents or errors in the application documents, your application may not be accepted, so please be careful.

Review Period

The average review period for a Permanent Residence application is about 6 months. In some cases, it can take about 1 year, so please wait patiently. Also, during the review period, the Immigration Bureau may request additional documents, so be sure to respond appropriately within the given deadlines.

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 you will promptly report to the Immigration Bureau if you change jobs during the review period. While it is best to avoid changes such as job transitions during the Permanent Residence review that alter the situation from the time of application as far as possible, if you have unavoidably changed jobs, be sure to report it to the Immigration Bureau.

Notification of the Result

If approved, a postcard will be mailed to your home. The content of this postcard is a notice asking you to come to the Immigration Bureau by the date stated, bringing the items listed on the postcard. If you receive the postcard, this means approval, so go to the Immigration Bureau to receive your new Residence Card.

If denied, a notice of denial will be sent to your home in a Nagagata No. 3 envelope by registered mail (simplified). Since the reasons for denial are only briefly stated in 1 to 2 lines, you should go to inquire about the reasons for denial in accordance with the contents of the notice of denial. When you visit the Immigration Bureau to confirm the reasons for denial, you can ask about the reasons in greater detail.

Key Points on the Permanent Residence Application Process

This page has described the flow of a Permanent Residence application. As you can see, this is an application that requires a great deal of time, including the collection of required documents and the preparation of application materials. Our office provides support from the proxy acquisition of documents obtained from various government offices (municipal offices, tax offices, the Legal Affairs Bureau, etc.) through to the preparation of the application form and the written statement of reasons, so please feel free to contact us.