VISA Information
Visa Q&A List - VISA Information
Cautions on Applying for a Permanent Visa
While I have been staying in Japan totally for more than ten years, I quite often used to leave and return to the country. Will this cause me any problems when applying for PR?
After you obtain a permanent visa, you will be able to engage in any occupation and as your social credibility increases, it becomes less difficult to get a house loan; however, the conditions required for it are not so easy.
If you marry a Japanese or a non-Japanese who has a permanent visa, you are qualified to apply for a permanent visa after three years, but for those who enter Japan with a working visa, it is essential that more than ten years should have passed since entering Japan. It is necessary for you to have stayed in Japan without your visa expiring for either three years or ten years.
Many Westerners who can easily enter Japan with a temporary visa, tend to leave the country on business and their visa expires while overseas, but they can then reenter the country with a temporary visa again. Many of them think it is possible for them to apply for a permanent visa as they have stayed in Japan for three or ten years in total. In this case, unfortunately, it is difficult for them to obtain a permanent visa.
Non-Japanese who plan to apply for a permanent visa, should first check the date of their permission to enter Japan written on their alien registration card. It is possible for them to apply for a permanent visa if ten years have passed since the date. (Only for those foreigners who have a working visa.)
Advisor: NIITSU Kyohei (Immigration Lawyer)
