Highly Skilled Professional's Application for Permanent Residence

What is a Highly Skilled Professional?

• What is a Highly Skilled Professional?

The “Highly Skilled Professional Visa” is a status of residence granted to “Highly Skilled Professionals” who have cleared the criteria set by the Ministry of Justice, and is intended for those with specialized knowledge and high abilities that are particularly valued.

This visa offers preferential treatment in terms of length of stay and accompanying family members and is intended to promote stable work in Japan and economic and social revitalization.

The law stipulates that “activities falling under any of the following A to C, conducted by a person who meets the criteria specified by a Ministry of Justice ordinance as a Highly Skilled Professional, and which are expected to contribute to academic research or economic development in Japan”.

Simply put, a “Highly Skilled Professional” is a work visa issued to a person who meets certain criteria set by the Ministry of Justice (Highly Skilled Professional) to work in one of the following occupations: (a), (b), or (c).

• About the Point System

To obtain a visa, there is a “Highly Skilled Professional Point System”, in which points are evaluated based on educational background, work experience, annual income, and other factors.

Those who have earned a certain number of points (70 or 80 points or more) are eligible to apply.

For details, please refer to the point calculation table.

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930001657.pdf

• Preferential treatment

Holders of advanced professional visas enjoy preferential treatment, such as earlier acquisition of permanent resident status and longer periods of stay. It also allows family members to live with you and has more relaxed conditions than other work visas.

Specifically…

-The application for permanent residency is possible in 3 years. In addition, if you have “80 points” or more, you can apply for Permanent Resident status with a period of stay of 1 year. (If you apply through other work visas, you will need to stay 10 years before you can apply for Permanent Resident status.)

-The spouse who living together with the applicant in Japan can also work. In addition, the educational background and work experience required for other work visas are no longer necessary.

Legal requirements for Highly Skilled Professionals to apply for permanent residence

◆ Can I apply for permanent residence without a Highly Skilled Professional visa?

The special exception for a permanent residence visa from an advanced professional visa is not limited to those who already have a Highly Skilled Professional visa. Therefore, even if you have another different visa, if you meet the requirements for points and other requirements for permanent residence, you may be eligible for this special exception and be approved for permanent residence.

Simply put, even if you are not currently on a highly specialized visa, you can apply for a permanent residence visa if you have 70 points or more three years ago and at the time of application, or 80 points or more one year ago and at the time of application.

◆ Basic Requirements for Applying for Permanent Residence

There are three major requirements when applying for permanent residence visa status.

All of these conditions must be met.

The applicant’s permanent residence must be deemed to be in the best interest of Japan.

This condition consists of the following four conditions.

⚫︎ The number of years the person has lived in Japan

⚫︎ Have fulfilled official obligations while living in Japan

⚫︎ The longest period of stay for the status of residence currently held

⚫︎ Must not be likely to be harmful from the viewpoint of public health

◆ What is the preferential treatment for Highly Skilled Professionals?

Highly Skilled Professional applicants are given preferential treatment in terms of the number of years they are required to live in Japan.

Normally, more than 10 years of continued stay in Japan is required to obtain a permanent residence visa, but as a special exception, the number of years of stay is reduced to “3 years” or “1 year” for those with Highly Skilled Professionals.

Therefore, the minimum period of stay is “3 years” for those who score 70 or more to less than 80 points in the Highly Skilled Professional point calculation,

Those with 80 points or more will be able to apply for a permanent residence visa in as little as “1 year”.

Required documents for Highly Skilled Professionals applying for permanent residence

⚫︎ For those who have been continuously residing in Japan for more than 3 years with 70 points or more → 3 years’ documents

⚫︎ For those who have stayed in Japan for more than 1 year with 80 points or more → 1 year’s documents

*1 Please note the following points:

　 -Please write the reason why you need a permanent residence visa using an open-ended format.

　 -If you are writing in a language other than Japanese, a translation is required.

*2 Please omit the personal number (My number), but do not omit other items.

*3 Self-employed Applicants must provide proof of their occupation.

*4 If neither the applicant nor his/her spouse is unemployed, please submit a letter of explanation (any form) to that effect.

*5 Please note the following points:

　  -The application form is issued by the ward office, city hall, or town hall of the municipality in which you reside.

　  -As long as the certificate shows both your annual gross income and tax payment status (whether or not you have paid taxes), either one is acceptable.

　  -If the ward office, city hall, or town hall of the municipality has not issued certificates during the last 3 years, please submit the certificate for the longest period for which it can be issued.

　  -If the certificate is not issued by the ward office, city hall, or town hall of your city, ward, town, or village due to a change of address or shortly after you enter Japan, please contact the nearest regional immigration office.

*6 Please note the following points:

　  -If you have not had any special resident tax withheld from your salary in the last 3 years / 1 year, please submit the relevant tax for the relevant period.

　  -If you have been subject to special resident tax collection (deducted from your salary) for all of the last 3 years / 1 year, you do not need to submit the documents listed in B. Please submit only the documents listed in A.

　  -A printed copy of the screenshot of a web passbook (which shows the transaction history) is acceptable. However, the documents must be printed out in a form that cannot be altered (e.g., Excel files are unacceptable).

*7 Please note the following points:

　  -The tax office with jurisdiction over your address will issue the certificate. Please refer to the website of the National Tax Agency for details on the location of the tax office and how to request the certificate.

　  -The Certificate of Tax Payment (No. 3) certifies that there are no unpaid taxes as of the date of certification for the tax category for which the certification is sought, so it is not necessary to specify the applicable period.

　  -Please submit tax payment certificates for all five tax categories.

*8 A printed copy of the screenshot of a web passbook (which shows the transaction history) is acceptable. However, the documents must be printed out in a form that cannot be altered (e.g., Excel files are unacceptable).

*9 Please note the following points:

　  -Please submit documents that contain the basic pension number in such a way that the basic pension number cannot be revealed, for example by blacking out the part of the number.

　  -For A to C, if you are enrolled in a pension plan other than the National Pension Plan (e.g., Employees’ Pension Plan), please submit the documents listed in A or B.

　  -If you have been a member of the National Pension Plan for the last 2 years / 1 year, please submit the documents listed in C in addition to the documents listed in A and B.

　  -If you have been continually a member of the National Pension Plan for all of the last 2 years / 1 year, please submit the documents listed in C. If it is difficult to submit C for the last 2 years / 1 year, please submit a statement of reasons and the documents indicated in A or B.

*10 Please note the following points:

　　-If you have received the “Pension Schedules” in a sealed envelope from the Japan Pension Service (for your 35th, 45th, or 59th birthday month), please submit all the documents listed in the “○ Pension Schedules (Please confirm)” Column in the Table of Contents among the documents enclosed in the same envelope.

　　-Please note that although there is a postcard form of the Pension Schedules that is sent every year, it cannot be used as a document to be submitted because it does not confirm all the periods of enrollment.

　　-You can apply for the delivery of a “Pension Schedules” (which shows the pension record information for the entire enrollment period) by contacting the Japan Pension Service (it takes about two months from the application to the delivery).

*11 Please read the following precautions.

　　-Please note that “Nenkin Net” is available only in Japanese and not in any other language.

　　-You can register with Nenkin Net from the Japan Pension Service website. The registration procedure may take up to 5 business days.

　　-If you have been insured under the National Pension Plan for the last 2 years / 1 year, please also submit a printout of the “National Pension Plan Pension Record (Payment Status for Each Month)” in the “Pension Record for Each Month” section of the application form.

*12 Please note the following points:

　　-If you have been a member of the National Pension Plan for the last 2 years / 1 year, please submit a copy of all receipts for the relevant period. If you have difficulty in submitting these documents, please submit a statement of reasons explaining the difficulty.

　　-If you have been a member of the National Pension Plan for all of the last 2 years / 1 year and can submit a copy of the receipt of National Pension Insurance premiums for the last 2 years / 1 year (24/12 months), you do not need to submit the documents listed in A or B.

*13 When submitting documents (including copies) that contain the insurer’s number and the insured person’s symbol or number, please black out the part of these numbers or otherwise make it impossible to reveal the insurer’s number and the insured person’s symbol or code before submitting the documents.

*14 Please note the following points:

　　-Please submit if you are currently enrolled in health insurance.

　　-If you have been continuously enrolled in health insurance for all of the last 2 years / 1 year, you do not need to submit the documents listed in B through D.

*15 If you are currently enrolled in National Health Insurance, please submit the document.

*16 If you have been enrolled in the National Health Insurance system for the last 2 years / 1 year, please submit the document.

*17 If you have been enrolled in National Health Insurance for the last 2 years / 1 year, please submit all receipts (copies) for the relevant period. If you have difficulty in submitting these documents, please submit a statement of reasons for the difficulty.

*18 If you are an applicable business office under the jurisdiction of a health insurance association and it is difficult to provide the certificate of premium receipt (copy) in A, please submit the certificate of social insurance premium payment or the confirmation of social insurance premium payment (application) form in B issued by the Japan Pension Service, as well as a document certifying the payment status of health insurance premiums issued by the health insurance association of the jurisdiction you live in.

*19 Please submit all receipts (copies) for the period in which the applicant (business owner) is the business owner within the last 2 years / 1 year. If you are unable to submit receipts (copies) for all periods, please submit B.

*20 Please refer to the Japan Pension Service website for the application form and application procedure.

*21 For points earned 3 years / 1 year before applying for permanent residence, please calculate them based on the current point calculation table. However, in addition to ⑨, please also submit a point calculation table for highly-skilled professionals as of 3 years / 1 year ago and documents that show the items that were eligible for points at that time. This does not apply if it can be proven that the applicant had 70 or 80 points or more at the time based on the calculation based on the professional point calculation table.

*22 Please note the following points:

　　 -Please submit documents that can confirm that the total points are 70/80 or above. It is not necessary to submit the proving documents for all applicable items.

　　 -Basic examples of the certification materials are listed in the Highly Skilled Professionals Point Calculation Table.

*23 The Certificate of Registered Matters can be requested online from the website of the Legal Affairs Bureau.

*24 If the applicant is unable to present a passport or certificate of eligibility, a statement of reasons must be submitted.

*25 If someone other than the applicant is applying for a permanent residence permit for the applicant, the applicant should carry a copy of the residence card, and the person coming to the office should bring the applicant’s residence card. If that person has been issued with a Permit to Engage in Activities Other Than That Permitted Under The Status Of Residence Previously Granted, please also present the permit.

Summary

Even if you do not have a Highly Skilled Professional visa, you may be able to fulfill the requirements for a permanent residence visa even if you have not lived in Japan for more than 10 years if you have a certain score in the Highly Skilled Professional point calculation.

It is also important for Highly Skilled Professional applicants to apply for permanent residence at the appropriate time after accurate point calculations.

We support permanent residence applications in a friendly, courteous, and speedy manner while carefully listening to the applicant’s situation and other details, providing the peace of mind and satisfaction that only a specialist can offer.

Related Blogs

We are Yanagi group, which have offices in Osaka (Abeno and Tennoji), and our affiliated offices in Tokyo (Shibuya and Ebisu) are also available for an on-site consultation. We have handled many applications for permanent residence permits, naturalization permits, work visas, college student visas, management visas, etc., as well as visa renewal procedures related to the status of residence with the Immigration Bureau (Immigration Bureau) as a one-stop service. Our experienced administrative scriveners are also available to help you with any problems you may have.

We also have staff members who can speak each of the native languages and can assist you in obtaining a visa.

※If you wish to be consulted in Nepali or Bengali, please inform us in advance via our website or social media, and the translator will contact you ahead of time.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your status of residence or visa, even if they are trivial.

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