Required documents for application from “Long Term Resident Visa”
Required documents for application from “Long Term Resident Visa”
Please visit here for more information. (Including the cases where the applicant is a spouse, biological child, or special adoptee of a Japanese national or permanent resident, even without a visa). We will guide you through the basic required documents for applying for a Permanent Resident permit (Permanent Resident) from a “long-term resident visa”. The required documents listed below are basic, and additional documents may be required depending on the applicant’s circumstances. Obtaining the appropriate documents tailored to the applicant’s situation usually requires specialized knowledge and experience. It is more reassuring to seek advice from professionals rather than invest significant effort and time only to receive undesired results. (Please feel free to make use of our office’s ” Free consultation ” service.)
| ① Permanent residence permit application form 1 copy |
| ② Photo (length 4cm x width 3cm) 1 leaf |
| ③ Letter of Reason (※1) 1 pass |
| ④ One of the following documents to prove your identity (1)1 copy of family register (certificate of all matters) (2)Birth certificate 1 copy (3)Marriage certificate 1 copy (4)Certificate of matters stated in the recognition notification 1 copy (5)Items similar to (1) to (4) above |
| ⑤ One copy of residence card (*2) for all family members (household) including the applicant |
| ⑥ One of the following documents proving the occupation of the applicant or the person supporting the applicant (1)If you work at a company etc. Certificate of employment 1 copy (2)If you are self-employed, etc. (*3) a. 1 copy of final tax return b. 1 copy of business license (if any) (3)In other cases (*4) Occupation-related manual (free format) and supporting materials as appropriate |
| ⑦ Documents certifying the most recent (past 5 years) income and tax status of the applicant and his or her dependents (1)Documents certifying residence tax payment status A. Resident tax taxation (or tax exemption) certificate and tax payment certificate for the most recent 5 years (stating gross income and tax payment status for the year) (*5) 1 copy each B. Documents proving that you have paid resident tax at the appropriate time in the last five years (copy of passbook, receipt, etc.) (*6) (2)Materials to confirm national tax payment status Tax payment certificate for withholding income tax and special income tax for reconstruction, self-assessed income tax and special income tax for reconstruction, consumption tax and local consumption tax, inheritance tax, and gift tax (Part 3) (*7) (3)others One of the following proof of income (*8) a. Copy of savings passbook as appropriate b.Documents similar to the above as appropriate |
| ⑧ Documents certifying the payment status of public pension and public medical insurance premiums of the applicant and his or her dependents (1)Documents certifying the most recent (past 2 years) public pension premium payment status (*9) A “Nenkin regular mail” (displaying pension record information for the entire period) (*10) B Print screen of “Monthly Pension Record” on Nenkin Net (*11) C. National pension insurance premium receipt (copy) (*12) (2)Documents certifying the most recent (past 2 years) public health insurance premium payment status (*13) A. Health insurance card (copy) (*14) B. National Health Insurance card (copy) (*15) C. National Health Insurance premium (tax) payment certificate (*16) D. National Health Insurance premium (tax) receipt (copy) (*17) (3)If the applicant is the business owner of a social insurance-applicable business at the time of application (*18) A. Health insurance/employee pension insurance premium receipt (copy) (*19) B Social insurance premium payment certificate or social insurance premium payment confirmation (application) form (both to prove/confirm whether there is non-payment) (*20) |
| ⑨ One of the following documents proving the assets of the applicant or the person supporting the applicant (1)Copy of savings passbook (*8) as appropriate (2)Real estate registration certificate (*21) 1 copy (3)Items similar to (1) and (2) above (*21) as appropriate |
| ⑩ Passport or Certificate of Eligibility (presentation) (*22) |
| ⑪ Applicant’s residence card (present) (*23) |
| ⑫ Materials related to identity guarantee (1)Personal guarantee 1 copy (2)The following materials related to the guarantor: Documents that clarify the identity of the guarantor (copy of driver’s license, etc.) |
| ⑬ Materials related to contributions to Japan (if any) (1)Copies of certificates of commendation, letters of appreciation, conferrals, etc. as appropriate (2)Letter of recommendation prepared by a representative of your company, university, organization, etc., as appropriate (3)Other materials related to contributions in each field as appropriate |
| ⑭ Documents proving your identity (presentation) (*24) |
| ⑮ Letter of Understanding 1 |
※1 Please check the following precautions.
・Please write in free form the reason why you need a Permanent Resident permit.
・If written in a language other than Japanese, a translation is required.
※2 Please omit the personal number (My Number), but do not omit any other information.
※3 If you are self-employed, you must prove your occupation by yourself.
※4 If both the applicant and his or her spouse are unemployed, please state this in the explanation form (free format) and submit it.
※5 Please check the following precautions.
・It is issued by the ward office, city hall, or government office of the municipality where you live.
・As long as the certificate shows both your annual gross income and tax payment status (whether or not you paid taxes), either one is acceptable.
・If certificates for the most recent five years are not issued at the ward office, city hall, or town hall of your municipality, please submit ceIf you have just arrived in Japan or have moved, and the certificate is not issued by your local ward office, city hall, or government office, please contact the nearest regional immigration office.
※6 Please check the following precautions.
・If there is a period in the last five years in which resident tax was not specially collected (deducted from salary), please submit information for that period. ・For those whose resident tax has been specially collected (deducted from their salary) for all of the past five years, the documents in (a) are not required. Please submit only the materials listed in A.
・A copy of your web passbook screen (something that shows your transaction history) is acceptable. However, this is limited to items that have been printed in a way that cannot be modified (excel files etc. are not accepted).
※7 Please check the following precautions.
・It is issued by the tax office that has jurisdiction over the place of residence. For more information, including the location of the tax office and how to make a claim, please check the National Tax Agency website.
・The tax payment certificate (part 3) certifies that there are no unpaid taxes as of the certification date for the tax item for which you are seeking certification, so there is no need to specify the target period.
・Please submit tax payment certificates for all 5 taxes.
※8 A copy of your web passbook screen (something that shows your transaction history) is also acceptable. However, it must be printed without any modification (excel files etc. are not accepted).
※9 Please check the following precautions.
・For documents that include your Basic Pension Number, please make sure that the Basic Pension Number cannot be restored, such as by blacking out the part of the number, before submitting.
・If you are enrolled in a pension other than the national pension (employee’s pension, etc.), please submit the documents in A or B.
・If you have been enrolled in the National Pension System for the past two years, please submit the documents listed in (c) in addition to the documents in (a) or (b).
・If you have continued to participate in the National Pension for the past two years, please submit the documents listed in (c). If it is difficult to submit the documents in (c) for the most recent two years (24 months), please submit a statement stating the reason and the materials in (a) or (b).
※10 Please check the following precautions.
・For those who have received the Nenkin Regular Mail in a sealed letter from the Japan Pension Service (35th, 45th, and 59th birthday month), please be sure to check the “○Nenkin Regular Mail” in the
of the enclosed documents. Please submit all documents listed in the box provided in the “Please confirm” column. ・Although there is a postcard-style regular mail sent every year, it cannot be used as a submission document as it is not possible to check all the periods. ・You can apply for the “Nenkin regular mail” (displaying pension record information for the entire period) by contacting the contact information of the Japan Pension Service. (It will take about a month).
※11 Please check the following precautions.
・Please note that “Nenkin Net” only supports Japanese and does not support foreign languages.
・Japan Pension Service Homepage You can register on Nenkin Net from here. Please note that the registration process takes up to 5 business hours.It takes several daysThere may be cases.
・For those who have been insured by the National Pension in the last two years at the time of application, the “National Pension Record (payment status for each month)” can be found in the “Monthly Pension Record”. Please also submit the printed screen.
※12 Please check the following precautions.
・If you have been enrolled in the National Pension Plan in the last two years, please submit all receipts (copies) for that period. If you have difficulty submitting your application, please submit a written statement stating the reason.
・If you have been enrolled in the National Pension for the entire period of the last two years and can submit a copy of your National Pension Insurance premium receipt (copy) for the last two years (24 months), please submit the materials in A or B. There is no need to submit it.
※13 When submitting documents (including copies) that have the insurer number and insured person’s symbol/number written on them, please do so by blacking out these numbers. Please submit the symbol/cipher in a state where it cannot be recovered.
※14 Please check the following precautions.
・If you are currently enrolled in health insurance, please submit it.
・If you have continued to enroll in health insurance for the past two years, documents A to E are not required.
※15 Please submit if you are currently enrolled in National Health Insurance.
※16 If you have been enrolled in National Health Insurance within the past two years, please submit.
※17 If you have been enrolled in National Health Insurance for the past two years, please submit all receipts (copies) for that period. If you have difficulty submitting your application, please submit a written statement stating the reason.
※18 If the business is covered by a health insurance association and it is difficult to provide the insurance premium receipt (copy) in (a), the social insurance premium payment certificate or social insurance premium in (b) issued by the Japan Pension Service will be provided. In addition to the payment confirmation (application) form, please submit documents certifying the payment status of health insurance premiums managed by the health insurance society issued by the health insurance society in your jurisdiction.
※19 engaged as a business owner in the last two years. If receipts for any period within this timeframe cannot be provided, please submit (b)
※20 Please get more information regarding The application form and application method from Japan Pension Service Homepage.
※21 You can request to issue the registration certificate online from Legal Affairs Bureau HP
※22 If you are unable to present your passport or certificate of residence status, please submit a written statement stating the reason.
※23 If a person other than the applicant is applying for permanent resident on behalf of the said applicant, please ensure that the person brings a copy of the applicant’s residence card when visiting the office. Additionally, individuals who have been granted Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted should also present the relevant permission document.
※24 For individuals other than the applicant (please refer to This page for those eligible to submit application documents) submitting the application documents, this is necessary to confirm they are eligible to do so. Additionally, even when someone other than the applicant is submitting the application documents, it is necessary to provide the applicant’s passport and residence card as specified in items 10 and 11.
“Application for Permanent Residence” (PDF・Excel), “Certificate of Guarantee” (PDF)・“Certificate of Guarantee (English)” (PDF), you can also download materials such as “Letter of Understanding” in each language, so please check them out.
If my individual income seems insufficient, would my family’s income be considered to be helpful?
As mentioned earlier, there is no specific income requirement, but a certain level of income is still required for the permanent resident application. For details, please refer to this Q&A. In cases where family members are employed, there are two possible scenarios
① If the family members are working part-time with ‘Dependent Visa’: If the individual applying for permanent resident holds a work visa and the family members are staying on a ‘Dependent Visa’ with ‘Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted by the Status of Residence,’ the part-time income of the family members is generally not considered as household income for the permanent residency application. This is because the ‘Dependent Visa’ is originally intended for non-working purposes, and it is assumed that the foreigner who invited them is supposed to provide support. Additionally, the part-time work under such permission is limited to 28 hours per week, and exceeding this limit may have a negative impact on the evaluation of the permanent residency application.
②If the applicant is on a ‘Spouse Visa” When a foreigner applying for permanent residency holds a ‘Spouse Visa,’ there are no work restrictions, it is allowed to work as either a full-time employee or a part-time employee without limitations on job type or hours. Therefore, the income of family members can be included as household income for the calculation of annual income. Furthermore, if the foreigner is married to a Japanese national or a permanent resident and residing in Japan, they are deemed to have a stronger social connection to Japan, leading a settled life in the country. This aspect is considered a positive factor in the examination process. However, if both the foreigner and their spouse are exempt from resident taxes, obtaining permanent residence may become challenging (there should be no issue if one of them is taxed). Additionally, there are cases where the family members, despite having sufficient income and working hours and not meeting the requirements for dependent family members, claim as dependents for receiving tax deductions, or inadvertently claim family members as dependents even though they are not financially supporting them actually.. Regarding such dependency deductions, the permanent resident application will become significantly stringent, so it is advisable to accurately declare dependent family members. These factors can be confirmed by the Certificate of taxation or Certificate of tax payment.
Can I apply for permanent residence with my whole family?
If a foreign national (applicant) planning to apply for permanent resident visa is living with their family, including a spouse and children, they can apply for permanent residency together under certain conditions. There is a special exemption for the Special Exception for 10-Year Residency Requirement in the permanent residency examination for the ‘spouse and children of a permanent resident.’ Assuming the applicant’s permanent residency is approved, their family members can also meet the requirements as ‘spouses and children of permanent residents,’ allowing them to apply for permanent residency simultaneously. This applies even if the family members are residing under a different residence status such as ‘Dependent’ or ‘Long term Resident’ at the time of the application.
This is because, at the point when the individual is granted permanent residency, their family is considered as ‘spouses and children of permanent residents.’ When applying for the transition from ‘spouses and children of permanent residents’ to ‘permanent residents,’ Special Exception for 10-Year Residency Requirement is applied, leading to a reduction in the residency requirements.
However, in the case of a permanent resident application utilizing 80 points or more for highly skilled professionals, the applicant, who is a highly skilled foreign professional, may be granted permanent residency in the shortest stay of 1 year. However, for their family members, operationally, if they are also on a stay of approximately 1 year, similar to the primary highly skilled foreign professional, simultaneous permanent residency may not be granted. Instead, several years of residence in Japan may be required for family members.
Therefore, the conclusion is that if you want to apply for permanent residency for your family simultaneously, it is possible if your family has “been married for over three years and has been residing in Japan for more than one year.
Editor of this article
- Ryota Yanagimoto
- Administrative Scrivener/Judicial Scrivener
At the age of 24, he passed the national examinations for judicial scrivener, administrative scrivener, and wage service manager at the same time.
While working as a full-time lecturer at a major prep school, he independently opened a legal office related to judicial scriveners and administrative scriveners,
and he has experience as a judicial scrivener and an administrative scrivener for more than 15 years so far.
He has been actively contributing to various industries such as publicly listed companies, real estate companies, financial institutions, elderly care services, and professional organizations by conducting seminars, lectures, and talks.
And now he has a record of over 60 presentations so far.
Furthermore, as the president of a Japanese language school announced by the Ministry of Justice and Acts, and an advisor to a real estate company (capable of handling foreign clients),
he has been involved in various aspects of industries related to foreigners.
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