Japan Permanent Residency: October 2026 Guideline Changes

On October 1, 2026, Japan's Immigration Services Agency (the ISA) revised its “Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence.” These guidelines set out the ISA's basic approach to the matters that are taken into consideration when it reviews permanent residency applications. Under the revised guidelines, the way an applicant's income is evaluated has changed. In addition, factors such as Japanese language ability and an understanding of Japan's systems and rules will now also be taken into consideration.

However, the new rules do not apply in the same way to every applicant. Which rules your application will be reviewed under depends on the date on which you submit it. Please note that the points you need to check differ between those who have already submitted their application and those who plan to apply on or after April 1, 2027.

If you are working in Japan and are planning to apply for permanent residency, or if your application is already under review, there are five (5) points you should check:

• Which applications are subject to the revised guidelines
• How the evaluation of income has changed
• What happens if your current period of stay is three (3) years
• What you should check before you apply
• The obligations you must continue to meet after obtaining permanent residency

When Do the Revised Guidelines Apply?

Which version of the guidelines applies to your application falls into one of three (3) categories, depending on your application date. The ISA has announced the following:

On the other hand, if you apply on or before March 31, 2027, the factors that will be added from April 2027, such as Japanese language ability and an understanding of Japan's systems and rules, will not apply to you. However, applying early is not necessarily an advantage. If you apply before your income and payment records are in order, your application may be denied under either set of standards. We recommend that you decide when to apply based on whether your own circumstances are ready.

How Is Income Evaluated Now?

To obtain permanent residency, you are, in principle, required to “have sufficient assets or skills to make an independent living.” This requirement is used to confirm whether, in light of your income and assets, you will be able to continue living a stable life on your own in the future. The revised guidelines now set out specifically how income is evaluated under this requirement.

Household Income Comparison

Under the revised guidelines, the ISA will consider whether the annual income of the household to which you belong reaches a level above the average income of Japanese households of the same size. What is compared is not your own individual income, but the annual income of your entire household, meaning the people who share your home and household finances. If you live alone, your own annual income is treated as your household income.

Furthermore, it is not only the amount at the time of application that is reviewed. Under the guidelines, whether your household income has continuously reached that level is also a factor to be considered. Even if your income exceeded the standard in a particular year, that alone will not decide the matter.

Please note that if you are an adult who is no longer a dependent of your parents, your parents' income will not be added to yours, even if you live in the same home.

Income That Cannot Be Added

Some income earned by family members living with you cannot be included. For example, suppose your spouse lives in Japan with a “Dependent” (kazoku taizai) status of residence as your dependent. Any income your spouse earns from part-time work is permitted only as an exception under a permission to engage in activities other than those permitted by the status of residence. Therefore, that income is not included in your household income.

Counting Dependent Relatives

Relatives whom you support financially are included in the number of people in your household, even if they do not live with you. This includes, for example, parents or children living in your home country whom you support. The more people in your household, the higher the income standard becomes. If your household has five (5) or more people, an additional amount for increased living expenses is added to the standard.

Spouses and Children

If you are applying as the spouse or child of a Japanese national or a permanent resident, you are not required to meet this income requirement. However, if your household is already relying on public assistance to make a living, or if there is a realistic possibility that it will do so, and there are no special circumstances explaining how this came about, this may be weighed negatively.

Temporary Drops in Income

The guidelines do not provide any special treatment for periods in which your income temporarily decreased, for example due to a job change or childcare leave. Because permanent residency is decided based on a comprehensive assessment of individual circumstances, it is important that you be able to explain, with supporting documents, why your income decreased and how it has recovered since then.

New Factors from April 2027

The revised guidelines apply in full to applications submitted on or after April 1, 2027. In addition to the evaluation of income, the following points have been expressly set out as factors to be considered.

Japanese Language Ability

The ISA will consider whether, at the time of application, you have Japanese language ability at or above the B1 level under the “Reference Framework for Japanese Language Education” (nihongo kyoiku no sansho waku).

However, this factor will not be considered where it is not deemed necessary to require the applicant to have B1-level Japanese, including, for example, in the following cases:

• Highly skilled professionals who meet the points threshold (70 or more points, or 80 or more points) under the highly skilled professional points system, or the criteria for Specially Highly Skilled Professionals, and who apply under the corresponding special rule, as well as their family members
• Applicants who have received a total of six (6) or more years of primary or secondary education under Japan's School Education Act (such as elementary school, junior high school, or high school)
• Children of permanent residents who were born in Japan (only where the parent raising the child has Japanese language ability at or above the B1 level)

Please note that the guidelines do not specify how B1-level ability is to be proven. It has not been decided that a particular level of a specific Japanese language test will be required.

Understanding Japan's Rules

The ISA will confirm, using a method designated by the Commissioner of the ISA, whether you understand Japan's systems and rules. The content will focus on matters described in the ISA's “Guidebook on Living and Working.”

School Attendance of Children

If you are raising a child of elementary or junior high school age, your child is required to be attending an elementary school or junior high school.

Time Spent Outside Japan

To obtain permanent residency, you are, in principle, required to have lived in Japan continuously for ten (10) years or more. The revised guidelines now expressly state that, as a general rule, it will be weighed negatively if, within the ten (10) years before your application, you were absent from Japan in either of the following ways without a reasonable justification:

• You left Japan for six (6) months or more on a single trip
• Your total time outside Japan adds up to two (2) years and six (6) months or more

If you spent a long period outside Japan, for example due to an overseas work assignment or to care for a family member, you will need to be able to explain the reason with supporting documents.

Expected Future Pension

The amount of pension you are expected to receive in the future, estimated based on factors such as your age at the time of application and your pension enrollment history, will also be considered. Even if your expected pension falls short of the standard, you will be treated as meeting the standard if you have savings or other financial assets that can make up the shortfall. The required amount of assets depends on your age at the time of application, and is set lower for younger applicants.

What If Your Period of Stay Is 3 Years?

To understand this point, it is necessary to distinguish between two (2) different “periods”:

Years of Residence in Japan

To obtain permanent residency, you are, in principle, required to have lived in Japan continuously for ten (10) years or more. In addition, within those ten (10) years, you must have lived in Japan continuously for five (5) years or more under a status of residence for the purpose of work, or a status of residence based on residency, such as “Long-Term Resident.”

However, some statuses of residence do not count toward these five (5) years. Under the previous guidelines, which apply to applications submitted on or before March 31, 2027, “Technical Intern Training” and “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” are excluded. Under the revised guidelines, which apply to applications submitted on or after April 1, 2027, “Employment for Skill Development,” “Intra-company Transferee,” and some types of “Designated Activities” are also excluded.

Longest Period of Stay

Separately from the above, you are required to have been granted the longest period of stay provided by law for your current status of residence. For many work-related statuses of residence, the longest period of stay is five (5) years. Therefore, if the period of stay shown on your Residence Card is three (3) years, the question is whether you meet this requirement.

Transitional Measures

The guidelines provide the following transitional measures for a three-year period of stay. Which version of the guidelines applies is determined by your application date. However, the conditions of these transitional measures also depend on when the decision on your application is made and on the expiration date of the period of stay you hold as of March 31, 2027.

• If you apply on or before March 31, 2027: The revised guidelines state that a three-year period of stay will be treated as the longest period of stay. However, the previous guidelines, which apply to these applications, state that a three-year period of stay will be treated in this way until March 31, 2027. The previous guidelines further state that, for a person who holds a three-year period of stay as of that date, it will be treated in the same way only for the first decision, and only where that decision is made within that period of stay. Therefore, even if you apply on or before March 31, 2027, if the decision is made on or after April 1, 2027, please note whether the decision will be made no later than the expiration date of the three-year period of stay you hold as of March 31, 2027 (that is, within that period of stay).
• If you apply on or after April 1, 2027: A three-year period of stay will be treated as the longest period of stay only if all three (3) of the following conditions are met:
  • You hold a three-year period of stay as of March 31, 2027
  • The application is your first application for permanent residency submitted on or after April 1, 2027
  • The decision on the application is made no later than the expiration date of the three-year period of stay you held as of March 31, 2027 (that is, within that period of stay)

If your current period of stay is three (3) years and you are considering applying on or after April 1, 2027, please check how much time remains before the expiration date, and then decide when to apply.

Even if you do not qualify for these transitional measures, you are not prevented from applying for permanent residency. However, not holding the longest period of stay is a factor that will be weighed negatively in the review. Another option is to apply after you are granted a five-year period of stay at your next renewal.

Special Rules for Spouses

Special rules shorten the ten-year residence requirement for certain applicants, such as spouses of Japanese nationals or permanent residents and those with a certain number of points under the highly skilled professional points system. The conditions differ for each special rule, and some of them have been changed by this revision.

For example, for spouses of Japanese nationals, permanent residents, or special permanent residents, applications submitted on or before March 31, 2027 require that the marriage has actually continued for three (3) years or more and that the applicant has lived in Japan continuously for one (1) year or more. For applications submitted on or after April 1, 2027, this changes to a marriage of five (5) years or more and continuous residence in Japan of three (3) years or more. For their biological children and others, the required period of continuous residence in Japan also changes from one (1) year or more to three (3) years or more. If you are considering applying as a spouse, please note that the conditions differ depending on your application date.

 

What Should You Check Before You Apply?

When applying for permanent residency, you need to gather a large number of documents depending on your circumstances. Before deciding when to apply, we recommend that you first sort out the following points.

1. Application Date

Which version of the guidelines your application will be reviewed under is determined by your application date. The points you need to check differ depending on whether you apply on or after April 1, 2026, or on or after April 1, 2027.

2. Residence Card Details

Please check the type of your current status of residence, the period of stay you have been granted (three (3) years or five (5) years), and its expiration date. If your period of stay is three (3) years, please confirm whether you meet the conditions of the transitional measures explained in the previous section.

3. Household Income Documents

Please check not only your own income but also the income of family members who share your household finances. Using documents such as your certificate of resident tax assessment and tax payment certificates, check whether your household income has continuously reached the standard. If you support any relatives, please also confirm how many there are.

4. Tax and Premium Payments

The previous guidelines, which apply to applications submitted on or before March 31, 2027, expressly state that, as a general rule, it will be weighed negatively if taxes or pension and health insurance premiums were not paid by their original due dates, even if they had been paid by the time of application.

The revised guidelines, which apply to applications submitted on or after April 1, 2027, also state that it will be weighed negatively if taxes such as income tax and resident tax, or health insurance and pension premiums, have not been properly paid. Even if there are no unpaid amounts at the time of application, as a general rule it will be weighed negatively if there was a period in which payments were not properly made, for example if you were previously subject to a delinquency disposition (a collection measure taken against unpaid amounts). As a general rule, this point is also reviewed on a household basis.

Because the period of records that will be checked differs depending on the type of application, please obtain your records early and confirm that there are no late or unpaid amounts.

5. Travel Records

Please check whether you spent any long periods outside Japan during the ten (10) years before your application. If this is difficult to confirm from your passport alone, you can also request your official records of departures and entries.

6. Immigration Notifications

Please also check whether you have made the notifications required under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, such as a notification when you change your address and, depending on your status of residence, a notification when your employer or other affiliated organization changes. As a general rule, it will also be weighed negatively if you are currently failing to make a required notification, or if it is found that you failed to make one in the past.

Your Obligations After Approval

What Changes After Approval

Once you obtain permanent residency, the work restrictions tied to your current status of residence no longer apply. You will be able to work in any industry, change jobs, take on side jobs, or start your own business. In addition, you will no longer need to renew your period of stay.

However, you must still carry your Residence Card at all times, and you will still need to renew the card itself when its validity period expires. Furthermore, as long as you live in Japan, your obligations to pay taxes and social insurance premiums, as well as your obligations under the Immigration Control Act, continue even after you obtain permanent residency.

Revocation Guidelines

The 2024 amendment to the Immigration Control Act added new grounds on which the status of residence of a permanent resident may be revoked. These are failing to comply with obligations under the Immigration Control Act, willfully failing to pay taxes or social insurance premiums, and being sentenced to imprisonment for certain crimes. In October 2026, the ISA published guidelines explaining how these grounds will be assessed. These guidelines will be put into operation starting April 1, 2027.

With respect to payments, what is covered is a “willful” failure to pay. According to the guidelines, this means deliberately not paying despite knowing that you are obligated to pay. In making this assessment, the ISA will comprehensively consider factors such as your income and financial situation, the number of times, amounts, and length of any delinquencies, your subsequent payment history, and how the delinquency came about. According to the guidelines, a failure to pay does not fall under this ground if you are unable to pay due to unavoidable circumstances such as illness, disaster, or unemployment, or if you are making payments under an installment plan or a payment deferral arrangement.

Furthermore, even if one of these grounds applies, as a general rule your status of residence will not be revoked immediately and you will not be required to leave Japan. Instead, the Minister of Justice will, on the Minister's own authority (ex officio), change your status to another status of residence, such as “Long-Term Resident.” Revocation will occur only where it is determined that it is not appropriate for you to continue to stay in Japan.

Please also note that, according to the guidelines, if it is found after the amendment takes effect that a permanent resident willfully failed to pay taxes or premiums after obtaining permanent residency but before the amendment took effect, this may also fall under the grounds for revocation. Even in this case, the decision will not be based solely on the circumstances at a single point in time before the amendment took effect, but will also take into account the person's subsequent payment history.

Please note that the review of your payment history in a permanent residency application and the assessment of whether grounds for revocation apply after you obtain permanent residency are separate systems.