Gaining permanent residency in Japan
 

My info is not the most up to date, so more experience people (Like MMM, Nyorin, James... etc), please correct this

I want to post this up, as info for people who want to stay in Japan. If you are reading this because you want to stay in Japan, pleaes read through this thread.

These are the legal ways for you to gain residency in Japan. If you don't have one or more of the following, then you cannot become a resident legally. Don't waste our time with stupid delusional questions.

To get permanent residency in Japan you will need

1. A source of income. Meaning a job, a job that is willing to sponsor you for your visa. This means a 4 years university degree from a recognized institute that the hiring company like, or special skills that cannot be acquired within Japan. Degrees from a degree mill or a non accredited university doesn't count....

2. Married to Japanese who want to reside there - I made this mention because a friend of mine married a Japanese girl thinking that it will also give him the right to live in Japan, except that the girl actually wanted to move to Canada so he is back in Canada now....

3. A business establishment - This I will need more info on. Its only something I THINK can qualify you to live in Japan, is to start a business. Its like immigration by means of investment. You cannot just claim to start a home office though, there is a requirement that you need to qualify for, and as far as I know, the starting capital is not a small amount, and you need a good plan to demonstrate how much income you will generate, how many jobs you will introduce to the market and such.. basically, $$$$ and a very well written business plan

Cultural exchange visa, student visa and WHV does NOT give you permanent residency, but can be considered a stepping stone. For example, if you are on a student visa studying neurology at Todai, and they decide to keep you to do research after you graduate from your PHD, thats totally different. That will be the same as getting a degree and getting sponsorship

EDIT: Update on point 3 above - found this info on Hiragana Times:

Visa Information - Visa for Japan

In order to start a business in Japan, you need to have an "investment and management" visa. After entering Japan with a short-stay visa and carrying out preparations to set up a company, etc, please apply for the Certificate of Eligibility before you leave Japan.

In the case of an investment and management visa, there are some important points to note: (1) you have to find a location for the company. If you combine it with your residence, it should have more than two rooms with at least one room set aside for company use. (2) You are also required to invest a considerable amount of money in your business. The amount should be enough to manage management policy, which is considered to be at least five million yen. Also, prepare the relevant statements to show this amount. (3) You will also need to examine the scale of the business and create a 1-year business plan.

Regarding the investment and management VISA- JETRO has recently publicised that the capital needed to start most types of foreign company in Japan is only 1 yen now. This makes it a little more accessible. However, you'll still, more than likely, need to invest in an accountant or lawyer to help you set up the business, and there are significant costs involved in the application process. More info can be found at http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/set...setting_en.pdf

you do not need to be married to a Japanese. Being married to another permanent resident works as well.

Also, workig in Japan on a working visa for 7 or 10 consecutive years, i don't remember exactly, (unless they've changed it) wil also allow you to start application process.

Whichever way you go, you need to go through the long term resident / spouse visa first. This stage is 5 years

Student visa counts as residence, so if you change the status from student to long term resident (as I did) it will count towards your 5 years of residency perdiod, that is required for lunching the permanenet residency application.

@Daisaku You do not need the lawyer, accountant is advisable though. Yugen is not that expensive, 120k or so, including the stamp, plus accountant fees. And before you go to JETRO make sure they do research on your area of interest firrst, or otherwise it will be a waste of time.

Thats good info. Thanks! so basically, you need to find ways to get a visa first.. then take it from there...

that is it. :) and converting tourist to student (or any other visa) is made easy now (if i am not mistaken) as you do not have to return to your country, as it was before.

Just to reiterate, its the PROCESS thats easy, people still need to meet a certain requirements to get the initial visa, or to change it to a different visa... I didn't want dumb kids coming here seeing the word "EASY" and start dreaming that its easy to just get in, get some kind of visa and stay for good

it ain't easy to live and persevere, but the process, if you have all necessary docs, is a formality. However, there are issues. For example, my friend got a red speeding ticket (above 6 points i beleieve) and this alone has stopped his perm. resident app. process. He had to start over. Got to remember this is a manual country. If you do not fit the manual definition, you're screwed.