van parked beside the road near handrail and ocean

Japan Highly Skilled Professional to PR Process and Necessary Documents

by

Edit (October 12, 2022) : Fixed typos. Added some small details in required documents section.

Edit (August 4, 2021) : I have received my PR card. Updating documents required and all sections after and including “During Processing”.

Edit (April 14, 2021) : Added additional documents required for PR submission (self, proxy/agent). Filled in “Submitting Your Documents” section. Fixed typos. My PR application is currently still being processed.

Legal Disclaimer : The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice, are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should seek legal advice or other professional advice in relation to any particular matters you or your organization may have.

This guide outlines my experiences transitioning from an HSP (HSFP) Visa to Japan’s permanent residency. I have lived in Tokyo, Japan since March 2014, starting out with an Engineer Working Visa before transitioning to HSP Visa (90+ points) in April 2019. One who maintains their 80+ points after a year of holding the HSP visa will be given the opportunity to apply for Japan’s permanent residency.

The permanent residence application process may vary from individual to individual, so please do go through the “Before You Read Further” section to understand my situation and background before going through the prepared documents and process. However, one thing you should know before this is that I worked with Deloitte to process my application, and there may be documents which may NOT actually be necessary but were provided for the sake of fortifying my application or just as a just-in-case. The permanent residency application requires so much of your personal information it will be like taking off all your clothes and showing them your bare naked body… the government will give a VERY thorough screening of your situation and background so it is best to provide them with as much transparency and info as possible to reduce delays to your application.

That’s it for the disclaimer… so let’s get right into it!

Before You Read Further

Below are some additional information and assumptions I am making for the sake of letting the reader understand my situation. Like I mentioned in the preface, my situation may not be applicable to everyone.

  • I consulted Deloitte for my PR application.
  • I am an American citizen.
  • I took the HSP -> PR route instead of the normal method of 10+ years living in Japan.
  • I had 80+ points the year I obtained my HSP plus the year afterwards, qualifying me to apply for PR status.
  • My Reason Letter (more details below) was translated with Deloitte’s help.
  • My guarantor is a close friend and is Japanese (FYI you may choose to have another PR individual be your guarantor).

Please refer to this article plus others around the web for a more complete grasp of the PR process for your specific situation.

Preparation

Required Documents (Self)

For the sake of being concise, this will be in list-form with additional points underneath each for clarification purposes. If I have time I will do my best to elaborate further.

  • Passport (Copy)
  • Residence Card (Copy)
  • Portrait Photo – Picture Booths
    • Taken within three months against white background. Other requirements same as Residence Card photo.
  • Point Calculation Table for Highly Skilled Professional Status (Previous Year + Current Year)
    • One table for each year (so two tables in total)
    • Remember to sign both documents
  • Certificate of Residence (住民票 / Juminhyo) – Ward Office
    • Taken within three months. Must NOT contain personal numbers (MyNumber, Residence Card Number, etc)
    • Nationality, Visa status, etc can be included
  • Employment Certificate
    • Should contain company name, start of employment date, current salary + bonus, and position.
  • Tax Withholding Statement (源泉徴収書 / Gensen Choshu Sho)
    • Previous year’s. This was an additional document Immigration requested after my PR application was submitted.
  • Residence Tax Certificate (納税証明書 / Nozei Shomeisho) – Ward Office
    • Request for the most recent document on file
  • Residence Tax Certificate (課税納税証明書 / Kazei Nozei Shomeisho) – Ward Office
    • Request for the most recent document on file
    • Note that this will look similar to Nozei Shomeisho except with a few unmasked numbers.
  • Certificate of Income Tax Payment (国税納税証明書 その他３ – Kokuzei Nozei Shomeisho Type 03) – Tax Office
    • Note that you will need to specify WHICH categories to show. In the request form, fill in the following (manually write it if not included as an option):
      • 源泉所得税及び復興特別所得税
      • 申告所得税及び復興特別所得税
      • 消費税及び地方消費税
      • 相続税
      • 贈与税
    • This document is proof that you don’t have any missing/unpaid taxes. If there is a section where it states you have unpaid taxes, you would have a problem 😐
  • Monthly Pension Record (各月の年金記録 / Kakutsuki no Nenkin Kiroku) – Pension Office
    • Apparently Deloitte wanted me to retrieve this information from the online “Nenkin Net” site. You may need to visit the Pension Office in your ward to obtain a registration number to make your online account process smoother.
  • Bank Statement(s)
    • Bank name, account holder name, current balance, and timestamp needs to be visible. Apparently online screenshots containing all the info is OK.
  • Other documents indicating financial assets, properties in Japan
  • Letter of Reason
    • This needs to be in JAPANESE. Legal services can help with translation (for a fee)
    • Remember to sign the document. I’ve signed mine after the header and before the introduction.
    • Essentially, should contain your life before Japan, experiences in Japan, future plans, and why you want PR.
    • Wanting to purchase and own property in Japan is a VALID reason for applying for PR status.

Required Documents (Guarantor)

Please reach out to your potential guarantor and have him/her prepare the documents while you prepare your’s. Both your’s and guarantor’s documents are to be submitted together.

  • [If Necessary] Guarantor – Permanent Residence card (Copy)
    • Only if your guarantor is also PR.
  • Guarantor – Certificate of Residence (住民票 / Juminhyo)
    • Taken within three months. Must NOT contain personal numbers (MyNumber, Residence Card Number, etc)
  • Guarantor – Employment Certificate
    • Should contain company name, start of employment date, current salary + bonus, and position.
  • Guarantor – Residence Tax Certificate (納税証明書 / Nozei Shomeisho)
    • Request for the most recent document on file.
  • Guarantor – Residence Tax Certificate (課税納税証明書 / Kazei Nozei Shomeisho)
    • Request for the most recent document on file.
    • Note that this will look similar to Nozei Shomeisho except with a few unmasked numbers.
  • Guarantor – Letter of Guarantee (身元保証書)
    • Affix seal if Japanese, or sign if PR holder.

Required Documents (Proxy/Agent)

The following are required when using a proxy/agent who will submit the application in your stead. Of course, the proxy or agent should provide these documents for you to sign:

  • Proxy/Agent Request Form (依頼書)
  • Letter of Power (委任状)

Submitting Your Documents

If you are applying for PR by yourself without using a proxy, once you’ve collected everything from the above it’s time to prepare for submitting the document. You’ll need to fill out additional forms outlined below.

Bring all of the above and your actual passport and residence card (NOT copies) with you to the Immigration Services Agency or Foreign Resident Information Center for submission. Your passport and residence card should be returned to you immediately after verification.

During Processing

Once your documents have been submitted it is just a matter of waiting. However, there may be cases where Immigration will ask for additional documents. In my particular case, Immigration asked for my previous year’s tax withholding statement.

Obtaining Your PR Card

You will receive a notification from your proxy/agency or directly from Immigration if you are approved/rejected the PR.

If using a proxy/agency, mail your passport and current residence card to them and they will retrieve and mail it back to you along with your new permanent residence card. If you are applying by yourself, you may go to Immigration with your passport and current residence card to retrieve your new PR card.

Final Thoughts

Below is the complete timeline of my PR application:

2021-10-21First contact from Deloitte to start PR application.
2022-02-19All documents submitted to Deloitte, including those which my signatures were required.
(I procrastinated a bit due to end-of-year/new year reasons..)
2022-02-25Deloitte submitted my PR application to immigration.
2022-04-27Immigration asks for additional documentation (previous year’s tax withholding statement).
Provided digital copy of it to Deloitte on the same day.
2022-07-16PR application approved. Mailed my passport and current Residence Card to Deloitte
so that they can retrieve the new Residence card for me.
2022-07-22Deloitte mailed all documents (passport, old Residence Card, new PR card) to me. Fin.

Excluding the time it takes to prepare the PR application, it only took about five months from submission to approval. From other sources it normally takes longer, but I heard from another coworker that they also obtained their PR approval within the same amount of time. Note that many factors (individual qualifications, Covid, etc) may be factored in how long it takes for your own PR to be approved, but expect anywhere between 5 – 12 months for processing.

When you have PR, new options become available for you. Below are some potential perks you are now able to enjoy:

  • While your visa is active indefinitely (no time limit), you do need to renew your card every seven years. More info here.
  • Without PR banks will likely require you to pay a down payment for housing loans (approximately 10-30%). This becomes 0 if you have PR. In some cases you may negotiate 0% down payment with an HSP visa.
  • You may start your own business. It may be in any form (sole proprietorship, company, etc).
  • You may continue to reside in Japan even without a job.
  • As a disadvantage, you will now be taxed on your worldwide income. More info here.

Legal Disclaimer : The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice, are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should seek legal advice or other professional advice in relation to any particular matters you or your organisation may have.