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1. Introduction

As explained in the page of “Permanent Residence in Japan”, to get the status of “Permanent Resident”, in principle, a foreign national must make an application for permission of CHANGE of the status of residence from his/her current status of residence.

On the application for permission of change of the status of residence to “Permanent Resident”, there are a lot of documents to be submitted.

Additionally, the contents of documents to be submitted differs according to the Group of the applicant.

This article teaches you：

• Three Groups of the applicant
  
  
• Documents to be submitted by the applicants of ALL the Groups
  
  
• Documents that do NOT have to be submitted / Documents better to be submitted according to the Group

=> Jump to the conclusion of this article

2. List of Documents to Be Submitted by Applicants with Each Status of Residence

The contents of the documents to be submitted differ according to the following 3 Groups of status of residence on the application for permission of change of the status of residence to “Permanent Resident”.

• “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” and “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”
  
  
• “Long-Term Resident”
  
  
• Status of Residence for Working (such as “Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ International Services” and “Dependent”)

The following table shows the list of documents to be submitted according to the above 3 Groups.

Note that “〇” stands for “Must be submitted” and “△” stands for “Better to be (does not have to be) submitted”.

2-1. Documents that Shall Be Submitted / Documents Better to Be Submitted

As shown in the above table, there are 3 documents that differ the necessity of submission according to the 3 Groups on the application for permission of change of the status of residence to “Permanent Resident”.

• Written Statement of Reason to Need Permanent Residency
• Document Proving Asset/Property Owned by Applicant or Supporter
• Document Proving Contribution to Japan

Written Statement of Reason to Need Permanent Residency

Applicant of Group ①

Applicant of Group ① does NOT have to submit written statement of reason to need Permanent Residency.

This seems to be because there is a fact that the applicant of Group ① is spouse or child of the person who has permanent residency in Japan, and the fact itself is admitted as the reason for the applicant to need permanent residency.

In other words, Immigration Services Bureau may consider that it is natural thing for spouse and child of permanent resident in Japan to want to live in Japan together.

Applicant of Group ② and ③

Applicant of Group ② and ③ SHALL submit written statement of reason to need Permanent Residency.

This seems to be because applicant of Group ② and ③ does not have any family members with permanent residency in Japan, thus the reason why the applicant wants to get permanent residency can NOT be recognized as obviously as the case of Group ①.

Document Proving Asset/Property Owned by Applicant or Supporter

Applicant of Group ①

Applicant of Group ① does NOT have to submit document proving asset/property owned by applicant or supporter.

This seems to be because the legal requirement that the applicant of Group ① (“Spouse or Child of Japanese National” and “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”) has to satisfy is only “To Be in the Interest of Japan” requirement.

This is explained in the page of “Legal Requirements of Permission for “Permanent Residence” in Japan”.

Additionally, the fact that the applicant of Group ① does not have enough asset/property to make a living in Japan, normally, can NOT be the sole reason for recognizing that the applicant does not satisfy “To Be in the Interest of Japan” requirement.

From this viewpoint, there is no need to clarify that the applicant of Group ① owns enough asset/property to make a living in Japan.

Therefore, the applicant of Group ① does not have to submit document proving asset/property owned by applicant or supporter.

Applicant of Group ② and ③

Applicant of Group ② and ③ SHALL submit document proving asset/property owned by applicant or supporter.

This is because the applicant of Group ② and ③ must satisfy “Sufficient Asset or Skills to Earn an Independent Living” requirement to get the permission for permanent residency.

To satisfy “Sufficient Asset or Skills to Earn an Independent Living” requirement, the applicant must have the ability to make a living in Japan by him-/herself.

This is that, proving that the applicant has enough asset/property can be the proving material to satisfy “Sufficient Asset or Skills to Earn an Independent Living”.

Therefore, applicant of Group ② and ③ shall submit document proving asset/property owned by applicant or supporter.

Document Proving Contribution to Japan

Specifically, Document Proving Contribution to Japan includes the following documents.

• Certificate of commendation, Certificate of appreciation, Certificate of decoration
• Recommendation letter issued by the representative of affiliated company, university, or party
• Other documents proving applicant’s contribution to the specific fields

It is recommended to submit document proving contribution to Japan because it may give the examiner of the application a good impression.

However, proving contribution to Japan con not be considered as a material for satisfying any one of the 3 legal requirements for the permission of permanent residency (“Good Conduct”, “Sufficient Asset or Skills to Earn an Independent Living”, and “To Be in the Interest of Japan”).

Therefore, document proving contribution to Japan is NOT a necessary document for the applicant of all the 3 Groups.

2-2. Detailed Explanation on Each Document

In this section, each document in the above table is explained detailly.

Application Sheet for Permanent Residence

The format of application sheet for permanent residence is available from the following link.

External Link: Application for Permanent Residence

On the application sheet, basic information of the applicant (nationality, date of birth, name, passport number, current status of residence and so on) and confidential information (crime history, details of workplace and so on) shall be filled out.

Additionally, the sheet has the column to fill out the information on “Agent or other authorized person” because application for permanent residence can be alternatively submitted by the authorized agent (“Shinsei-Toritsugi-Sha” in Japanese).

Photo

The size of photo itself and the size of person in the photo are specified by the authority.

External Link: Photograph requirements

Document Certifying Identity of Applicant

The contents of document certifying identity of applicant differs according to the abovementioned 3 Groups of applicant.

Applicant of Group ①

• (1) In case applicant is spouse of Japanese national
  　　Copy of family register of applicant’s spouse (= Japanese national)
  
  
• (2) In case applicant is child of Japanese national
  　　Copy of family register of Japanese parent
  
  
• (3) In case applicant is spouse of permanent resident
  　　a. Marriage certificate of applicant and permanent resident
  　　b. Document equivalent to marriage certificate, which proves relationship of applicant and permanent resident
  
  
• (4) In case applicant is child of permanent resident or special permanent resident
  　　a. Birth certificate
  　　b. Document equivalent to birth certificate, that proves relationship of applicant and permanent resident/special permanent resident

Applicant of Group ② and ③

Any one of the following documents
　　(1) Certificate of family register
　　(2) Birth certificate
　　(3) Marriage certificate
　　(4) Certificate of information recorded on notification of affiliation of a child
　　(5) Document equivalent to any on of (1) to (4)

Copy of Certificate of Residence that Includes Information of Applicant and All his/her Family Members (“Jumin-hyou” in Japanese)

Copy of certificate of residence of not only the applicant but also all the applicant’s family members shall be submitted.

Document Certifying the Occupation of Applicant or Applicant’s Supporter

Document certifying the occupation of applicant or applicant’s supporter differs according to the work style of applicant/supporter.

Latest Document Proving Applicant’s or Supporter’s Income and Tax Payment Status

The contents of latest document proving applicant’s or supporter’s income and tax payment status do not differ according to the Group of applicant.

On the other hand, the QUANTITY differs according to the Group of applicant.

• Group ①: Document of latest 1 year
• Group ② and ③: Document of latest 3 years

Copy of Passport

Unlike the children born in Japan with foreign nationality, copy of passport must be submitted.

This is because those who apply for the permission to change the status of resident to “Permanent Resident” normally have passport.

Copy of Residence Card (both front and back sides)

It shall be noted that the copy of both front and back sides are required.

Document on Sponsorship

Sponsor is the person who guarantees the following matters of the applicant.

• Living expenses during applicant’s stay in Japan
• Return fee
• Compliance to Japanese laws

As it can be understood from the abovementioned matters, to sponsor the applicant is equal to declaring that the sponsor takes all the responsibility on the applicant’s finance and conduct.

The document on sponsorship is as follows.

Written Statement of Reason to Need Permanent Residency

As explained above, applicant of Group ① does not have to submit it, and applicant of Group ② and ③ must submit it.

Document Proving Asset/Property Owned by Applicant or Supporter

As explained above, applicant of Group ① does not have to submit it, and applicant of Group ② and ③ must submit it.

Document Proving Contribution to Japan

As explained above, applicant of all the 3 Groups (①~③) do not have to submit it.

3. Summary

In this article, we have explained the documents to be submitted in the application for permission of change of status of residence to “Permanent Resident”.

It shall be noted that the above explained documents are just BASIC DOCUMENTS announced by the authority.

In some cases, the applicant might have to submit the ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS to clarify that he/she satisfies all the standards for permission of permanent residency.

The points of this article are as follows:

• Three Groups of the applicant
  Those who are with:
  ➊ “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” and “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”
  ➋ “Long-Term Resident”
  ➌ Status of Residence for Working (such as “Engineer/ Specialist in Humanities/ International Services” and “Dependent”)
  
  
  
• Documents to be submitted by the applicants of ALL the Groups
  ➊ Application Sheet for Permanent Residence
  ➋ Photo
  ➌ Document Certifying Identity of Applicant
  ➍ Copy of Certificate of Residence that Includes Information of Applicant and All his/her Family Members (“Jumin-hyou” in Japanese)
  ➎ Document Certifying the Occupation of Applicant or Applicant’s Supporter
  ➏ Latest Document Proving Applicant’s or Supporter’s Income and Tax Payment Status
  ➐ Copy of Passport
  ➑ Copy of Residence Card (both front and back sides)
  ➒ Document on Sponsorship
  
  
  
• Documents that do NOT have to be submitted / Documents better to be submitted according to the Group
  ➊ Written Statement of Reason to Need Permanent Residency
  　　Group ①: Applicant must submit it
  　　Group ② and ③: Applicant had better (does not have to) submit it
  
  ➋ Document Proving Asset/Property Owned by Applicant or Supporter
  　　Group ①: Applicant must submit it
  　　Group ② and ③: Applicant had better (does not have to) submit it
  
  ➌ Document Proving Contribution to Japan
  　　Applicant of all Groups had better (does not have to) submit it

If you have some questions or points to be more deeply explained, please feel free to ask us through the contact form!

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