Japan Permanent Residency Requirements 2026: The New Rules

November 10, 2026•21 min read

Japan still grants permanent residency (PR) after 10 years in the country with 5 of them on a work visa, after 1 or 3 years for Highly Skilled Professionals, and sooner for spouses of Japanese citizens. What changed is the bar. Under the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) guideline of 1 October 2026, household income must beat the Japanese average for your household size, and that test already applies to anyone who filed from April 2026. Applications filed from 1 April 2027 also face a pension test, B1 Japanese and a longer spouse route, and citizenship now takes 10 years in principle as well.

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Key Takeaways

Your filing date decides the rules. Filed by 31 March 2026: the old guideline. Filed 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027: the old guideline plus the new income test. Filed from 1 April 2027: the full new guideline.
Income: household income above the Japanese average for your household size. The guideline gives no yen figure; the Yomiuri reports about JPY 4.4 million for a single working person.
From April 2027: a pension test (30 years of employees' pension, or savings that cover the gap), B1 Japanese as a factor, a check that you know Japan's rules, and a written absence rule.
Spouses of Japanese nationals and PR holders: 5 years of marriage and 3 years in Japan from April 2027, up from 3 and 1. They are exempt from the income and pension tests.
Highly Skilled Professionals keep PR after 1 year (80 points) or 3 years (70 points) and are exempt from the Japanese factor.
Fee: JPY 200,000 on approval since 1 October 2026, up from JPY 10,000. Approvals in August 2026 took 309 days on average.
3-year visa holders: a 3-year period of stay counts as the "longest" one only for most applications filed by 31 March 2027.
Citizenship: 10 years of residence in principle since 1 April 2026, daily-life Japanese, and you give up your other nationality.

Which Rules Apply to You (as of November 2026)

The ISA published the revised PR guideline on 1 October 2026, with a notice on which version applies. What counts is the date you filed, not the date of the decision.

You filed (or will file)	Rules used	In practice
By 31 March 2026	Guideline of 24 February 2026	No income figure, no language or pension test
1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027	February 2026 guideline plus the new income and public-burden sections	Income above the Japanese average for your household size; no language or pension test; a 3-year visa still counts as the longest stay
From 1 April 2027	The full October 2026 guideline	Income, pension, B1 Japanese, rules check, absence rule, 5 + 3 spouse route

The middle row is the one most English summaries miss. If you filed in, say, June 2026 and were still waiting on 1 October, the ISA judges you against the new income bar even though the rest of the old guideline applies.

About 961,000 people held PR at the end of June 2026, out of 4.28 million foreign residents (ISA).

The Requirements in Detail

10 years in Japan, 5 on a work or residence status

The standard route needs 10 continuous years in Japan, at least 5 of them on a work status (such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services) or a residence status (such as Spouse or Long-Term Resident). Years on Technical Intern, Specified Skilled Worker (i), the new Employment for Skill Development status and some Designated Activities do not count as work status. Study years count toward the 10, not the 5.

One detail to check: note 2 of the new guideline also lists Intra-company Transferee among the statuses that are not "work status" in this guideline. Read literally, years on that visa would no longer count toward the 5 work years for applications from April 2027. The ISA has not explained this, so if most of your work years are on an Intra-company Transferee visa, file before April 2027 or ask a licensed immigration specialist (gyoseishoshi).

Income above the Japanese average

The guideline asks whether your household income has continuously stayed above "the average income of Japanese households of the same size". It names no statistic and no yen amount. The Yomiuri reports a level of about JPY 4.4 million a year for a single working household, from the internal affairs ministry's household survey, against an informal bar of about JPY 3 million before. The JPY 5.75 million in some reports is the average of all households, not the bar for a single person.

Your spouse's income counts, but a bigger household means a higher bar. Spouses and children of Japanese nationals, PR holders and special permanent residents are exempt from this test and from the good-conduct requirement, and recognised refugees are exempt from the income test too. A separate check that you are not a burden on public funds applies from the same dates and covers spouses as well.

This is the test that hits ordinary earners. A JET teacher starts on JPY 4.02 million and dispatch English teachers earn roughly JPY 2.5 to 3 million a year (see teaching in Japan), below the reported single-person level.

Pension (from April 2027)

Your expected pension must reach what a person earning the income bar would get after 30 years in the employees' pension (kosei nenkin). If you arrived in Japan at 40, you are likely to fall short, but financial assets that can cover the gap count instead. The asset amount depends on your age when you apply, and no figures have been published. Print your contribution record from Nenkin Net before you plan around this.

Japanese at B1 (from April 2027)

The guideline treats Japanese at B1 (on the government's CEFR-based reference framework) as a factor it considers, not a written pass or fail rule. It names no test, and as of November 2026 the ISA has not said how you prove it. Language schools such as Coto Academy place B1 between JLPT N3 and N2.

Exempt: Highly Skilled Professionals and their families, people with 6 or more years of primary or secondary school in Japan, and Japan-born children of PR holders whose parent has B1. Spouses of Japanese nationals are not on that list.

Payments, absences and other checks

Taxes, pension and health insurance get the closest look. A payment made late counts against you even if you settled it before applying, and past arrears that led to collection action count even when nothing is owed now. The ISA looks at the household, so your spouse's National Pension and health insurance matter too.
Absences: within the last 10 years, one trip of 6 months or more, or 2.5 years abroad in total, counts against you unless you had a good reason.
Longest period of stay: you must hold the longest period available for your status, usually 5 years. A 3-year period counts for applications filed by 31 March 2027; after that only if you held it on 31 March 2027, it is your first application, and the decision comes before it expires.
New checks from April 2027: knowing Japan's rules (mainly the ISA's Living and Working Guidebook, tested by a method not yet announced), carrying your residence card and filing the notifications the Immigration Act requires (such as a change of employer), and school-age children attending school.

Faster Routes: Spouses, Highly Skilled Professionals and Others

Route	Until 31 March 2027	Applications from 1 April 2027
Spouse of a Japanese national, PR or special PR	3 years married and 1 year in Japan	5 years married and 3 years in Japan
Their child	1 year in Japan	3 years in Japan
Long-Term Resident	5 years	5 years
Recognised refugee	5 years	5 years
Highly Skilled Professional, 70 points	3 years	3 years
Highly Skilled Professional, 80 points	1 year	1 year
Special Highly Skilled Professional (J-Skip)	1 year	1 year

The Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) route is the fastest for most workers. The ISA points table scores education (master's 20, doctorate 30), years of experience (7 years 15, 10 years 20), salary (JPY 8 million 30, JPY 10 million 40, with age limits on the lower bands), age (under 30 15, 30 to 34 10) and bonuses such as JLPT N2 (10) or N1 (15).

Example: a 32-year-old engineer with a master's, 7 years of experience and JPY 8 million scores 20 + 15 + 30 + 10 = 75 points, enough for PR after 3 years. Passing JLPT N2 adds 10 and makes it 85: PR after 1 year. You must keep the points for the whole period, and you can also apply from another visa if you can show you had the points 1 or 3 years ago and still do.

J-Skip skips the points: JPY 20 million a year plus a master's or 10 years of experience, or JPY 40 million plus 5 years of management experience, then PR after 1 year. HSP holders are exempt from the Japanese factor only: the income test already applies to them, and the pension test will from April 2027. Nikkei reported in August 2026 that the government plans to raise the HSP salary floor before March 2027; no amount has been published.

For how Japan compares with other destinations for engineers and academics, see the tech career and researchers guides.

Fees, Documents and Processing Time

Item	Cost as of November 2026
PR application	JPY 200,000, paid only if approved (JPY 10,000 for applications received by 30 September 2026); JPY 20,000 for some low-income applicants
Visa renewal while you wait (at the counter)	JPY 33,000 for 1 year, JPY 64,000 for 3 years, JPY 75,000 for 5 years (was JPY 6,000)
Naturalisation	No fee

The ISA PR page gives a standard processing time of 4 to 6 months. Reality is slower: approvals in August 2026 took 309 days on average from filing to notification, according to the ISA's processing statistics. Keep renewing your current visa while you wait.

A typical work-visa application includes the form, proof of employment, 5 years of resident tax certificates, a national tax payment certificate, 2 years of pension and health insurance records (a Nenkin Net printout is accepted) and a letter from a guarantor. The guarantor is normally a Japanese national or PR holder living in Japan who promises to support you if needed; immigration lawyers describe this as a moral commitment rather than an enforceable debt.

Should You File Before 1 April 2027?

You qualify now and hold a 3-year visa: yes. After 31 March 2027 the 3-year period stops counting for most new applications, and you would face the pension, Japanese and rules tests on top.
Spouse with 3 years of marriage and 1 year in Japan: file by 31 March 2027. From April you need 5 and 3.
Your income is below the bar: filing early does not help, because the income test already applies to applications filed since April 2026. Raise household income first, or look at the HSP route.
Long trips abroad or late arrival in the pension system: file before April 2027 if you otherwise qualify, since the written absence rule and pension test start then.
Late payments in your recent records: many applicants wait until the late months fall outside the period their documents cover (2 years for pension and health insurance, 5 for tax). Weigh that against April 2027: a refusal after 10 months costs more than a short delay, but a delay past March 2027 adds the new tests.

Keeping PR: Revocation From April 2027

A 2024 amendment to the Immigration Control Act lets the ISA take PR away, and its revocation guideline explains how; the ISA says it applies from 1 April 2027. The grounds are deliberately not paying taxes or social insurance (long arrears while ignoring demands, breaking instalment plans, hiding assets), breaking Immigration Act duties, and a prison sentence, even a suspended one, for listed crimes such as theft, fraud, assault or dangerous driving. Illness, unemployment, disasters, an agreed instalment plan or an employer that failed to pass on your contributions do not count, and one careless lapse with your residence card is not expected to lead to revocation. In most cases you would be moved to Long-Term Resident status rather than lose the right to stay.

The older risk is still the bigger one: PR ends if you leave Japan without a re-entry permit or stay abroad past it. The special re-entry permit covers trips up to 1 year and cannot be extended from abroad; a regular re-entry permit lasts up to 5 years.

Citizenship: 10 Years in Principle Since April 2026

The Nationality Act still says 5 years of residence (less for spouses of Japanese nationals), plus age 18, good conduct, the means to support yourself and giving up your other nationality. In practice the bar is now higher: the Justice Minister announced that from 1 April 2026 the ministry screens for 10 or more years of residence in principle, with longer checks of tax and social insurance payments, to bring naturalisation in line with PR. The Ministry of Justice's FAQ also asks for Japanese good enough for daily life, spoken and written. Whether the 10 years applies to spouses, and how applications filed before April were treated, has not been published.

You apply in person at the Legal Affairs Bureau for your address after a consultation. There is no fee, and the Maebashi bureau says it takes at least about 18 months from the first consultation to a decision. In 2025 the ministry received 14,103 applications, approved 9,258 and refused 666 (Diet record).

	Permanent residency	Citizenship
Usual residence needed	10 years (5 on a work status)	10 years in principle (5 in the law)
Japanese	B1 considered from April 2027	Daily-life level, spoken and written
Keep your passport	Yes	No, you give up your other nationality
Fee	JPY 200,000	None
Typical wait	About 10 months	18 months or more
Vote	No	Yes
Can you lose it	Yes: revocation grounds from April 2027, or leaving without a re-entry permit	Only by taking another nationality

Japan now joins the UK, which is moving to a 10-year default for settlement, and Portugal, where citizenship takes 10 years for most people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the new income rule apply if I filed before October 2026?

Yes, if you filed on or after 1 April 2026 and were still waiting on 1 October 2026. Applications filed by 31 March 2026 are judged under the February 2026 guideline. The pension, Japanese and rules tests only apply to applications filed from 1 April 2027.

How much do I need to earn for Japan permanent residency?

The guideline gives no yen figure, only household income above the Japanese average for your household size. The Yomiuri reports about JPY 4.4 million a year for a single working person. Spouses and children of Japanese nationals and PR holders are exempt from the income test.

Is JLPT N2 enough for the B1 requirement?

The ISA has not named a test or said how B1 will be proven. Language schools place B1 between N3 and N2, so N2 is likely to be enough, but wait for the ISA's method before relying on it. Highly Skilled Professionals and their families are exempt.

Can I get permanent residency in Japan in 1 year?

Yes, as a Highly Skilled Professional with 80 points held for a year, or through J-Skip (JPY 20 million with a master's or 10 years of experience). The routes survive the 2027 changes, but you must pass the income test now and the pension test for applications from April 2027.

Is naturalisation easier than permanent residency now?

No. Since April 2026 the ministry expects about 10 years of residence, the same as PR, plus daily-life Japanese, and you lose your other nationality. Naturalisation is free and gives you a vote and a Japanese passport, so it suits people sure they will stay for life.

Plan Your Next Step

If you are still choosing where to build a long-term life, run the Relocation Wizard and compare Japan with other options. In the site's data, average rent in Japan is about USD 1,131 a month against a net salary of about USD 2,077; the cost of living calculator shows what your own income buys in Tokyo or elsewhere. The Japan country guide covers visas, healthcare and daily life.

Sources

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