Permanent Resident Visa Application from highly skilled personnel

1. What is a highly skilled personnel?

Highly skilled personnel, is a status of residence that can only be obtained by those who have a certain number of points or more as a result of calculating with the prescribed point calculation table.
It can be rephrased as a visa that can only be obtained by excellent people among those who have a Working visa.

Highly skilled personnel have many advantages, one of which is the relaxation of conditions for applying for a Permanent Resident visa.
Therefore, it can be said that it is a system that those who aim to apply for a Permanent Resident visa in Japan should be aware of.

2. Basic conditions for obtaining a Permanent Resident visa

In principle, the following three requirements must be met in order to obtain a Permanent Residence visa.

① Good Conduct Requirements
Complying with the law and living a life that is not criticized by society as a resident in daily life

② Independent Livelihood Requirements
Those who do not become a burden on the public in their daily lives, and who are expected to lead a stable life in the future in view of their assets or skills, etc.

③ National Interest Conformity Requirements
Your permanent resident of the person is deemed to be in the interests of Japan.

A. As a general rule, you must have stayed in Japan continuously for more than 10 years.
* Within this period, it is necessary to stay in Japan for at least 5 years with a work qualification (Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa, etc.) or residence qualification (Spouse visa, etc.).
B. Not being fined or imprisoned.
C. Fulfilling public obligations.
* In addition to paying taxes, public pensions and public medical insurance, it is required to properly fulfill the obligations such as notifications stipulated by the Immigration Control Act.
D. With regard to the status of residence currently held, stay in Japan with the longest period of stay stipulated by the Immigration Control Act.
*For the time being, a person with a period of stay of “3 years” will be treated as “staying in Japan with the longest period of stay.”
E. There is no risk of being harmful from the viewpoint of public health.

>> Click here for a detailed explanation of Permanent Resident Visa Requirements

3. Special provision for 10-year stay in principle

In order to obtain a permanent residence visa, as a general rule, you must have resided in Japan for at least 10 years, of which at least 5 years must have been in work or residence qualification.
However, it is a long road for those who aim to obtain a Permanent Resident visa.

On the other hand, regarding the “10-year stay in principle”, some exceptions have been recognized, and the requirements for the length of stay have been relaxed.

The following are typical examples of special exceptions for 10-year stays in principle.

Of these, the special exception explained in this column is “(5) Residence in Japan for a certain period of time as a highly skilled personnel”.

In this case, the requirements for the length of stay will be greatly relaxed, and it is possible to apply in as little as 1 year.

From the next chapter, we will explain in detail the conditions for obtaining a Permanent Resident visa from highly skilled personnel.

4. Conditions for acquiring a Permanent Residence visa for highly skilled personnel

4-1. Satisfy 70 points or more in the points of highly skilled personnel.

First, in order to be recognized as a highly skilled personnel, it is necessary to meet a certain number of points in the “Highly Skilled Professional Point System” established by the Immigration Bureau.

Specifically, a person’s highly skilled personnel points will be calculated by totaling the points for predetermined items such as academic background, work history, and annual income.
A score of 70 or higher is required to be recognized as a highly skilled personnel.

>>Click here for the conditions for obtaining a Highly Skilled Professional

And regarding the relaxation of Permanent Residence requirements, the degree of relaxation will change as follows, depending on whether the points are 70 or more or 80 or more.

As a point of caution, if you have 70 points or more, you need to have 70 points or more at both the “time of application” and “3 years ago”, and if you have 80 points or more , It means that it is necessary to have 80 points or more at both “at the time of application” and “at the time of 1 year ago”.
In other words, it does not mean that you can apply when you qualify as a highly skilled personnel.

It should be noted that, since the point sufficiency at both points is judged by “point” and “point”, it is not necessary to satisfy the points throughout the period of 1 year or 3 years.

4-2. Can be used even if you have a visa other than “Highly Skilled Professional”

As mentioned above, highly skilled personnel will be allowed to relax the length of stay when applying for a Permanent Resident visa.

Then, what if you don’t have a Highly Skilled Professional visa, but you have 70 or more points?
It would be concerned about whether the relaxation of the length of stay will be approved in the same way.

In conclusion, even for those who do not have a Highly Skilled Professional visa, if they reach the above-mentioned points by calculating the points for highly skilled personnel, the length of stay requirement will be relaxed in the same way as for Highly Skilled Professional visa holders.

In other words, for example, even if your current status of residence is “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, as long as you meet the points, you can receive the requirement relaxation without switching to a Highly Skilled Professional visa.

Therefore, highly skilled personnel with 80 points or more in the Highly Skilled Professional Point Calculation will be able to apply for a Permanent Resident visa even if they have a different type of visa with a minimum of 1 year of residence history.

5. Q&A for Permanent Resident Visa Application for highly skilled personnel

Below is a summary of frequently asked questions for highly skilled personnel when applying for a Permanent Resident visa.

6. Summary of Permanent Resident Visa Application for highly skilled personnel

Even if you have not lived in Japan for 10 years or more, if you have a certain number of points on the Highly Skilled Professional Point Calculation Table, you may already meet the requirements for applying for a Permanent Resident visa.

Please use this column as an opportunity to calculate your Highly Skilled Professional Point.
In particular, there are many cases where people who have graduated from a Japanese university and passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N1 have reached 70 points or more.

However, there are many items in the Highly Skilled Professional Point Calculation Table, and it is difficult to calculate your own points accurately.
It is also important to meet the score, but it is also important to identify when the score is met.

We can interview you about your situation and determine whether you have a certain number of points or more at the necessary time free of charge.
At the same time, we will also check whether you meet the requirements for a Permanent Resident visa application, and propose the best Permanent Resident visa application plan for you.

If you are seriously thinking about getting Permanent Residency, please feel free to contact us, Daiichi Sogo Office.

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