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Hi I'm Daichi Ito, the Immigration Law Practitioner from Kamakura international Legal Service. As a consultant on immigration procedures I've handled Application for Permanents Residency for foreign citizens who are working in Japan as Highly Skilled Professionals or does not have Highly Skilled Professional VISA but they have more than 70 or 80 points on Point-Sheet for Highly Skilled professional.
You think that you are qualified to get Permanent Residency if you have the enough points, but based on my practice on immigration procedures I found there are some point you need to care when you prepare or PR. In this article, I'll explain what you need to care when you prepare for Permanent Residency by Point-Base -System in Japan.
1. You might have issues on payment of tax and social security
To get permanent residency in Japan, you have to fulfill your public duty like tax payments on the payment of Social Security. Immigration bureau in Japan care about the payment of tax on Social Security so much since the government of Japan has been suffering with the shortage of funds on Social Security. they would like to accept foreign citizens who would like to fulfil their duty while you live in Japan.
That is why immigration officers check the condition on payment of tax and Social Security. you might think you have no problem because you're a professional who have a decent income and your company is not so small that they can’t give you so much income for you.
But if you had a history of working for foreign business in Japan or are currently working for foreign business, you need to be careful and you should check your payment record on your income tax, Residential tax and Social Security payments.
I found some foreign businesses which has an operation or a branch in Japan has not paid income tax for their staff and resident tax and some of them even does not join the pension system of Japan. They just paid for pension system in your country. In some case, the cost for social security is lower than that of Japan. So, some companies try to avoid payment of Japanese pension by putting their staff on pension system of their countries.
In this case you might have a history or record in pension system in Japan which states you does not pay pension you have to pay. You need to take some procedures to inform Japanese pension system that you already joined the pension program in your country.
2.Some times your work experience is not approved by Immigration officers
If you have points for your work experience on point-base system, you need to care if the companies you’d been working for still exist or already close their business.
you need to submit work experiences to prove you have the point which you claimed you have. But in some cases, proving that is quite difficult even though you already get work experience certificates from your former employers when you’d left the companies.
Immigration Bureau check on former employers to find whether the contents of the certificates are true.
In some cases, it is quite difficult to prove this certificate is correct because former employers have already filed for bankruptcy and Immigration Officers can’t reach the employers.
For example, when you claim you have 10 work experience as an IT consultant. Among the 10-year experience, you had a few year working experience in Japan. But later you found the former employer had already close their business so immigration officer could not check on the employer then they did not approve your 1.6 -experience and decided you does not have the 10-year experience as an IT consultant.
Daichi Ito
Immigration Law Practitioner (Gyoseishoshi) & Immigration Consultant
080-5183-4897
What you could advise
1. Immigration procedures
2. Starting business in Japan
3. Getting Permanent Residency or Nationality
4. Educational advice for International Students
5. Job hunting advice from insight of Immigration regulation