Figures, prices and terms were checked against the Immigration Services Agency’s Guidelines on Permission for Permanent Residence, including the version revised on 1 October 2026. They change — check the current terms yourself before you sign up or file anything.
Last updated: October 2026 (covers the 1 October 2026 guideline revision and the revocation system starting April 2027)
Summary
- You normally need 10 years in Japan. But there are big exceptions – 3 years of marriage plus 1 year of residence for spouses of Japanese nationals (5 years plus 3 for applications from April 1, 2027), and as little as 1 year for Highly Skilled Professionals.
- For applications from April 1, 2027, your residence card must show a 5-year period of stay. The allowance for a 3-year card ends with applications made by March 31, 2027.
- The permanent residence guidelines were revised on 1 October 2026. From applications made on or after April 1, 2027, screening looks at Japanese ability (B1 level), household income, projected pension and more.
- The same day, a revocation system for permanent residence begins. It targets people who deliberately refuse to pay taxes and social insurance.
- But it requires intent and bad faith. Being unable to pay because of illness or job loss is not what this is aimed at. And revocation does not mean immediate deportation.
- Screening looks at 5 years of resident tax and 5 years of proven income, and 2 years of pension and health insurance. The only preparation that works starts today: keep paying.
Knowing this, you can work out today, from the period of stay on your own card, when you need to apply.
Permanent Residence (永住 eijū) removes the limit on how long you can stay and the limit on what work you can do. It is not naturalization – you keep your original nationality.
This article reflects the February and 1 October 2026 guideline revisions and the revocation system starting April 2027. If you are reading guides written last year, part of what you know is now out of date.
- First: how many years do you need?
- You may not have to wait ten years (the points system)
- How much income do you need?
- February 2026 revision: your card must say 5 years
- April 2027: permanent residence can now be revoked
- There is only one thing you can do today
- 1 October 2026: B1 Japanese, pension and income join the screening
- The revocation criteria are now final
- Don’t confuse this with the news
- FAQ
- In short
- Related guides
First: how many years do you need?
The rule is 10 years, including at least 5 years on a work-based or residence-based status. Five years as a student plus five years working after graduation adds up to ten (Immigration Services Agency: Guidelines on Permission for Permanent Residence, in Japanese).
But the exceptions are large. Check whether one applies to you before assuming you have a decade to wait. For example, people of Japanese descent and people who changed status after divorcing a Japanese spouse may hold Long-Term Resident status, which needs only 5 years. The exceptions for spouses of Japanese nationals and permanent residents, and for their children, get longer for applications from April 1, 2027 (see the revision section below).
Besides the years, you need good conduct (no criminal record – repeated minor traffic violations over the past 5 years are also looked at, and since April 2026 bicycle violations can get blue tickets too) and a guarantor (a Japanese national or permanent resident with stable income).
You may not have to wait ten years (the points system)
Ten years is the general rule. But there is a route that shortens it, based on points. The Highly Skilled Professional points system scores your education, career, income, age and Japanese ability, and adds them up.
Permanent residence at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Standard residence | 10 years or more in a row, including 5 years or more on a work or residence status |
| Highly Skilled, 70 points or more | 3 years (3 years or more keeping the points, or 70 or more when scored as of 3 years ago) |
| Highly Skilled, 80 points or more | 1 year (1 year or more keeping the points, or 80 or more when scored as of 1 year ago) |
| Spouse of a Japanese national or permanent resident | For applications from 1 April 2027: marriage life of 5 years or more plus 3 years or more of residence. Their children: 3 years or more of residence |
| Long-Term Resident | 5 years or more in a row on the Long-Term Resident status |
| Period of stay on your card | You need the longest period of stay. Until 31 March 2027, 3 years still counts. From 1 April 2027, 5 years in principle (with a transitional rule) |
| Time outside Japan | In the 10 years before you apply, 6 months or more in one trip or 2 years 6 months or more in total, without good reason, is normally assessed negatively |
| Japanese ability | From applications on or after 1 April 2027, B1 level or above is looked at (not required for some people, such as Highly Skilled Professionals and their families) |
| Period checked in your documents | Resident tax certificates and payment records for the last 5 years; pension and health insurance payment records for the last 2 years |
| Revocation system | Starts 1 April 2027. Covers deliberately not paying taxes or public charges, among other things; it does not apply where there is an unavoidable reason and you are not at fault |
Hold 70 points or more as a highly skilled professional and stay three continuous years – or be recognised as having had 70 points three years before you apply – and three years is enough. At 80 points it drops to one year.
Honestly: this route is not open to everyone. The points are weighted heavily toward education and income, and someone fresh out of language school or newly in work will usually not reach the threshold.
It is still worth knowing. Points rise as your salary rises and as you pass Japanese language exams. People who cannot reach it now do reach it a few years later. Living as though ten years is the only road, versus watching your points, leads to different choices about which job to take.
How much income do you need?
You must be able to support yourself. No fixed amount has been published. The February 2026 guidelines only say you must not be a burden on the public and must be expected to live stably on your own assets or skills. The 1 October 2026 revision adds a check on whether income is above the average income of a Japanese household of the same size (see the revision section below).
How much you can legally earn depends on your status. See How much can you earn on your visa?
February 2026 revision: your card must say 5 years
This is the part people get wrong. What changed is not “how many years you have lived here.” It is “the length of the period of stay printed on your residence card.”
Until now, a 3-year period of stay was treated as if it were the “longest” one, as a special allowance. That allowance ends with applications made by March 31, 2027. For applications from April 1, 2027, you generally need a 5-year period of stay.
If you apply by March 31, 2027, a 3-year period still counts as the longest one. There is also a transitional rule. For an application made on or after April 1, 2027, a 3-year period still counts if you held it on March 31, 2027, it is your first permanent residence application from April 1, 2027, and the decision is made before that 3-year period expires. Both points are in note 4 of the permanent residence guidelines revised on 1 October 2026.
The risk to watch: if your renewal after April 2027 gives you 3 years again, you cannot apply for permanent residence until a later renewal gives you 5. Every renewal or status change should be treated as an attempt to reach 5 years.
April 2027: permanent residence can now be revoked
The 2024 amendment to the Immigration Control Act created a system for revoking permanent residence. It takes effect on April 1, 2027, and it applies to people who already hold permanent residence. The dates are on the Immigration Services Agency page on the 2024 amendment (in Japanese).
There are three grounds:
- Deliberately failing to pay taxes or social insurance premiums
- Violating notification duties under the Immigration Act (for example, not reporting a change of address)
- Being sentenced to imprisonment for a serious crime
Be precise here: it requires intent and bad faith
A lot of alarming coverage skips the condition attached to this. Revocation requires that the non-payment be deliberate and in bad faith.
Being unable to pay because of illness or unemployment is not what this system is aimed at. The fact that you had no money, on its own, does not get your status revoked (Immigration Services Agency Q&A on permanent residence, Q9, in Japanese).
And revocation does not mean immediate deportation. Taking into account your circumstances in Japan and your family situation, a change to a status such as “Long-Term Resident” is normally considered. Revocation and the change of status are two separate decisions.
There is only one thing you can do today
The payment slips pile up, and you clear them all in a month when money is easier. Where you come from, paying in full at the end may close the matter. In Japan’s permanent residence screening, the late payment itself stays on the record, and you cannot erase it afterwards.
Keep paying. That is the whole preparation.
The screening periods are fixed (Immigration Services Agency: documents for a permanent residence application, in Japanese):
- Resident tax and proof of income: the most recent 5 years
- Pension and health insurance: the most recent 2 years
Think about what those numbers mean. By the time you decide to apply, the last five years are already written. You cannot go back and fix them.
The thing most people miss is late payments. Even if you paid in the end, the delay stays in the record. For National Health Insurance and National Pension, set up automatic bank transfer and stop thinking about it. See National Health Insurance explained and Part-time work and taxes.
And from April 2027, this continues after you get permanent residence. That is the real change: it is no longer something you get and then forget about.
1 October 2026: B1 Japanese, pension and income join the screening
The three items this page used to describe as “under consideration” were published as a draft revision on 4 August 2026 (e-Gov public comment page for the draft). The public comment period ran to 3 September and drew 5,180 comments, and the guidelines were revised on 1 October 2026 (Immigration Services Agency, results of the public comment, PDF in Japanese; Guidelines on Permission for Permanent Residence, revised 1 October 2026, in Japanese). What follows uses the wording of the guidelines, not the news coverage.
Two different start dates
The revised guidelines apply to applications made on or after 1 April 2027 (section 6, timing of application). For those applications, all of the revision applies, income included. But two parts, income and “not becoming a public burden”, also apply to applications made on or after the date six months before the revision date (1 October 2026) and still under review on that date. If you applied on or after 1 April 2026 and had no decision by 1 October, your income is judged by the new standard.
Japanese ability: CEFR B1, not JLPT N2
The news reported “N2 level”. What the guidelines actually specify is “B1 level or above” on the Japanese language reference framework (based on the CEFR) – the “independent user” level. You can check it in the revised permanent residence guidelines (in Japanese). It may not be required of Highly Skilled Professionals and their families, people who spent a total of six years or more in Japanese primary or secondary education, or children of permanent residents born in Japan whose parent has B1 or above.
Alongside it, applicants with a poor understanding of Japanese systems and rules are assessed negatively. Understanding is checked mainly against the government’s Guidebook on Living and Working.
Income: above the average Japanese household
Until now no fixed threshold had been published. The guidelines now look at whether income “continuously reaches a level exceeding the average income of a Japanese household of the same size”. That is a raise, not a clarification.
And a genuinely new requirement appears. Your projected future pension must reach the level of someone who paid into the employees’ pension for 30 years at that income. Where it falls short, financial assets that could make up the difference are also considered.
The rest
- Children’s schooling – not enrolling a school-age child in compulsory education is assessed negatively
- The spouse exception gets longer – spouses of Japanese nationals and permanent residents currently qualify after 3 years of marriage and 1 year of residence. For applications from April 1, 2027, this becomes 5 years and 3 years, and their children need 3 years instead of 1
- Time outside Japan – leaving Japan without good reason for six months or more in one trip, or two and a half years or more in total, during the 10 years before you apply is normally assessed negatively
- For the first time the guidelines state plainly that permanent residence is “the most stable legal status, in which a person is expected to spend their entire life in Japan”, and therefore requires particularly careful screening
One more draft is moving separately. A five-year period of stay is to be added for Specified Skilled Worker (ii), expected to be promulgated in early 2027, explicitly so that the “longest period of stay” requirement for permanent residence lines up with other work statuses.
The revocation criteria are now final
Draft guidelines for how the April 2027 revocation system will be operated were published the same day and adopted without changes on 1 October 2026 (Immigration Services Agency, guidelines on revoking permanent residence, in Japanese). What matters to you is less what gets your status revoked than what does not.
The guidelines state that non-payment “does not fall under this provision where there are unavoidable circumstances and the person is not culpable”. Two examples are given explicitly.
Explicitly listed as NOT grounds for revocation
- Illness, disaster or unemployment – unavoidable circumstances
- Responding to demands, showing willingness to pay, and being granted instalments or a deferral
That is the most useful line on this page. Being unable to pay is not itself grounds for revocation. What counts against you is where it is “clear there is no intention to pay in future”, or where the amount and duration of arrears are socially unacceptable.
So the answer is the same whether it is health insurance you cannot pay or the National Pension. Do not ignore it – go to the counter and arrange instalments or a deferral. Having that on record is what protects your status.
There is also a route short of revocation. Where revocation is not warranted, the status can be changed ex officio to “Long-Term Resident” and reviewed at subsequent renewals. And reporting by national or local government is not mandatory.
Don’t confuse this with the news
Everything above is in the guidelines revised on 1 October 2026. They apply to applications made on or after 1 April 2027; only income and “not becoming a public burden” also apply to applications made from 1 April 2026 and still under review on 1 October 2026.
If you see something stating flatly that “N2 will be required”, check the source. The guidelines specify B1, which is not N2.
On top of the five-year period of stay and the revocation system, the way Japanese ability, income and pension are judged is now settled in the guidelines.
FAQ
Q. I’ve lived here 10 years. Can I apply now?
A. Years alone are not enough. You also need 5+ years on a work-based or residence-based status, sufficient income, a clean payment record for taxes and social insurance, and a guarantor. And from April 2027, a 5-year period of stay on your card.
Q. My card says 3 years. What should I do?
A. If you apply by March 31, 2027, a 3-year period counts as the longest one. For an application made on or after April 1, 2027, the same treatment applies if you held the 3-year period on March 31, 2027, it is your first permanent residence application from April 1, 2027, and the decision comes before that period expires (guidelines, note 4). If you cannot make that, aim to get 5 years at your next renewal.
Q. I was once late paying my taxes. Will my permanent residence be revoked?
A. Revocation requires deliberate, bad-faith non-payment. Falling behind because of illness or job loss is not what the system targets. But it does stay in the record, so pay on time from now on. If you are worried, consult an immigration lawyer (行政書士 / gyōsei shoshi).
Q. If my permanent residence is revoked, do I have to leave Japan?
A. Not immediately. Based on your circumstances and family situation, a change to a status such as “Long-Term Resident” is normally considered. Revocation and the change are separate decisions.
Q. What is the difference between permanent residence and naturalization?
A. Permanent residence is a residence status. Naturalization is taking Japanese citizenship. With permanent residence you keep your original nationality and you cannot vote. Naturalization normally means losing your original citizenship.
Q. Should I take the JLPT for permanent residence?
A. For applications made on or after April 1, 2027, Japanese ability at B1 level or above is looked at (guidelines revised on 1 October 2026). JLPT N2 is not what they say. Some people, such as Highly Skilled Professionals, are not asked for it. Japanese ability also widens your job options, which makes the income requirement easier to meet. Learn kanji with elementary school drills covers a way to study that costs almost nothing.
Official source: Immigration Services Agency: Guidelines on Permission for Permanent Residence / Immigration Services Agency: the 2024 amendment / Immigration Services Agency: Q&A on permanent residence / Immigration Services Agency: application documents / e-Gov public comment (case 315000140) / draft revised guidelines (PDF) / guidelines revised 1 October 2026 / public comment results (PDF) / revocation guidelines (adopted 1 October 2026) (checked 26 September 2026; the 1 October 2026 guidelines, public comment results and revocation guidelines checked 8 October 2026)
In short
The baseline is 10 years – but the exceptions for spouses and Highly Skilled Professionals are large, so check which one applies to you first.
Permanent residence is also the status that lets you stay after you stop working. Whether you can retire here, and what the 10-year pension line means, is in our guide to retiring in Japan.
Three things change on April 1, 2027. Applications will generally need a 5-year period of stay on your card, permanent residence becomes revocable, and the guidelines revised on 1 October 2026 bring Japanese ability, income and pension into the screening. Do not mix up “how long you have lived here” with “the number printed on your card” – only the second one changed. Permanent residency also opens Flat 35, the Japan Housing Finance Agency’s mortgage. If a home is part of your plan, see mortgage conditions and taxes for foreigners buying a house.
Revocation is limited to deliberate, bad-faith cases, and it does not mean immediate deportation. This is not something to panic about.
But screening looks at 5 years of tax records and 2 years of pension and health insurance. By the time you decide to apply, your past is already fixed. The only preparation available today is paying on time.
Related guides
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WHO WROTE THIS
mori
Japanese. I read the ministries’ own notices, orders and Q&As in the original, and I start from what my Nepalese and Sri Lankan friends in Japan actually ran into. I do not write about what I have not checked or been told.
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