In the previous post, I explained difficulties of acquiring the status of “Permanent Resident”, and how many years a foreign national must reside in Japan before becoming able to apply for permanent residency. Also I wrote about the required number of years varies depending on foreign individual’s factors such as the current status of residence, educational background, and income, etc. For details, please refer to “Permanent Residence” Overview – Part 1.
In this post, I will explain that the status of residence “Permanent Resident” is not as stable and privileged as commonly thought, and about the latest amendment of Immigration Act which will make the cancellation of permanent residency easier in the near future.
(2) Status of “Permanent Resident” is not so stable and privileged as commonly thought
Your status of “Permanent Resident” may be taken away, and you may become subject to deportation (forced removal from Japan) if you happen to violate the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Act). It is important to note that the status of “Permanent Resident” is not especially preferentially protected compared to other status of residences with limited stay periods.
Certainly, except in cases of serious crimes, the status of “Permanent Resident” may preferably serve to exclude you from deportation. However, even in such cases, your status may be changed to another status of residence with a limited period as a result that the system of special permission for residence is applied. There is no guarantee that you can maintain your status of “Permanent Resident” in this regard.
Here is another disadvantage;
Foreign nationals who acquire the status of “Permanent Resident” are, of course, allowed to bring their spouses and children from their home country to Japan, but calling in parents or taking domestic servants with you is in principle not permitted. While it is possible to apply the status of residence “Designated Activities” for them, getting permission is not an easy thing.
On the other hand, under the status of residence “Highly Skilled Professional”, although certain conditions are imposed, there is a preferential treatment that allows to accompany parents or domestic servants. One of the conditions where accompanying parents is permitted, for example, is when there is a child under the age of 7 who needs to be constantly looked after.
However, a more urgent issue may not be about caring for small children residing together in Japan, but rather, how to care for elderly parents living alone in their home country.
If you already have the status of “Permanent Resident” and are engaged in business in Japan with no plan to return to your home country, and if you do not have time to leave Japan frequently to visit your elderly parent, it must be quite natural to wish to bring your parent to Japan and live together. However, there is no provision that helps a permanent residence holder to call his/her parent.
Calling in elderly parents (bringing them to live together in Japan) is a very important issue, so I plan to explain it in detail in a separate post.
(2) Latest amendment of Immigration Act that works negatively against “Permanent Residency”
The amendment of the Immigration Act that passed the Japanese Parliament on 14th June, 2024 (to be implemented within three years from the date of announcement) made it explicitly written that the status of “Permanent Resident” becomes subject to cancellation under the following conditions:
(1) failure to comply with duties stipulated in the Immigration Act
(2) failure to pay public dues such as taxes, social insurance, etc.
The condition (1) above includes minor violations or ‘careless mistakes’ such as forgetting to carry your residence card.
The condition (2) above means that cases beyond one’s control may be subject to cancellation. For example, failure to pay taxes because of unemployment resulting from illness can be a cause to lose the status of “Permanent Resident”.
In order to overcome the serious labour shortages caused by rapid aging of the population and low birth rates, the Japanese government finally gave up the traditional ‘Technical Intern Trainees’ system, which has been utilized widely under the disguise of supporting developing countries. Instead, the government are now introducing the ‘Training and Employment’ system that aims directly at securing foreign labour.
As a result of this reform, the number of foreigners in Japan will increase further, and it will naturally lead to a corresponding rise in the number of permanent residents at a certain rate. It appears, however, that the Japanese government does not like the increase of the number of permanent residents who cannot be controlled effectively in terms of their activities or duration of residence.
Foreign nationals who obtained or are seeking “Permanent Residence Permission” must have certain serious reasons necessitating this status in order to realize a stable living foundation in Japan. This time’s amendment will be obviously threat to the permanent residence holders. Let’s hope that this amendment will not be abusively used to cancel “Permanent residency”.
◎ The series of “Permanent Residence” Overview (total 2 posts) is now completed. We hope these small lectures were a little bit of your help on this subject. If you have any questions after reading them, please do not hesitate to ask us. I think it is quite natural to have questions as these posts described the subject so simply for easy understanding, and also suggested serious problems on the subject.
Questions on this subject >> “Inquiry”
Read the previous post >> “Permanent Residence” Overview – Part 1