Japan PR requirements in 2026 and what 31 March 2027 means
2026-10-04
Your filing date decides which rules apply. Applications filed by 31 March 2027 are assessed under ISA's 永住許可に関するガイドライン (permanent residence guideline) as revised on 24 February 2026. Applications filed from 1 April 2027 fall under the revision published on 1 October 2026, which adds income, pension, Japanese-language and absence factors and longer periods for spouses and children. Throughout, ISA evaluates a tax or social-insurance payment made after its original deadline negatively in principle, even if it was paid in full before you applied.
Which guideline applies to your application
| Filing date | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Up to 31 March 2027 | Revision of 24 February 2026 |
| From 1 April 2027 | Revision of 1 October 2026, in full |
Section 第６ of the new guideline adds one exception: its household-income factor (第２の４(2)) and its "not becoming a burden on public funds" factor (第２の５(7)) also apply to applications filed on or after 1 April 2026 that were still pending on 1 October 2026. In its answers to public comments, ISA explained that permission is judged on the situation at the time of the decision, and tied the six-month reach to its 4–6-month standard processing period. The text does not mention applications filed between 2 October 2026 and 31 March 2027 separately.
Residence periods by route
| Route | Filed by 31 March 2027 | Filed from 1 April 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Work statuses and 家族滞在 (general rule) | 10 years in Japan, including 5 years on a work status (not 技能実習 or 特定技能1号) or a residence-based status | Same, but "work status" now also excludes 育成就労, 企業内転勤 and some 特定活動 |
| 定住者 (long-term resident) | 5 years as 定住者 | Same |
| Spouse of a Japanese national, permanent resident or special permanent resident | 3 years of marriage and 1 year in Japan | 5 years of marriage and 3 years in Japan |
| Child (実子等) of the above | 1 year in Japan | 3 years in Japan |
| Highly skilled professional, 70+ points | 3 years | Same |
| Highly skilled professional, 80+ points, or J-Skip | 1 year | Same |
From 1 April 2027 absences also count: within the 10 years before filing, one trip of six months or more, or 2 years 6 months abroad in total, without a reasonable reason, is evaluated negatively in principle. Spouses can read more in our spouse visa guide.
How far back ISA looks
ISA's 提出書類一覧表 (document lists) and self-check sheets set how many years of records you submit:
| Route | 住民税 (resident tax) | Pension | Health insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work statuses, 家族滞在, 定住者 | 5 years | 2 years | 2 years |
| Spouse of a Japanese national or (special) permanent resident | 3 years | 2 years | 2 years |
| Highly skilled, 70+ points | 3 years | 2 years | 2 years |
| Highly skilled, 80+ points; J-Skip | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Child of a Japanese national or (special) permanent resident | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
National taxes have no window: the 納税証明書（その3） (tax certificate no. 3) shows that nothing is unpaid on its date of issue. The table reflects ISA's current lists, checked on 4 October 2026.
The late-payment rule
The 24 February 2026 guideline says: 「公的義務の履行について、申請時点において納税（納付）済みであったとしても、当初の納税（納付）期間内に履行されていない場合は、原則として消極的に評価されます。」 In English: even if a tax or premium has been paid by the time you apply, a payment made after the original deadline is, in principle, evaluated negatively. The self-check sheet tells you to answer "No" if anything in the window was unpaid or paid after its original deadline.
The 1 October 2026 revision states it more broadly: taxes and social insurance that are not paid properly are evaluated negatively; past failures such as a 滞納処分 (enforced collection) count even if nothing is unpaid at filing; and public dues are reviewed per household. In its public-comment answers ISA said it checks payment history as far as it can be confirmed and gave no uniform look-back period.
To check your own record line by line, see resident-tax receipts and late pension payments.
The 3-year period of stay and 31 March 2027
You must hold the longest period of stay for your status; the self-check sheet asks whether you hold 3 or 5 years. Until now ISA has treated a 3-year period as the longest, and note 4 of the 1 October 2026 guideline sets how that ends. The filing date decides:
- Filed by 31 March 2027: a 3-year period of stay counts as the longest period.
- Filed from 1 April 2027: it counts only if you held a 3-year period of stay on 31 March 2027, the application is your first PR application filed from 1 April 2027, and ISA decides it between 1 April 2027 and the expiry of that 3-year stay.
Example: your 3-year stay expires on 15 August 2028 and you file your first application on 10 May 2027. The 3-year stay counts only if the decision comes before 15 August 2028. A second application filed after 1 April 2027 cannot use the rule.
Fee and processing time
- ¥200,000 for applications received from 1 October 2026, paid in revenue stamps (収入印紙) only when the application is approved.
- ¥10,000 if ISA received the application by 30 September 2026, even if it is approved later.
- ¥20,000 (reduced) only for spouses and children of Japanese nationals, permanent residents or special permanent residents who meet ISA's hardship criteria.
ISA's standard processing period is 4–6 months. Actual waits are often longer. In ISA's public consultation, commenters described waits of a year and a half to two years; ISA's reply did not give figures.
New factors for applications filed from 1 April 2027
The 1 October 2026 guideline adds or spells out these factors (listed, not ranked):
- Household income, compared continuously with the average income of Japanese households of the same size (第２の４(2)).
- Pension outlook: your projected pension compared with what 30 years of 厚生年金 (employees' pension) at that income would pay; financial assets can make up a shortfall (第２の４(3)).
- Japanese at CEFR B1 level, with exceptions such as highly skilled professionals and their families and people with 6 or more years of Japanese primary or secondary schooling (第２の５(8)).
- Understanding of Japan's rules and systems, checked by a method ISA will designate (第２の５(9)).
- School attendance of school-age children (第２の５(10)).
- Absences (above) and the per-household review of public dues.
ISA has said it will not publish the income, pension or asset amounts. Our April 2027 rules page has a calculator built on public statistics; it shows reference points, not thresholds.
Revocation for intentional non-payment from 1 April 2027
The 2024 amendment of the Immigration Control Act adds intentional non-payment of taxes and social insurance as a ground for revoking permanent residence (入管法 第22条の4第1項第8号). ISA's guideline on this starts operating on 1 April 2027. It says that being unable to pay because of illness, disaster or unemployment does not count as intentional, and that in most cases ISA expects to change the status to 定住者 rather than revoke it.
What to check now
- Your route, its residence period and its review windows (tables above).
- The period of stay and expiry date on your 在留カード (residence card).
- Every 住民税 installment in the window: the deadline printed on your 納税通知書 (tax notice) against the date you paid.
- Every month of 国民年金 (national pension) and 国民健康保険 (national health insurance) in the window, especially gaps between jobs.
- That no national tax is unpaid, so your 納税証明書（その3） is clean.
- Timing: ISA asks for certificates issued in Japan within the 3 months before you file.
- If you will file from 1 April 2027: your absences over the last 10 years, your Japanese level and your household income.
The free check reads one of your documents and counts the payments and deadlines it finds.
Sources
- 永住許可に関するガイドライン（令和８年１０月１日改定） — ISA
- 永住許可に関するガイドライン（令和８年２月２４日改訂） — ISA
- 永住許可申請 (fee, standard processing period, self-check sheets) — ISA
- 在留許可手数料の減額措置又は免除措置について — ISA
- 永住許可申請にかかる提出書類一覧表（就労資格） — ISA
- 永住許可申請にかかる提出書類一覧表（就労資格以外） — ISA
- 永住許可に関するガイドライン案改定に係る意見募集の結果について — e-Gov
- 永住者の在留資格の取消しに関するガイドラインについて — ISA
- 永住許可制度の適正化Q＆A — ISA