Permanent Residency in Japan

[Febjanza]

Originally Posted by Glenski

Supposedly, beginning in 2012, PR holders will be able to leave the country for 1 year without a reentry permit, but after that they will need one. The whole reentry permit system is changing then. So are alien registration cards.

If you can't stay in Japan (or any country where you have PR or a green card) and hold a residence, how can you justify having permanent resident status? Sounds like you want your cake and be able to eat it, too.

Thanks for the link. It seems a pity that immigration may take over responsibility for all this. Their office is a little far away for me, and city hall staff know me reasonably well.

I definitely want my cake and be able to eat it, too, as long as it's legal.

[jcsag]

I have had permanent residency since March of 2007.

I was reading over changes in residency procedures that go into effect July of 2012. The tract I read states that "permanent" residents will now have to go into immigration to "renew" their "permanent" residency status every 7 years. What is permanent about this?

Also, it states that people with employment visas and spouse visas will now in most cases get renewed every 5 years instead of 3.

So, by and large, by going through the time and effort to get my permanent residency it will soon mean I only get two more years than regular visa holders to "renew" my residency.

Yes, I realize they are other advantages to permanent residency such as my "activities" in Japan not being limited etc. But as far as I know, maybe I have to bring paperwork proving gainful employment etc. for whatever this "renewal" process entails. And that would mean it is no different from a visa.

Anyone else read about this or have other comments or insights?


PS: Must also reply to a comment above:
"Supposedly, beginning in 2012, PR holders will be able to leave the country for 1 year without a reentry permit, but after that they will need one. The whole reentry permit system is changing then. So are alien registration cards"

Sorry, all long term visa holders and permanent residency holders get the 1 year no-entry permit treatment. No special treatment for permanent residents there.

[larabell]

I read the stuff a while back and didn't see anything about having to renew a PR visa. The alien registration card that used to be handled by your local ward office will now be handled by Immigration. The old ones have an expiration already (5 years, if I remember right) and the new ones will probably have an expiration as well, though I don't recall the brochure saying anything about that. In any case, that's just the ID card you carry -- I didn't see anything about having to renew PR visas.

The seven year thing applies to "Special Permanent Residents", which is another status altogether (you'd have to be pretty old to hold that status, from what I've read).

Overall, I think the move is going to be beneficial for most people. You can still change your address simply by visiting your local ward office. Changes in visa status require a trip to Immigration anyway so this just eliminates the second trip to the ward office. And not having to renew one's re-entry permit every three years also means fewer visits to Immigration.

On the earlier topic, there is a longer brochure on soumu.go.jp that says "When moving overseas, even if you have a Re-Entry Permit, you will need to submit a 'notification of moving out' but, as far as I can tell, that's something you submit to the local municipality when you move elsewhere (and something the Japanese apparently have to file as well) so that probably has more to do with the Juki system than visas.

[jcsag]

The paperwork is in front of me and both permanent residents and special permanent residents have to go into the immigration bureau to renew their cards. Before, yes, I had to go to my local municipality to renew my "gaijin card", a process that rarely took more than 20 minutes if I went at a time that was not so busy. Now, you and I will have to truck all the way over to the immigration bureau and take a number to wait and wait. The reason I became a PR was to avoid this. There is no information yet about what paperwork we will need, but it had better be less paperwork than a visa or what is the point?

[jcsag]

I can't seem to link the PDF, but put this into google and click on the first link for the PDF:

NewResidencyManagementSystem-(EN)

If you get time to read it, we don't have to do anything about it until our July 8th, 2015, unless our "gaijin cards" expire before then. This is better than nothing, but it is the principle of the matter.

[larabell]

I found something that may indirectly answer the question... more-or-less:

===
Q: Do I need to immediately replace my current Alien Registration Certificate with a Residence Card or Special Permanent Resident
Certificate?
A: No. You are not required to replace it immediately after the start of the new residency management system (although you may do
so if you so wish). The Alien Registration Certificate that mid-to long-term residents currently possess will be deemed equivalent to a
Resident Card or Special Permanent Resident Certificate for a certain period from the enforcement date of the amended act. Mid-to
long-term residents (except Permanent Residents) will be asked to exchange their Alien Registration Certificates for Resident Cards
when they apply for an extension of the Period of Stay, or anything else at a Regional Immigration Office. Those who are permanent
residents need to apply for an exchange of Resident Cards at a Regional Immigration Office, and Special Permanent Residents will
exchange for the new Special Permanent Resident Certificates at the municipality office where they live. Details regarding the
exchange procedure will be communicated later.
===

The separate references to Permanent Residents and Special Permanent Residents confirms my suspicion that these seven-year guys are in a different category. The fact that it says Permanent Residents will not be asked to change their Alien Registration Certificates for Resident Cards seems to imply that the ARCs may be effective... what... forever?

I don't much care whether it's every seven years in Shinagawa or every five years in Nakano -- it's a pain either way. But since it appears to be just a renewal of registration, I can't imagine it would be as big a deal as renewing a visa. For those living farther out, it's probably more of a pain -- assuming the new cards actually expire (which we haven't yet established). You know, part of the point of the new system is to reduce paperwork and I would imagine that handling these renewals is probably as much of a pain for Immigration as it is for us. If you're worried about it, you should call them up -- the brochures that I've seen all contain phone numbers where you can ask questions.

I don't see this as a big deal. But... this being Japan... I'm not willing to put any money on that.

[jcsag]

That PDF did not have all the pertinent information. Here is more. I have bolded the areas of interest for PR holders

Major Changes
1 A residence card will be issued, replacing the current Alien Registration Certificate. (A Special Permanent Resident Certificate will be issued to special permanent residents.)
2 The current alien registration system will be abolished once the new system starts. A residence record will be compiled for foreign residents eligible under the new system, in the same manner as for Japanese residents.
3 The new system will be applied only to those with a legal status of residence and whose period of stay is over 3 months. The new system will not be applied to those with no status of residence or whose status of residence is “Temporary Visitor.”
1 The Immigration Bureau will deal with all of the following items: changes in status of residence, extension of period of stay, renewal of residence cards, and changes in name and nationality. These procedures no longer need to be performed at the office of a city, ward, town or village.
2 City, ward, town and village offices will continue to deal with the following items: change of address and national health insurance.
1 The effective period of the residence card is 7 years for permanent residents. The effective period for foreigners with other statuses of residence will be the same as their period of stay. For foreigners other than permanent residents, a new residence card will be issued every time they extend their period of stay.
2 There are fewer items to be listed on the residence card compared with the Alien Registration Certificate. For example, name of the householder, place of birth, passport number or alias are not listed.
3 The name in full to be listed on your residence card should be written in the Roman alphabet in principal, as written in your passport. Foreigners whose names are written in kanji (Chinese characters) in their Alien Registration Certificate, such as Chinese and Koreans, can have their kanji alongside their name in the Roman alphabet.
4 The current Alien Registration Certificate will remain valid for a period of time after the introduction of the new system. For details on how long your card will be valid for, please make an inquiry.

[larabell]

Correction... the PDF brochure at the other end of the google search you suggested clearly states that the new Resident Card expires in seven years so that part's settled. But the first page also says the new law doesn't apply to "Special Permanent Residents", as if that mattered.

So we all get to see the inside of an Immigration office once every seven years. I was already going at least every three years for re-entry permits, which I don't have to do any more. But my kids are both "Child of Permanent Resident" so I had to visit there every three years anyway.

[jcsag]

Yes, I assume the process will be simpler to renew permanent residency with the news, but for information about that all sites I found advised me to call the immigration bureau - this has likely not been fully decided yet.

I also learned that no one should have to go twice to get their visas/cards renewed, but my understanding is that is both PRs and visa holders.

One of the reasons I got my PR was to avoid that trek to the Shinagawa office (not that I am assuming that is where you have to go) and sit for too much of the day waiting on the paperwork. And again, it is the principle of the matter.

[Glenski]

Originally Posted by jcsag

I have had permanent residency since March of 2007.

I was reading over changes in residency procedures that go into effect July of 2012. The tract I read states that "permanent" residents will now have to go into immigration to "renew" their "permanent" residency status every 7 years. What is permanent about this?

You didn't read it right. You always had to renew your ALIEN REGISTRATION CARD. We permanent residents got a bit of a break in how long we were required to do this.

That has not changed. We still renew the card every 7 years. You have not lost your PR status if you forget to do that.

Also, it states that people with employment visas and spouse visas will now in most cases get renewed every 5 years instead of 3.

I believe this is the MAXIMUM for work visa holders, not a regular thing.

PS: Must also reply to a comment above:
"Supposedly, beginning in 2012, PR holders will be able to leave the country for 1 year without a reentry permit, but after that they will need one. The whole reentry permit system is changing then. So are alien registration cards"

Sorry, all long term visa holders and permanent residency holders get the 1 year no-entry permit treatment. No special treatment for permanent residents there.

Yes, no special treatment if your stay is only one year. Big deal. Why do you care?