Support for children of Japanese Permanent Residents

A little-known rule:
If your parent is a Permanent Resident and you have lived in Japan for over 1 year, you may already be eligible to apply for PR.

Many foreign residents believe they must live in Japan for 10 years, or be married for 3 years before they can apply for Permanent Residency (PR).

However, if your father or mother is a Japanese Permanent Resident, a special rule may allow you to apply much earlier.

  • Your father or mother has PR (Permanent Resident status)
  • You have lived in Japan for more than 1 year
  • Your current residence status has a “3-year” or “5-year” period of stay

If this sounds like you, you might be eligible to apply for PR much sooner than you think.

We can assist you in Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Why immigration professionals always ask: “Are your parents Permanent Residents?”

When we receive a consultation about Permanent Residency, one of the first questions we ask is:

“Is your father or mother a Japanese Permanent Resident?”

This is important because if you are a “child of a Permanent Resident”:

  • You may not need to wait 10 years in Japan to apply for PR
  • You may not need to wait 3 years of marriage to apply through a spouse route

In other words, this one fact can change your PR strategy completely.

Who can benefit from this special rule?

This special PR route is especially relevant if you:

✔ Are working in Japan on a work visa

For example, Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services, or Business Manager status.

✔ Have a parent with PR status

Either your father, your mother, or both hold a Japanese Permanent Resident status.

✔ Are planning to stay long-term in Japan

For example, you plan to work, get married, or raise your family here and want a more secure status.

Real cases where PR could be obtained much earlier than expected

Case ①: Chinese national (Work Visa status but a Spouse of Japanese National)

・Initial status: Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services (5-year period of stay)
・Married a Japanese citizen in the 2nd year but not changed to “Spouse of Japanese National” status
・Standard explanation from many advisors:
“You must have been married for 3 years and lived in Japan as a married couple for at least 1 year.”

However, in this case, her mother already had PR. This means that as a “child of a Permanent Resident”, she could have applied for PR after just 1 year on her work visa.

She had previously been told by another professional that “you cannot apply for PR until you have been married for 3 years”.
After our office reviewed his situation, we applied as a child of a Permanent Resident, and her PR was successfully granted.

Case ②: Vietnamese national (Work Visa status)

・Residence status: Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services (3-year period of stay)
・Standard explanation: You must live in Japan for “10 years” before applying for PR
・The client believed PR was still a long way off.

In fact, both of his parents were Permanent Residents. Because he was a “child of Permanent Residents” and had already lived in Japan for over 1 year with a 3-year period of stay, we applied under this special rule and his PR was approved.

His spouse’s status of residence was “Dependent,” but she applied for permanent residency at the same time as him without changing it to “Spouse of a Permanent Resident.”

Can you apply for PR as a “child of a Permanent Resident”?

The more “yes” answers you have to the questions below, the more likely it is that you can use this route:

  • Your father or mother holds a Japanese Permanent Resident status
  • You have lived in Japan for more than 1 year
  • Your current residence card shows a 3-year or 5-year period of stay
  • You have no unpaid taxes, pension, or health insurance premiums
  • You have stable income, with no long periods of unemployment

These are only general indicators. The most important step is to check whether you can apply now, or when you will become eligible.

How our office can support your PR application

PR eligibility assessment

We confirm whether you can apply as a “child of a Permanent Resident” and advise you on the best timing for your application.

Document checklist and review

We help you prepare residence records, tax certificates, pension/insurance records, and family documents, making sure nothing important is missing.

Application forms and communication with Immigration

We prepare the application forms and explanation letters, submit them to Immigration, and handle follow-up questions or requests for additional documents.

Consultations are available in Japanese, English, and Chinese.

PR application flow

  1. Initial consultation and quick eligibility check (online or in-person)
  2. Guidance on required documents and collection support
  3. Preparation of application forms and explanation letters
  4. Submission to the Immigration Services Agency
  5. Follow-up during the examination period (additional documents, questions, etc.)
  6. Result notification and receiving your PR residence card

Note: The examination period varies by case, but typically takes around 6–18 months.

Would you like to know when you can apply for Permanent Residency?

For PR applications, conditions such as income, tax, and social insurance are important.
But just as important is knowing “whether you are already eligible to apply, and if not, when you will be.”
Understanding this early can sometimes move your PR timeline forward by several years.

During the initial consultation, we will review your current situation and explain the options available to you in clear, practical terms.

Book a consultation

*Consultations are by appointment only.
*We cannot guarantee approval in every case, but we will use our experience and past cases to help you apply in the most favourable way possible.