Individuals granted permission by the Minister of Justice

Unlimited

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The following three conditions must be met:
(1) Applicant has demonstrated good conduct
(2) Applicant has the capital or skills to independently earn living expenses (3) The applicant’s stay is beneficial to Japan.

The applicant has lived at least 10 years in Japan and has had either a working visa or residential visa for at least five of those years. This condition cannot be fulfilled if six of the 10 years were spent on a student visa.

Spouse, child or special adopted child of Japanese national

5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 6 months

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The applicant must be currently married to a Japanese national. Engagement, common-law marriages, divorced couples and widowed individuals are not eligible. The circumstances of the marriage such as whether or not you are living together and living expenses are very important.

In the event both the Japanese spouse and foreign national (applicant) are not working, there is a high possibility that the visa will be rejected due to an issue with economic stability.

Spouse of permanent resident, special permanent resident or child born and remaining in Japan

5 years, 3 years, 1 year or 6 months

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(1) In case of spouse, the couple must be married. Fraudulent marriages are not allowed.
(2) In case of child, only children born in Japan are eligible, so permanent resident children born overseas are not eligible and can apply for a Long-Term Resident visa instead.

There are no restrictions on activities or working, so the visa holder is free to work full-time or part time. The visa holder may also switch to different industries.

Refugees living long-term in a third country, third-generation Japanese immigrant, foreign national who is dependent on a Japanese national, etc.

5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 6 months or a period designated individually for the foreign national by the Minister of Justice that does not exceed 5 years

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When a foreign national with a spouse visa is divorced, they can apply for a Long-Term Resident visa. In the event a foreign national with permanent residency summons their foreign national child born overseas to Japan, the child can apply for a Long-Term Resident visa.

Long-term Resident visas are examined according to each individual’s special circumstances, so the judgment standards also differ. Please note that the documents required for application also differ.