Permanent residence in Japan normally requires ten years of residence. With 70 or more points under the Highly Skilled Professional points system, that falls to three years. With 80 or more, it falls to one.
What is easily overlooked is that the residence period is not the only thing that shortens. The period over which your tax and social insurance record is examined shortens as well.
What this article covers
- How 70 or 80 points shorten the residence requirement to three years or one
- Why you do not need Highly Skilled Professional status to use this route
- How the resident tax check shortens from five years to three, or to one
- Why you must have held your score continuously for three years (one year at 80 points)
- What the October 2026 revision of the guidelines changes, and what it does not
This article is based on the Guidelines on Permanent Residence Permission (永住許可に関するガイドライン) as revised on 1 October 2026, together with the Immigration Services Agency’s document checklists and self-check sheet for permanent residence applications.
The points system in brief
The system scores academic background, professional experience, annual salary, age, Japanese language ability, research achievements and other factors. Those who reach a set total are treated as highly skilled foreign professionals. It was introduced in 2012.
There are three activity categories:
- Highly Skilled Professional (i)(a) — research, research guidance or education (advanced academic research)
- Highly Skilled Professional (i)(b) — work requiring knowledge or skills in the natural or human sciences (advanced specialised or technical work)
- Highly Skilled Professional (i)(c) — business management or administration (advanced business management)
Most engineers and specialist professionals fall under (i)(b).
The calculation sheets are published on the Immigration Services Agency’s website, including in English. You can work out your own score.
The residence requirement shortens
The guidelines provide as follows. This exception is retained in the guidelines as revised on 1 October 2026 (Part 3, 6, 7 and 8).
| Situation | Residence required |
|---|---|
| General rule | 10 years continuously (including 5 years under a work-related or residence-based status) |
| 70 points or more | 3 years continuously |
| 80 points or more | 1 year continuously |
| Specially highly skilled professional | 1 year continuously |
Ten years becomes three, or one.
You do not need Highly Skilled Professional status
This is a common misunderstanding.
To use the points-based route, you do not need to hold Highly Skilled Professional status. You can use it while residing under Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services or another status, provided your score is 70 or more.
No change of status is needed. You use the route by submitting a points calculation sheet and supporting evidence with your permanent residence application.
The guidelines first require that your current score is 70 or more, and then that one of the following applies (Part 3, 6).
(1) Three years as a “highly skilled foreign professional”
You have resided in Japan continuously for three years or more while maintaining the score required as a highly skilled foreign professional. The guidelines define a highly skilled foreign professional as someone residing in Japan after being recognised, on a points calculation, as scoring 70 points or more. Holders of Highly Skilled Professional status fall under this.
(2) 70 points continuously from three years before
A points calculation made as at three years before the application date shows 70 or more, and you have resided in Japan while holding 70 points or more continuously for three years or more.
Route (2) is not limited to any status of residence. If you hold Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services or a similar status, you would apply under (2). Even if you hold Highly Skilled Professional status, you may apply under (2) if you have held it for less than three years.
The 80-point exception (Part 3, 7) has the same structure, with “three years” replaced by “one year”.
Under route (2), you submit points calculation sheets for two dates: the date of application, and three years before it (one year at 80 points). Sheets for the years in between are not required. But because the guidelines say “continuously”, it is worth checking that your score did not fall below the threshold at any point in between.
The period examined also shortens
Permanent residence applications are assessed on whether you have paid taxes and social insurance contributions properly. How far back that record is examined also depends on your points.
| Standard work-related status | 70 points or more | 80 points or more / specially highly skilled | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residence | 10 years (5 under work-related status) | 3 years | 1 year |
| Resident tax | Most recent 5 years | Most recent 3 years | Most recent 1 year |
| Pension | Most recent 2 years | Most recent 2 years | Most recent 1 year |
| Health insurance | Most recent 2 years | Most recent 2 years | Most recent 1 year |
The self-check sheet published by the Immigration Services Agency sets out these shortened periods. The document checklist for the points-based route also states that three years applies even where you reside under a work-related status.
This difference matters most for anyone who has ever paid late.
The guidelines state that where the applicant is found not to have paid properly in the past, a negative assessment is in principle made, even where nothing is outstanding at the time of application. Paying afterwards does not cure it.
Suppose you paid resident tax late once, four years ago. On the standard route, the most recent five years are examined, so that record falls within scope. With 70 points or more, the most recent three years are examined, and it falls outside.
That is why it is worth calculating your points before deciding when to apply.
Proving your earlier score is the practical test
If you apply under route (1) — that is, you have held Highly Skilled Professional status for three years or more — immigration has already accepted that you score 70 or more. That finding was made when the status was granted.
You therefore do not need to prove your score at any earlier date. For permanent residence you submit one calculation sheet, as at the date of application, with supporting evidence for it.
Evidence for your current score is still required. Documents showing your present salary, academic background, professional experience and so on are submitted as usual.
If you apply under route (2), you must show your score at the earlier date as well.
| Route (1) | Route (2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Points calculation sheet | One, as at the application date | Two: application date and three years (or one year) before |
| Supporting evidence | For your current score | For your current score and your earlier score |
| Documents from earlier years | Not required | Required |
The score at the earlier date is calculated using the current points calculation sheet.
That score must then be established from documents dated at the time: evidence of your annual salary three years ago, a certificate of employment showing your position then, proof of your academic qualifications, and so on.
Salaries change over three years. You may comfortably exceed 70 today and yet have fallen short three years ago. Equally, if the documents exist, the score may be straightforward to establish.
If you are considering this route, start by checking whether you have those documents, or whether your employer can issue them.
You do not need evidence for every item
On the supporting evidence for the points calculation, the Immigration Services Agency states the following.
It is sufficient to submit evidence establishing a total of 70 points or more. Evidence is not required for every item that applies to you.
This has practical value. You can, to some extent, choose which items make up the 70. Where the evidence for one item cannot be assembled, another may cover the gap.
Checking your points
The calculation sheets are on the Immigration Services Agency’s website, one for each activity category, in Japanese and English.
The main scoring items are:
- Academic background (doctorate, master’s, professional degree, bachelor’s)
- Professional experience (years in the field)
- Annual salary (scored in combination with age)
- Age
- Research achievements (patents, publications, funded research)
- Qualifications (Japanese national qualifications, examinations under the IT Notice)
- Japanese language ability (JLPT N1 or N2 equivalent)
- Graduation from a Japanese university
- Graduation from a listed university
- Your employer receiving innovation-promotion support
- Your employer being a small or medium-sized enterprise
The university bonuses are easily missed. Graduation from a Japanese university and graduation from a listed university are separate bonuses, and the list includes many Japanese and overseas universities. See Graduated from a Japanese University? How It Counts Towards HSP Points.
If your own calculation comes close to 70, it is worth checking whether anything has been missed.
Points to note
The other requirements remain
The points route shortens the residence period and the period examined. Good conduct, the ability to support yourself, and the fulfilment of public obligations are still assessed in full.
The self-check sheet published by the Immigration Services Agency lets you check these before applying. If any answer is No, refusal is likely.
Points salary and household income are separate standards
The October 2026 revision makes it a consideration whether household income continuously reaches a level above the average for Japanese households, adjusted for household size. This standard already applies to applications filed on or after 1 April 2026. Meeting the points threshold does not mean the household income standard is met. No monetary figure has been published.
The period-of-stay requirement applies
You must hold the longest period of stay available for your current status. For applications filed by 31 March 2027, a three-year period of stay is treated as meeting this requirement under a transitional arrangement.
From April 2027, Japanese language ability and time abroad are added
Under the revised guidelines, Japanese language ability at B1 becomes a consideration. It is not required of “highly skilled foreign professionals under Part 3, 6 to 8” and their families. The wording does not make clear whether someone applying under route (2) falls within this exemption.
In addition, absence from Japan of six months or more on a single departure, or two years and six months or more in total, within the past ten years, will in principle count against you.
See Japan’s New PR Guidelines: What Changes for Your Visa Status and When to Apply.
Summary
With 70 points or more, the residence requirement for permanent residence falls from ten years to three. With 80 or more, it falls to one. This exception is retained after the October 2026 revision.
The period over which your resident tax record is examined shortens too, from five years to three, or to one at 80 points. At 80 points, pension and health insurance also shorten to one year. For anyone who has ever paid late, that difference can decide the outcome.
You do not need Highly Skilled Professional status to use this route. Under route (2), however, you must have held your score continuously from three years before (one year at 80 points), and your earlier score must be established from documents dated at that time.
Start by calculating your points. The question is not only your score today, but whether you have held it continuously — for three years at 70 points, or one year at 80.
We can go through your points calculation and the documents you would need, in English. Whether this route is open to you is something we can look at in a free consultation.
Related reading: Graduated from a Japanese University? How It Counts Towards HSP Points
Related reading: Japan’s New PR Guidelines: What Changes for Your Visa Status and When to Apply
Related reading: Permanent residence or naturalisation: what is the difference?
Related reading: Permanent residence fee rises to ¥200,000 in October 2026
About this article
This article summarises permanent residence applications using the Highly Skilled Professional points system. The calculation and required documents vary by activity category and individual circumstances.
Disclaimer
This article sets out general information about permanent residence applications. It does not guarantee that any individual application will be granted or refused. The system, guidelines and practice may change. Before applying, please check the latest official information or consult a professional.
References
- Immigration Services Agency, Guidelines on Permanent Residence Permission (永住許可に関するガイドライン) (as revised 1 October 2026) https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/10_00279.html
- Immigration Services Agency, Guidelines on Permanent Residence Permission (永住許可に関するガイドライン) (as revised 24 February 2026) https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/resources/nyukan_nyukan50.html
- Immigration Services Agency, Application for Permanent Residence https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/16-4.html
- Immigration Services Agency, Points-based system for highly skilled foreign professionals https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/resources/newimmiact_3_evaluate_index.html
Last updated: 18 October 2026 (revision of the guidelines reflected)