Japan to Require Above-Average Incomes for Permanent Residency

Tokyo, Aug. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Immigration Services Agency on Tuesday released a draft revision to its guidelines on permanent residency permits mandating applicants to maintain an income exceeding the average for Japanese households.

The revised guidelines would stipulate for the first time that foreigners' applications for permanent residency status in Japan require especially careful scrutiny, according to the draft. The agency plans to revise the guidelines in October after soliciting public comments from Tuesday.

Japan's immigration control law stipulates that foreigners must have good behavior, have sufficient assets or skills to make an independent living, and be in accordance with Japan's interests to acquire permanent residency permits.

The draft revision tightens the second requirement, for which the current guidelines stipulate that permanent residents must not be a public burden in everyday life and must be expected to have a stable life in the future.

It newly adds a requirement as to whether the amount of pensions an applicant with an income topping that of a Japanese is expected to receive in the future would reach a level a person would gain after he or she pays into the "kosei nenkin" public pension program for employees for 30 years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]