Permanent residency income requirement to tighten as early as October

2026-07-25

The Immigration Services Agency plans to revise guidelines on permanent residency for foreign nationals as early as October. It will introduce new requirements, including an income threshold in principle above the average household income for Japanese nationals, and tighten screening.

Income, pension requirements to be spelled out

The new guidelines will explicitly require applicants to continuously meet a level above the average income of Japanese households. In addition to requiring a standard that would allow them to live without relying on welfare in the future, the pension amount they can receive will in principle need to match the benefit level for someone who paid into the Employees' Pension Insurance for 30 years.

National-interest criteria to be specified

Current operational guidelines under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act set out three points: 1) good conduct, 2) assets or skills sufficient to support an independent livelihood, and 3) consistency with Japan's national interest. The revision will make income requirements and other conditions more specific, and will also establish evaluation criteria for the national-interest requirement. Japanese-language ability and understanding of Japan's systems will be among the factors considered.

The government is moving toward drawing up a basic policy on accepting foreign nationals in March 2027. An expert panel will consider whether to include numerical targets for the number of foreign nationals accepted, including as part of an overall population strategy for Japan.

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