Immigration: Permanent Residency (PR) – Relaxation in Requirement of Continuous Residency due to COVID
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has announced in August 2020 that continuous residency requirement of PR application is relaxed, considering re-entry restrictions imposed due to Corona virus COVID-19.
In case residency in Japan is discontinued because re-entry permission is expired and because the expiration is due to immigration restrictions for Coronavirus or COVID-19, the discontinuity is not taken as a break in continuous residency in Japan when it is reviewed in light of eligibility for Permanent Resident (PR). This exception can be applied when the following conditions are met:
– Expiration date of (special) re-entry permission is any date between January 1st 2020 and 6+ months after border restrictions are lifted, and
– S/he enters into Japan within valid period of visa issued.
To claim application of this COVID exceptional rule, a note should be submitted as a part of PR application document set. MOJ has a template for the note, which is available at a link within Immigration Office document below:
- MOJ Immigration Office – Relaxation of Requirement of Continuous Residency in Application for Permanent Residency (PDF in Japanese)