TOKYO, September 25 — Japan’s Immigration Services Agency has announced changes to its permanent residency requirements that will take effect in phases from October 1, 2026, tightening the criteria for foreign residents seeking long-term settlement in the country. Under the new rules, applicants will need to show that their annual household income exceeds the Japanese average, demonstrate Japanese-language proficiency, and hold a pension pot equivalent to thirty years of payouts. The income requirement will be applied retroactively to applications submitted since April 2026.
In its announcement, the agency stressed the need for foreigners to “live independently” and have “a stable life without the risk of becoming a burden.” The changes come amid a broader rightward shift in Japanese politics and souring public sentiment toward immigrants in historically homogenous Japan.
Two residents, two calculations
The story, reported by Al Jazeera from Tokyo, profiles two long-term foreign residents affected by the changes. Abdul, a tech engineer from Bangladesh who has lived in Japan for nearly eight years and resides in northern Tokyo with his Bangladeshi wife, is preparing to apply for both permanent residency and citizenship. He is now looking for opportunities outside Japan, fearing both applications could be rejected.
He asked not to be identified by his real name. Sarah Nelkin, an American who has lived in Japan for fourteen years and works in the entertainment industry, submitted her permanent residency application shortly before the changes were announced.
If rejected, she plans to apply for Japanese citizenship, which would require giving up her US citizenship because Japan does not recognize dual nationality. She has expressed reluctance to do so, citing her mother’s residence in the US and a desire to retain her American passport.
A policy at odds with the labor math
Risa Hagiwara, a professor of economics at Meikai University in Urayasu, Japan, said the changes reflect a shift toward a “selective and conditional” immigration policy that is in tension with Japan’s need for labor amid a shrinking population. She noted that Japan needs foreign workers because of labor shortages, but if conditions for long-term settlement become substantially more difficult, this could potentially reduce Japan’s attractiveness to foreign workers considering Japan as a place to build their long-term lives. Immigration has become an increasingly hot-button topic in Japan.
The new rules mark a significant tightening of permanent residency criteria, affecting thousands of foreign residents who have built their lives in the country. What to watch next is how the phased rollout from October 1 is administered, and whether the retroactive income test applied to applications submitted since April produces rejections at the volume that residents like Abdul and Nelkin now fear.
