Japan permanent residence in one year: the HSP 80-point route explained

What the shortcut actually shortens

Permanent residence in Japan is a discretionary permission under Article 22 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The statutory tests are good conduct, an independent livelihood and that the person's permanent residence is in Japan's interest; the 2024 amendment added, in terms, compliance with the Act's obligations and payment of taxes and public charges. The published guideline then sets the residence expectation: normally ten continuous years in Japan, at least five of them on a work or residence status.

The Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) routes change only that residence expectation. A person who has engaged in HSP activity for three years with 70 points or more, or for one year with 80 points or more, may apply with that shorter period. J-Skip holders have a parallel one-year route. Every other requirement remains: conduct, livelihood, public duties, the longest period of stay, the guarantor and the national-interest judgement. The one-year route is attractive because it is short, and demanding because the authority examines a short record in detail.

The two reference dates

ISA examines the points at the application date and at the date one year before it. Both calculations must be supported by documents valid at each date. The elements that commonly change are age, which can move the applicant into a lower age band or out of an income band; income, which must be the contracted remuneration at each date rather than an average; and qualifications or achievements, which count only from the date they were obtained or published.

A researcher who entered on 1 April 2025 with a doctorate (30), two qualifying research achievements (25), a salary of JPY6 million at age 32 (20 + 10) scores 85 and can apply from 1 April 2026 if the facts on that date still produce 80 or more. If the researcher turned 35 in March 2026 the age points fall to 5 and the score is 80, still sufficient; a salary cut to JPY5.5 million would take it to 75 and the application would fail on the points alone. The arithmetic must be run for both dates before anything is filed.

A person who held another status and later changed to HSP must also show that the activity one year earlier was HSP activity with 80 points, not merely that the current status is HSP. ISA's questions and answers say that a person can show they had 80 points one year before the application, which allows an applicant on Designated Activities or another status performing equivalent work to count that year where the evidence supports it; the position should be checked against the current guideline.

The tests that still apply

Public duties. ISA asks for residence-tax and national-tax certificates and for pension and health-insurance records for the reference period. Payment must have been made on time; a late payment later settled is a negative factor. The assessment is at household level, so a spouse's unpaid National Pension contributions or an unpaid residence-tax instalment during a period of self-enrolment affects the principal. One year gives the applicant one year's record, and every month of it is read.

Conduct and notifications. The guideline weighs past breaches of the Act, including late or missing notifications of address or organisation changes and work outside the permitted activity by any household member. A dependant who worked beyond 28 hours a week in the reference year is a problem for the principal's application.

Period of stay. The applicant should hold the longest period of stay available; ISA treats a three-year period as satisfying this for the time being, with a transitional rule for applications filed from 1 April 2027. HSP(i) holders have a five-year period, which satisfies the test.

Guarantor. A guarantor, normally a Japanese national, permanent resident or special permanent resident living in Japan, provides a signed guarantee. It is a moral undertaking rather than a financial bond, but ISA expects a genuine relationship.

Livelihood and national interest. Household income and assets are compared with Japanese norms; an HSP salary normally satisfies this. The national-interest judgement is positive: ISA asks what the person's permanent residence contributes, and a short, high-points record with a stable employer is the answer it expects.

Sequencing the year

The application fee on approval rose to JPY200,000 for applications received from 1 October 2026, with a reduced fee in defined cases; check the ISA page for the current figure. Examination is lengthy, and the applicant must keep the HSP status valid and continue the activity until the decision.

What the status gives, and what can take it away

Permanent residence removes the activity restriction and the period of stay. The holder may change employer, start a business or pause work without an immigration decision, may obtain a mortgage on ordinary terms, and keeps the family's statuses stable. It is not nationality; naturalisation is a separate process under the Nationality Act. A permanent resident who travels must use a re-entry permit or the special re-entry permit, and absence beyond the permit's validity ends the status.

The 2024 amendment added grounds for revoking permanent residence: intentional non-payment of taxes or social-insurance contributions by a person able to pay, and specified serious offences. ISA's questions and answers say ordinary lapses such as not carrying the residence card are not targeted, that hardship cases are not the aim, and that ISA may change the status to Long-Term Resident instead of revoking it. The practical message is that the compliance habits that earn permanent residence in one year are the habits that keep it.

The 80-point route is the fastest path to permanent residence available to an employee in Japan. It works for people whose points are real at both dates, whose household record is clean for the whole year and who treat the application as an audit of a year of real work rather than a formality.