# hey r/japanlife
I’m hoping to get some advice from the community about applying for permanent residency in Japan. My current spouse visa is a one-year visa expiring in July, and since my wife and I have been married for 9 years, we meet the marriage requirement.
Here’s my situation:
* I’m retired from the US Navy and receive a pension along with other related income that comes up to over ¥10MM. However, this income is taxed in the US and not considered taxable in Japan.
* I am enrolled in nenkin but haven’t made any contributions yet due to the above reason. I have a waiver from the tax office exempting me from pension payments until next month, but I have paid all other taxes and health insurance on time, every time.
* My wife works full-time and earns \~¥7MM, so we have a provable income.
I’m definitely planning to speak with an immigration lawyer to get the full picture, but I wanted to see if anyone in r/japanlife has experience with a similar situation, particularly regarding non-taxable foreign income and its impact on PR applications.
Does it seem like I would be a good candidate for permanent residency despite not yet contributing to the National Pension (although I have a temporary waiver)? Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Edit: I was unaware of the requirement to be either on a 3 or 5 year visa. So my plan is to renew my visa, hopefully get a 3 or 5 year then apply for permanent residency. But I’m gonna leave the post up in case anyone else has similar questions.
by SOTI_snuggzz