Hi everyone,
I would appreciate any advice you might have on my PR rejection. We are considering hiring an immigration lawyer to assist with an appeal.
Background:
* My wife is a Japanese national and we have children who are Japanese nationals
* We have been living in Japan for 2+ years (I’m here on a 3 year Spousal Visa/Resident) and would like to live as a family here long term.
* I applied for Permanent Residence (Spousal route) last October 2022 (e..g married 3+ years, lived in Japan 1+ year, on 3 year spousal visa, work a remote job with overseas company, can financially support the family and myself)
* Submitted the residential / tax certificates & health insurance payments as required
* Immigration asked for additional job/tax information in Jan 2023 which we provided. I work for overseas company and remit taxes overseas. (We had consulted a Japan accountant and the local tax office)
I was disappointed to receive a rejection letter on May 2023 (7 months from application). We spoke to an Immigration Officer to try to understand the reason for rejection or where my application was lacking.
* Unfortunately the Officer didn’t/couldn’t provide a clear reason, other than say I could continue to live in Japan by renewing my Spousal visa and apply again for PR in the future 5-10 years.
* We filed a request to get a copy of my application and any notes / decisions that led to the rejection. We would like a lawyer to review it and consider filing an appeal. Unfortunately, we received a letter this week from Immigration that they will not release additional information to us. (E.g. not even a copy of application/submitted info, or reason for PR rejection)
As a guess, would working for a remote non-Japanese company and remitting my taxes overseas be be the reason? Again we consulted a Japanese accountant and the local tax office, their opinion was this was correct given the tax treaty.
Any advice on my PR rejection / situation is welcomed. Or advise on next steps? We are considering hiring an immigration lawyer to help, any recommendations for a lawyer in Fukuoka City?
Thank you in advance.
27 comments
Do you do the kakuteishinkoku every year for your income earned overseas?
I don’t know if I understand your remit taxes overseas part but normally, when working remotely inside Japan for a foreign company, you shouldn’t pay taxes to the foreign company’s country, but rather Japan.
>Immigration asked for additional job/tax information in Jan 2023 which we provided. I work for overseas company and remit taxes overseas. (We had consulted a Japan accountant and the local tax office)
There is your problem. You’re living and working in Japan you need to be paying taxes and social contributions based on your income. And a local accountant and the local tax office have different concerns than the immigration folks, they’re completely disconnected.
Get an accountant to help you file back taxes for last year then get ready for pension and health insurance costs to go way up. Apply again next year after you have a record of correctly reporting and being taxed on your income.
Don’t worry to much about being double taxed, Japan will credit any foreign taxes you paid so you’re only responsible if there’s a difference between what you would have paid and what you did pay.
To put this in a slightly weirder context. Friend’s been living here almost 15 years. Married but separated for about 10. Spouse visa but has his own business. He applied and was rejected because during COVID his business tanked. He reported to the tax folks that his income was significantly higher than it actually was, paid his taxes and social insurance, and was approved a year later.
> remit taxes overseas
I’m pretty sure this is the issue. You are resident in Japan, you work in Japan (for foreign client). For all means and purposes your income is earned in Japan, and you should be paying taxes in Japan.
Ah yes, you not pay Japan taxes? you no get Pr buddy
Stop paying taxes overseas (you don’t owe them) and start paying them in Japan (you do owe them)
※Americans also ~~pay~~file tax to US but that is based on their citizenship and nothing to do with which company you work for or where it is located. The company being located overseas in no way means you should pay taxes to that country.
Don’t you have to pay taxes in Japan and apply for your home country to be exempted? Unless there is something specific like diplomatic job etc
One of the requirements of PR is contributing to Japanese society.
Why would you think that avoiding paying taxes would get you PR??
Lack of income in Japan/taxes is likely the reason. Japanese tax accountants are can be blind to immigration issues and may give unhelpful advice.
I recommend this place: [http://www.visa-fukuoka.com/](http://www.visa-fukuoka.com/)
You need a proper international tax accountant who actually knows what they’re doing. Something sounds very amiss. Income is sourced where it’s made, not where the payer is.
You’re lucky you even get a spouse visa. Pay your taxes!
Don’t waste your money on a lawyer. The decision will not be overturned just because you get a lawyer involved.
What is the other country? Maybe there is something in the tax treaty! This does feel a bit like immigration might not grok this. My impression is that immigration has full discretion here though and there is likely no recourse.
For people who might not know, some places (like France) have tax treaties and agreements with Japan where certain jobs end up with you being paid abroad, and having that money be considered untaxable income abroad.
A lot of people assume “working for a foreign company” means “foreign sourced income” which… is wrong. But there are people who in fact do have this sort of situation, as wild as it sounds
If you don’t get your taxes sorted then your spouse visa renewal will also get rejected, so, the clock’s ticking.
I think it’s likely it’s the taxes.
We work remote in Japan for an overseas company, and pay our taxes in Japan. My country also had a tax treaty. The tax and income is a huge factor for the visas.
When you file your Japan taxes you need declare any income including foreign income, if you are living in Japan. You may need to file the taxes again, and wait a while before applying for PR again.
Are you paying tax in Japan and are you paying pension and health insurance in Japan (for you and your whole family? And for the last two years at least, with no late payments?)
OP, file your taxes in Japan otherwise you will not be able to even get your spouse visa renewed. You will be in huge trouble.
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I am pretty sure you need have lived in Japan a long time to get a PR. Like 10 years, and 5 of those years on working or spouse visa.
PR holder here. This one is easy. Missing tax payments to the country of residence and since you didn’t mention it, enrolling in the national pension. You’ll need to make catch up payments for the time you’ve lived here, and wait it out before applying again.
Income is earned in Japan so you have to pay Japanese taxes. It doesn’t matter if it’s a USA company paying you. You physically are in Japan on a semi-permanent visa as in not a tourist. You have to pay Japanese taxes. If you are from the USA you also have to file your taxes there. But they ask if you already paid in another country with a tax agreement. You get credit for taxes paid else where.
I assume you are telling the USA you are out of country so you are avoiding income tax. It’s a great windfall I did it for years but only while moving around on tourist visas. As soon as you stop and live somewhere with a proper visa like you have you can’t do it anymore. You now live in Japan basically permanently you have to pay taxes there.
I was told that you need 2 full extensions of your current, in your case, spouse visa and then you are eligible to apply for a PR. The previous visa also has to be at it’s max duration. i.e. 3 years.
By all means talk to an immigration lawyer (¥5000 per hour?) and they will probably tell you the same thing. The immigration office is in no hurry to make permanent residents and sometimes they behave as if they have a quota.
Why the big hurry to get PR?
Reapply next year. It’s not a guarantee to get it. I know a guy who applied 3 times before getting it.
I don’t think a lawyer can do much but take your money.
Like others said. Paying taxes here might make the difference?
You’re not contributing to society by enrolling into the national pension and need to file and pay taxes in Japan, OP!
“I didn’t pay taxes or pension and now it’s biting me in the add” is a tale as old as time.
> I work for overseas company and remit taxes overseas.
You live in Japan. You work in Japan. You should be paying taxes in Japan. You almost certainly owe a lot of back taxes here and you likely need to file for a refund wherever you have been paying taxes.
The lack of tax payment in Japan is almost certainly why your PR application was rejected. I don’t know if immigration will tip off the tax office or not (they are not directly connected) but if they do, you can expect to be audited.
Once you have sorted out your Japanese tax situation and paid the taxes you owe in Japan (income and resident taxes) you will likely be able to get PR. Assuming of course that you don’t get given a 1 year visa when you renew your spouse visa. If at all possible you should get this sorted immediately so you can apply again for PR before your current 3 year visa runs out…
> remitting my taxes overseas
i think this is the issue.
> their opinion was this was correct given the tax treaty.
yes, and you’re probably not breaking any tax laws by doing this if that country has a tax relief agreement with Japan. however, it doesn’t mean you meet the immigration requirements. two different things.
you should check this guidline
[永住許可に関するガイドライン（令和５年４月２１日改定） | 出入国在留管理庁 (moj.go.jp)](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyukan_nyukan50.html)
Not worth the time and hassle of appealing- apply again next year, it’ll be quicker. And probably a greater chance of success.