Hi all, I had a few assumptions I was hoping I could have checked, and a few questions. The situation feels a bit specific/unique, so I should eventually consult with an immigration lawyer, but I was wondering if any of you had any knowledge around this
Background: I moved back to Japan a little over a year ago, and came over on a 70 point koudo jinzai engineer visa. 70 points is meant to let you apply for eijyuuken in 3 years, and the 80 point version lets you apply in 1 year. When I moved back, I had 70 points, but that got bumped up to 75 a few months ago.
here is the point keisanhyou for reference: [https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930001657.pdf](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930001657.pdf)
Assumption 1: the visa you are on is less important than the points you can prove. I was told this by quite a few people. Even if I am on a 70 point visa, if I can prove that I \[had | will have\] 80 points for the \[last year | next year\], that would allow me to apply in one year.
Assumption 2: the point keisanhyou specifically says “nenshuu”, which makes me think it means all income. Not just base salary, not just base salary + bonus, but all income. Meaning if I had side work that was allowed by my visa, that would count as well
Assumption 3: side work is allowed by my visa, if it directly related to work activities. This one I am fairly sure is true, although it’s worrying I have yet to find a concrete definition of work activity-related
Question 1: what forms of proof are acceptable to prove income from side work? Do I need to show contracts or show I paid taxes on it in Japan? Is there some other proof needed?
Question 2: Does the government care about past or future income? So for example, if they care about how much I \*made\* last year, I can maybe do that with taxes. However if they want proof that I \*will\* make N yen over the next year, then maybe I need contracts specifically showing what the work is and how much money I would make?
Anyway, thanks in advance for any and all expertise shared
6 comments
Assumption 1 – Yes. You need to prove it for one year prior to making the application, and for the date of the application.
Assumption 2 – No, it definitely doesn’t refer to all income. As far as I know it refers to your stated salary, excluding overtime and other benefits. Bonus should be included if it isn’t discretionary. I don’t know if you can count a side income, but in that case it probably has to be in terms of a salary and not in terms of “expected income.”
for Q2: not only do you need to have the salary over the past year, but you also need to basically have proof that you will maintain this salary (the way you can get this is through some document signed by your employer saying “yes, we plan on paying this person at least this much currently”). At least that’s what I did with my lawyer.
I don’t really think you can count fully discretionary side income (like say, uber eats or whatever). Having said that… if you do have multiple contracts for non-negligable amounts of money you might be able to get that to work? I would highly recommend going to talk to an immigration lawyer. First consultations are usually free, and they can massage the entire thing maybe.
“I don’t want to pay for a lawyer” if you have 80 points you have the money. Pay for a pro
Keep in mind that “allowed by your visa” and “allowed by your employer” are two different things.
Anyway, you should hire an immigration lawyer to get things in order.
Now that others have answered your questions, I’ll just add that your situation is neither specific nor unique. Every one of your questions and assumptions has been addressed either here or on /r/movingtojapan ad nauseum.
So do you have 75 or 80 points? I’m pretty sure 75 points does not qualify for 1 year PR…
If you’re going to have 80 points starting now and through next year, then you have to apply next year, and prove backwards for 1 year.
I think this blogpost clarifies assumption 1 for you with sample scenarios
[https://cotoacademy.com/permanent-resident-visa-japan-apply-guide-explanation-highly-skilled-foreign-professional-point-system/](https://cotoacademy.com/permanent-resident-visa-japan-apply-guide-explanation-highly-skilled-foreign-professional-point-system/)