I lived in Japan as a university student for 4 consecutive years from 2018 until 2022, where I then left for a year and a half and just came back last month. I know that you need to live in Japan for at least 5 years consecutively in order to apply for PR, and that you need to be up to date in payments for Pension and Health Insurance.
After moving in I went to my city hall and registered as I had done previously. The person at the counter informed me that I was still ‘in the system,’ and that I had not fully paid for my health insurance, and had not paid anything for my pension. I was aware of this so no surprises. In the mail today I received my payment slips for my pension, and it included the amount for the years I was previously here. I am just wondering, if my time has ‘reset,’ what value is there in paying the fees from the years that no longer count towards obtaining PR?
I understand that I will need to have no outstanding payments if I ever want to apply for PR in the future, but it seems strange to me that while they don’t count my previous four years due to my gap year, they still want me to pay for it. Is there no chance that these four years would count for me if I catch up on my payments?
At the moment it seems quite unfair to me, and I’d like it if someone could point out if I am understanding this incorrectly or not.
1 comment
Did you explain this to the ward office about being university student and living out of the country?
as a student you can file for an exemption don’t pay any more than you have to , especially since you don’t know how long you’re going to stay ..