I have been in Japan for 9 years. I was a student for the first 5, and have been on working visas ever since. In spring, an issue with my company at the time suddenly refusing to renew several employees’ contracts and visas left me without a sponsor for my new visa and only a couple weeks to find one. I wasn’t able to get hired in time and switched over to the Special Activities Visa (特定活動), fondly referred to as the “corona visa,” which I stayed on for the next two months as I looked for and started a new job. I am now back on a working visa.
I was planning to apply for PR next summer, but as I’ve been reviewing the requirements, I came across the following passage in a PDF on the MOJ website:
>a) In principle, the person has stayed in Japan for more than 10 years consecutively. It is also required that during his/her stay in Japan the person has had work permit (with an exception for those with the “Technical Intern Training” and “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” residential status) or the status of residence for more than 5 years consecutively.
I was prepared for the corona visa not to count towards my 5 years of working visas. But I was unaware that the 5 years needed to be *consecutive*.
Does this mean I’ve just reset my 5 years completely?