Japan officially overhauls permanent residency rules

Japan has officially revised its guidelines for permanent residency requirements, the government announced, including adding stricter income and pension standards, as well as Japanese-language requirements, with some revisions effective as of Thursday. Most of the new criteria will apply to applications filed from April 2027, while revisions to criteria regarding minimum income requirements will apply to applications filed as far back as April of this year. Under the revised guidelines, applicants will be assessed on whether their income has continuously exceeded the average income of Japanese households of a comparable size.