Ikusei Shuro (育成就労) to Permanent Residence: 13 Years, Not 18

If you are arriving in Japan on 育成就労 (Ikusei Shuro) after it starts on 1 April 2027, someone has already given you a number for permanent residence. Ten years. Fifteen. Eighteen. Almost nobody quoting a number can show you where it comes from, and the gap between them is a decade of your life.

This page does the arithmetic line by line from the Immigration Services Agency's published documents, and corrects a figure we have used elsewhere on LO-PAL. The fastest realistic road from your first day on 育成就労 to a permanent-residence (永住) application is about 13 years — not 18. Ten years is the floor; roughly 15 is what happens if you fail an exam. Almost nobody has finished it yet, and we will show you that number too.

The short answer: about 13 years, not 18

Three numbers, all from published maximums sourced below.

• About 13 years — the standard fastest road. 3 years of 育成就労, 5 years of 特定技能1号, then 5 continuous years of 特定技能2号. At year 13 you satisfy both residence tests at once.
• 10 years — the absolute floor. Reach 特定技能2号 early — legally possible, rare in practice — and the 10-year total binds. Nothing goes below it without an exemption from the last section.
• About 15 years — if you stumble. Fail the move-up exam at the end of 育成就労 and you get one extra year; miss the 特定技能2号 exam narrowly and 特定技能1号 stretches to six. 4 + 6 + 5 = 15.

Our own 2027 guide to 育成就労 currently calls this an "18-year roadmap to permanent residence." That figure cannot be derived from the published maximums. Where this page and that anchor disagree, this page is the corrected one.

The three steps, and what each one gives you

育成就労 does not lead to permanent residence by itself. It is the first rung of a three-status ladder, compared in the 基本方針, Cabinet decision of 11 March 2025.

	育成就労	特定技能1号	特定技能2号
Skill standard	Must reach 特定技能1号 level by the end	技能検定3級 / 1号評価試験 level	Proficient: 技能検定1級 / 2号評価試験
Japanese standard	A1 before starting work (an equivalent course is also accepted); A2 by the end	A2	B1 (field rules vary)
Period	3 years (+1 if you fail the exam)	5 years cumulative cap (6 in the narrow exception below)	No renewal limit
Family with you	Generally not permitted	Generally not permitted	Permitted
Counts toward the 5-year work-status test	Not yet published	No — excluded by name	Yes

The start date is settled law: Cabinet Order No. 340 of 2025 fixes commencement of the amending act (令和6年法律第60号, promulgated 21 June 2024) at 1 April 2027, and the ISA Q&A repeats it (育成就労制度Q&A, Q3). The 育成就労 period is capped at three years, with "a maximum of one further year" if you fail the exams needed to move up (Q11). The 運用要領, April 2026 adds that the "育成就労 period" and your residence-card period "do not necessarily coincide" — you will be renewing.

The one sentence that decides everything

Everything turns on one sentence, section 1(3)ア (永住許可に関するガイドライン, 24 February 2026):

原則として引き続き１０年以上本邦に在留していること。ただし、この期間のうち、就労資格（在留資格「技能実習」及び「特定技能１号」を除く。）又は居住資格をもって引き続き５年以上在留していることを要する。

It sets two separate tests:

1. Ten years of continuous residence in Japan. The sentence says 本邦に在留していること — resident in Japan. It does not name a status.
2. Within those same ten years (「この期間のうち」), five continuous years on a work status or residence-based status — and it is here, inside the bracket attached to the five-year test, that 技能実習 and 特定技能1号 are excluded.

This is one of the most misread sentences in Japanese immigration. The exclusion is scoped to the five-year sub-test, not to the ten-year total. ISA phrases it the same limited way in 特定技能制度に関するQ&A, Q10: time on 特定技能1号 or 技能実習 "is not included in the period of residence on a work status" (就労資格として在留している期間に含まれない) — a statement about the work-status test, not the ten-year clock. ISA's 永住許可申請セルフチェックシート lists the two as parallel boxes to tick.

Where we stop short: ISA has published no statement affirmatively saying your 技能実習, 特定技能1号 or 育成就労 years count toward the ten-year total. The reading above follows from the sentence structure — 「この期間のうち」 and the scope of the bracket — and from the self-check sheet's parallel wording. It is a construction, not a quotation, and we flag it as such.

The same Q&A gives the other half directly: time on 特定技能2号 "is included in the period of residence on a work status, so changing to 永住者 is possible." ISA's 改正法の概要, note 3 also states that 特定技能2号 "may lead to permanent-residence permission." That is the pivot the road is built around.

Year by year: what the road actually looks like

Years in Japan	Status	Counts toward the 10-year total	Counts toward the 5-year work-status test	Family
1–3	育成就労	Yes, on the reading above	Not yet published	No
4–8	特定技能1号 (5-year cap)	Yes, on the reading above	No — excluded by name	No
9–13	特定技能2号 (no renewal cap)	Yes	Yes — 5 continuous years at year 13	Yes, 家族滞在
Year 13	File the 永住 application	13 ≥ 10 ✔	5 continuous ✔	—

Add standard processing of four to six months (ISA's 永住許可申請 page) and permission lands around year 13 and a half.

The 10-year floor. You need not spend all five years on 特定技能1号: ISA states 特定技能2号 can be obtained without passing through 1号 if your skill is confirmed by examination (特定技能Q&A, Q12), and moving up before three years are out is envisaged if you pass the exams and have worked at your employer beyond a set period (育成就労Q&A, Q76; that period is unpublished, so treat this as theoretical). Compress 1号 to two years and 3 + 2 + 5 = 10, where the ten-year total binds.

The 15-year stumble. Failing the exams at the end of 育成就労 buys up to one more year (Q11). And if you fail the 特定技能2号 evaluation examination but scored at least 80% of the pass mark in every required test, sign the prescribed undertakings and keep your employer's backing, your 特定技能1号 cumulative period extends to six years (ISA's 通算在留期間 page). 4 + 6 + 5 = 15. Maternity, childcare and long sick leave are instead carved out of the five-year cap, if claimed with evidence about three months beforehand.

Where the "18 years" figure comes from

No combination of published maximums produces 18. The arithmetic reaches it one way only: 3 + 5 + 10, by assuming you need ten years on 特定技能2号.

That stacks two errors. First, it takes the guideline's "10 years" — 10 years of residence in Japan — and treats it as 10 years of work status. Second, it then assumes your 育成就労 and 特定技能1号 years contribute nothing at all, so the clock restarts at zero on 特定技能2号. Both collide with 「この期間のうち」: the five-year block sits inside the ten years, not on top of them.

It is an easy mistake, repeated in good faith across the internet — including, until now, in our own pillar.

特定技能2号 is the pivot — and only 2.0% of 特定技能 residents are there

特定技能2号 changes three things at once: renewals become unlimited, family accompaniment becomes possible, and the clock that matters starts. Practically, it is a wall.

At 31 December 2025, ISA's resident statistics recorded 7,955 people on 特定技能2号 against 382,341 on 特定技能1号 (在留外国人統計, end-2025) — about 2.0% of the 390,296 people on 特定技能 overall. The 2号 population grew almost tenfold in a year from 832, so the direction is right. But plan your decade knowing that 98 of every 100 people on 特定技能 today hold the status that does not count. Passing the exam is not the same as getting the status: ISA puts cumulative passes of the 特定技能2号 evaluation examinations at 53,099 (preliminary figure) (特定技能制度運用状況, end-2025), far above the 7,955 actually resident on 2号.

Several fields demand years of on-site seniority too. In construction, MLIT requires documented experience as a 班長 (team leader): CCUS Level 3 equivalent working days, or 645 working days as 職長 or 班長 over three years where no standard exists (MLIT criteria, amended 31 January 2025). That, not the exam, is why many burn the full five years of 1号 first. Read our 育成就労 in construction guide alongside this one; the equivalents for manufacturing and agriculture and fisheries matter for the same reason.

Some fields have no 特定技能2号 at all. ISA lists 11 特定産業分野 as 2号-eligible, excluding 介護, 自動車運送業, 鉄道, 林業 and 木材産業 (特定技能Q&A, Q37 — that Q&A still says "16 fields," while the Cabinet decision of 23 January 2026 set 19 特定産業分野 and 17 育成就労産業分野). Care work has a different exit: the status 「介護」, requiring the 介護福祉士 national qualification, allows up to five years per grant and permits family (ISA's 「介護」 page). Its practical-experience route needs three years of qualifying employment and the 実務者研修 course (exam eligibility), landing in the same 13-year region.

Before you commit to a sector for years, hear from people already inside it. On LO-PAL you can ask someone doing that job now what the move up to 2号 took.

Do your 育成就労 years count toward the five? Nobody has published an answer

This is the one genuinely open question on the route. The permanent-residence guideline was revised on 24 February 2026 — after the 育成就労 law was enacted — and its exclusion bracket still names only 技能実習 and 特定技能1号. 育成就労 is not named. The 育成就労制度Q&A runs to more than 80 questions and contains zero occurrences of the word 永住, and the April 2026 operation manual is silent on permanent residence too.

So: does time on 育成就労 count toward the five-year work-status test? As of July 2026 this is 未確定 — not yet published. You will find confident answers in both directions online; none is sourced, because there is no source. Our own reading is that a successor to 技能実習 is unlikely to be treated more generously than 技能実習 — but that is inference, not law, and we label it as such.

This open question does not move the 13-year figure. On the standard route the five-year block is satisfied by 特定技能2号 regardless of how 育成就労 is treated. It only matters if someone goes from 育成就労 straight to 特定技能2号.

April 2027 raises the bar: the exam waiver disappears

Today, finishing 技能実習2号 in good standing lets you move to 特定技能1号 without taking the tests. Under 育成就労 that shortcut is gone. ISA states it directly: passing both a skills test (技能検定試験3級等 or the 特定技能1号評価試験) and a Japanese test at A2 level or above (日本語能力試験N4 etc.) becomes a requirement for moving up (育成就労Q&A, Q75).

Read that as a scheduling instruction. Japanese study cannot wait until year three: A1 is expected before you start work, A2 by the end, and the exams gate every year that follows.

Different rules apply if you are already here on 技能実習. Interns in Japan on 1 April 2027 may continue it (Q78/Q79), and the "2号 completed in good standing" waiver into 特定技能1号 survives "for the time being" (Q80); our guide to existing technical interns after April 2027 covers that transition. Note also that 育成就労 transfers are restricted to the same business category, with a transfer-restriction period set field by field at one to two years (Q48) — see your transfer rights, because an interrupted year is an interrupted clock.

Family: the years when you cannot bring them

Family accompaniment is not permitted, as a rule, on 育成就労 (育成就労Q&A, Q59) and not permitted on 特定技能1号 (特定技能Q&A, Q9). ISA's 家族滞在 page lists the statuses that qualify: 特定技能2号 and 介護 appear; 特定技能1号, 技能実習 and 育成就労 do not.

On the standard 3 + 5 route, the first status allowing your spouse or children to join you arrives after about eight years in Japan. Narrow humanitarian exceptions exist on 1号 — a child born in Japan to two 特定技能1号 parents, or a spouse or child already on 家族滞在 when a student changes to 1号, may remain on a 特定活動 status (Q9) — but they are exceptions, not a plan.

If your objective is living with your family sooner rather than a permanent-residence card eventually, this is the number to weigh. Our overview of 特定技能 (Specified Skilled Worker) explains how the two tiers differ, and changing residence status covers the mechanics.

The other conditions — and the record that starts in your first year

Years are only one test. The guideline also requires good conduct (素行が善良), independent livelihood (独立の生計を営むに足りる資産又は技能), and that your permanent residence accords with Japan's interests — the heading where most applications are decided. ISA's self-check sheet for work statuses sets out what is checked, and every line is a habit built from your first payslip:

• Residence tax paid on time for the last five years. Even if everything is settled by the time you apply, payment made after the original deadline "is in principle evaluated negatively" (guideline 1(3)イ). Catching up late is not neutral.
• National taxes with nothing outstanding across the five categories checked (withholding income tax, self-assessed income tax, consumption tax, inheritance tax and gift tax).
• Pension and health-insurance premiums paid on time for the last two years. The document list asks for two years of pension records and insurance receipts alongside five years of residence-tax certificates.
• No fines or custodial sentences.
• A current period of stay of 3 or 5 years. Until 31 March 2027 a 3-year period is treated as satisfying the "longest period of stay" test; after that the transitional treatment ends, except that someone holding a 3-year period on 31 March 2027 is still treated as meeting it for the first decision made within that period of stay (guideline note 1). The maximum for 特定技能2号 is itself 3 years (ISA's 特定技能 page), so a 2号 holder granted 3 years reads as holding the longest period for that status.
• A guarantor (身元保証人), normally a Japanese national, permanent resident or special permanent resident living in Japan; ¥10,000 in revenue stamps on permission; and — critically — no appeal if you are refused (ISA's 永住許可申請 page). Your only route is a fresh application.

The stakes continue after permission. From April 2027, willful non-payment of taxes and social insurance becomes a ground for revoking permanent residence — though ISA states revocation is not envisaged where illness or job loss made payment genuinely impossible, and that where permanent residence is revoked the person is in most cases moved to another status such as 定住者, with re-application possible (適正化Q&A, Q9/Q12/Q13). Our guides to the pension system, health insurance and the income requirement cover the records behind those lines.

One caution about 「引き続き」 (continuous). ISA publishes no numerical standard for how much time outside Japan breaks continuity. Figures such as "three months in one trip" or "100 days a year" circulate in private commentary from administrative scriveners; they are not ISA's published standard. A separate, documented point: for the 特定技能1号 five-year cap, time outside Japan on a re-entry permit still counts against it (通算在留期間 page).

Faster routes, naturalisation, and what we would check first

The guideline lists eight exemptions from the ten-year rule (guideline, section 2). One is realistically reachable here: the spouse of a Japanese national, permanent resident or special permanent resident — a genuine marriage of three years or more plus one year of residence; their children need one year. Five years as 定住者 is another, though not normally reachable from 育成就労, and the high-skilled shortcuts (three years at 70 points, one at 80) rest on scoring a 育成就労 career will not reach. See permanent residence through marriage.

Naturalisation is a different choice, not a faster version. Under 国籍法第5条第1項 the residence requirement is five years of continuous domicile, alongside being 18 or over, good conduct, ability to make a living and — decisively — giving up your original nationality (MOJ, conditions for naturalisation). Being a permanent resident is not a prerequisite. On years alone it is shorter, but permanent residence keeps your nationality while keeping you inside the residence-management system.

What we would check first

• Does your sector even have 特定技能2号? In care work the exit is the 「介護」 status via the 介護福祉士 qualification, and the study starts years earlier than you think.
• What does your sector require beyond the exam? Construction's 645 days of 職長/班長 experience is the clearest published example. Ask in year one, not year six.
• Are your taxes, pension and health insurance paid on time, every time, from month one? The record you build today is the one an officer reads in year 13.
• Is your period of stay 3 or 5 years when you apply? One-year renewals are a signal worth asking about.
• Planning a long trip home around a status change? Avoid it if you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is it really 18 years from 育成就労 to permanent residence?

No. No combination of published maximums produces 18. The permanent-residence guideline (revised 24 February 2026) requires 10 years of residence in Japan and, within that same period, 5 continuous years on a qualifying work status. Stacking the published maximums gives 3 years of 育成就労, up to 5 years of 特定技能1号 and 5 years of 特定技能2号 = about 13 years, with 10 years as the absolute floor and about 15 years if you fail an exam. The figure 18 appears only if you mistake the 10-year residence requirement for 10 years of work status and also assume your earlier years count for nothing.

Do my 育成就労 years count toward permanent residence?

For the 5-year work-status test this is not yet published (未確定) as of July 2026. The guideline's exclusion bracket was revised on 24 February 2026, after the 育成就労 law, and still names only 技能実習 and 特定技能1号 — 育成就労 is not named. The 育成就労 Q&A, with more than 80 questions, contains no mention of 永住 at all. For the 10-year total, the wording 「この期間のうち」 attaches the exclusion to the 5-year test only, so the years read as counting toward the 10-year total, but ISA has published no statement confirming this. Either way it does not change the roughly 13-year figure, because the 5-year block is satisfied by 特定技能2号.

Why do 特定技能1号 years not count toward the 5-year requirement?

Because the permanent-residence guideline excludes them by name. Section 1(3)ア requires 5 continuous years on a work status "excluding 技能実習 and 特定技能1号". ISA's 特定技能 Q&A Q10 confirms that time on 特定技能1号 or 技能実習 is not included in the period of residence on a work status, while time on 特定技能2号 is included, so a change to 永住者 is possible from 2号.

When can I bring my family to Japan on this route?

Not until you reach 特定技能2号, which on the standard 3 + 5 route is after about eight years in Japan. Family accompaniment is generally not permitted on 育成就労 (育成就労Q&A Q59) or on 特定技能1号 (特定技能Q&A Q9), and neither status appears on ISA's list of statuses eligible for 家族滞在, while 特定技能2号 and the 「介護」 status do. Narrow humanitarian exceptions exist on 特定技能1号, such as a child born in Japan to two 特定技能1号 parents.

How many people have actually reached 特定技能2号?

At 31 December 2025, 7,955 people held 特定技能2号 against 382,341 on 特定技能1号 — about 2.0% of the 390,296 residents on 特定技能 overall. The 2号 population grew from 832 a year earlier, so it is rising fast, but cumulative passes of the 特定技能2号 evaluation examinations stood at 53,099, far above the number of people actually resident on the status. Passing the exam is not the same as obtaining it: several fields, notably construction, also require years of documented on-site seniority.

What changes for permanent residence on 1 April 2027?

Three things. 育成就労 replaces 技能実習, and the old shortcut of moving to 特定技能1号 by completing 技能実習2号 in good standing disappears on the new route (ISA says that waiver survives for the time being for people who completed 技能実習2号) — you will need to pass a skills test (技能検定3級 or the 1号評価試験) and a Japanese test at A2 level (JLPT N4 or equivalent). The tightening of permanent residence takes effect, adding willful non-payment of taxes and social insurance as a ground for revoking permanent-resident status. And the transitional treatment under which a 3-year period of stay counts as the "longest period of stay" ends on 31 March 2027. The guideline may be revised again around that date, so check the current version before applying.

Is naturalisation faster than permanent residence?

On years alone, yes. Article 5(1) of the Nationality Act requires 5 years of continuous domicile in Japan, along with being 18 or over, good conduct and the ability to make a living. Being a permanent resident is not a prerequisite. But naturalisation means acquiring Japanese nationality and, in principle, giving up your original nationality, and it removes you from the residence-management system entirely. Permanent residence keeps your nationality while keeping you subject to status revocation and deportation rules. They are different decisions, not different speeds.

What else besides the years can make a permanent-residence application fail?

The payment record, most often. ISA checks residence tax paid on time for the last 5 years, national taxes with nothing outstanding, and pension and health-insurance premiums paid on time for the last 2 years. The guideline states that payment made after the original deadline is in principle evaluated negatively, even if everything is settled by the time you apply. You also need a current period of stay of 3 or 5 years, a guarantor resident in Japan, and ¥10,000 in revenue stamps on permission. Standard processing is 4 to 6 months, and there is no appeal procedure if you are refused.

Everything above is current as of July 2026. Two things change on 1 April 2027 — 育成就労 begins and the permanent-residence tightening takes effect — and the guideline, last revised 24 February 2026, may well be revised again around then. Our permanent-residence application guide walks through the forms. Before filing, check the current guideline on ISA's own pages and take individual questions to your 地方出入国在留管理官署, the Foreign Residents Information Center (0570-013904) or FRESC (0570-011000). Permanent residence is discretionary: ISA's self-check sheet says even a clean sheet does not promise permission.

Thirteen years is a long time, and the years that count are the last five. If you want to know what the middle of that road feels like before you commit, ask on LO-PAL — people a few rungs ahead can tell you what their sector demanded, and what they wish they had started in year one.