Japan PR Routes by Visa Type: 10/5/3/1-Year Tracks Compared

Information current as of April 2026 based on the ISA's revised PR Guideline (Feb 24, 2026) and the ISA's permanent residence procedures page. For the underlying rules, see our PR complete guide.

The five routes at a glance

Route	Years in Japan	Years on qualifying visa	Other key requirement
Standard 10-year route	10 continuous	5 on work or residence visa (excluding Trainee and Specified Skilled Worker Type 1)	Period of stay: 5 years (the maximum)
Spouse of Japanese / PR / Special PR	1 (in addition to marriage)	—	Substantive marriage of 3+ years
Long-Term Resident (定住者)	5	5 on Long-Term Resident	Continuous residence
Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) — 80 points	1	1 with 80+ HSP points throughout	Maintained 80 points without dropping
Highly Skilled Professional — 70 points	3	3 with 70+ HSP points throughout	Maintained 70 points without dropping

"Continuous" is the trap — leaving Japan for more than 90 days at a stretch, or 180 days total in a 12-month window, can break the count and reset your clock. We'll come back to that.

Route 1: The standard 10-year track

This is the default for everyone without a faster route. The two requirements are stacked:

• 10 years of continuous residence in Japan — counted from your first valid status, including student years.
• 5 years on a qualifying work or residence visa — within those 10 years. Engineer/Specialist, Skilled Labor, Investor/Business Manager, Researcher, etc. all qualify. Trainee (技能実習) and Specified Skilled Worker Type 1 (特定技能1号) do not.

Trips home matter. The unwritten rule: each individual absence under 90 days is fine, but a single trip exceeding 90 days, or cumulative absences over 150–180 days in a 12-month window, may be treated as breaking continuity. If you went home for a 6-month sabbatical, you may have to start your 10-year clock over.

Special case: Specified Skilled Worker Type 2 (特定技能2号) holders. Even though Type 2 has no period-of-stay limit, the time you spent on Type 1 doesn't count toward the 5-year qualifying period. So Type 1 → Type 2 transition means starting the 5-year clock from your Type 2 start date.

Route 2: Spouse of Japanese / Permanent Resident / Special Permanent Resident (3-year track)

If you're married to a Japanese, PR holder, or Special PR holder, you need:

• 3 years of substantive marriage (実体を伴った婚姻) — measured from when you actually started living together as a couple, not from registration date
• 1 year of continuous residence in Japan

"Substantive marriage" is investigated. If you registered the marriage but live in different countries, those years don't count. Long-distance marriages need to demonstrate genuine partnership through visits, communication, and shared finances.

This route does not require 10 years in Japan. Many people on Spouse of Japanese visas successfully apply with just 4 total years (3 marriage + 1 in Japan), and others apply during their 5th year of residence. See our spouse-route PR article for detail.

What if I get divorced after PR?

You keep your PR. Divorce after PR approval doesn't trigger revocation. But divorcing during the application period almost always means rejection — Immigration treats your file as no longer eligible for the spouse route.

Route 3: Long-Term Resident (5-year track)

If you hold the 定住者 (Long-Term Resident) status — common for descendants of Japanese, certain refugees, and divorced spouses raising Japanese children — you need 5 continuous years on Long-Term Resident.

The 5 years must be on Long-Term Resident specifically. Time on a previous Spouse visa before transitioning to Long-Term Resident does not count. Many people in this situation miscount and apply early.

Route 4: Highly Skilled Professional — the fastest route

Designed for high-earning professionals, researchers, and managers. Two sub-tracks:

• 80 points: 1 year — fastest possible PR. You must hold 80+ points continuously for the full year.
• 70 points: 3 years — still much faster than standard.

Points are calculated from a matrix covering education, salary, age, Japanese ability, employer status, and research output. A 35-year-old PhD with ¥10M salary in a major company easily clears 80. A 28-year-old master's holder with ¥5M might score 65–70.

The trap: points must be maintained continuously. If you change jobs and your new employer's points are lower, you may drop below 80, breaking your eligibility. For details on the points system, see our HSP points guide.

HSP route and the 2026 guideline

The February 2026 guideline did not change the HSP route's year requirement, but the same on-time payment and 5-year period-of-stay scrutiny applies. HSP visas are typically issued with 5-year periods, so the new rule generally helps HSP applicants.

Route 5: Specified Skilled Worker Type 2

The Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) program now covers 16 industry fields following the March 2024 Cabinet decision that added 4 new fields (automobile transport / 自動車運送業, railway / 鉄道, forestry / 林業, and wood industry / 木材産業) to the original 12 (construction, shipbuilding, automobile maintenance, aviation, accommodation, agriculture, fisheries, food and beverage manufacturing, food service, nursing care, building cleaning, and industrial machinery / electrical / electronic information manufacturing). The program has two levels:

• Type 1 (特定技能1号): 5-year cap, no family bring-along, does NOT count toward PR's 5-year qualifying period.
• Type 2 (特定技能2号): Renewable indefinitely, family bring-along allowed, DOES count toward PR's 5-year qualifying period.

So a Type 1 worker who passes the Type 2 examination and transitions can eventually file PR — but the 5-year qualifying period starts from Type 2 transition, not Type 1 entry. With 10 years total residence required, that means most pathway is: 5 years Type 1 + 5 years Type 2 (or longer) → PR application. For details on this pathway, see our Specified Skilled Worker guide.

If you're trying to figure out which route applies to you and what year your clock actually started, post your visa history on LO-PAL for free — a local helper can map out your timeline and tell you when you'll actually be eligible.

Choosing your route

If you qualify for multiple routes, file under the fastest one — but the file must clearly state which route you're using. Mixing routes (e.g., trying to use both spouse and 10-year residence years) can confuse adjudicators.

Your situation	Best route
Married to Japanese for 3+ years, in Japan 1+ year	Spouse route (3-year track)
HSP with 80 points, in Japan 1+ year	HSP 80-point route
HSP with 70 points, in Japan 3+ years	HSP 70-point route
Long-Term Resident for 5+ years	LTR route
Engineer/Specialist for 5+ years, total 10 in Japan	Standard 10-year route
Specified Skilled Worker Type 2 for 5+ years, total 10 in Japan	Standard 10-year route

Counter phrases when applying

• 配偶者ルートで申請します (Haiguusha ruuto de shinsei shimasu) — I'm applying via the spouse route.
• 高度専門職の特例で申請します (Koudo senmonshoku no tokurei de shinsei shimasu) — I'm applying via the HSP fast-track.
• 10年ルートで申請します (Juu-nen ruuto de shinsei shimasu) — I'm applying via the 10-year route.

Related Articles

• Japan PR Complete Guide
• HSP Points Calculation
• Spouse Route PR
• Specified Skilled Worker Guide

Get Your Route and Eligibility Year Confirmed

Filing under the wrong route or applying one year too early are both common rejection causes. Post your visa timeline on LO-PAL for free — a local helper can read your residence card history, confirm your route, and tell you the earliest date you can actually file. You only pay when the task is done.