Residence Status, Procedures, Permanent Residency and Immigration Policy Context

The Immigration Services Agency publishes a general official index of all residence statuses in Japan (work, student, family and others), along with dedicated pages for specific statuses such as journalist and religious-worker visas. Two pages cover the official procedure for obtaining permission to engage in activities outside one's current visa status (資格外活動許可) — for example, part-time work beyond the limit on a student visa, or work not matching one's visa category — which must be applied for separately through immigration; a third page explains how to register a foreign name in kanji on a residence card, relevant for anyone who wants their name to appear in kanji rather than only katakana or the Latin alphabet on official documents and personal seals. A separate official guideline explains the "contribution to the country" criterion for permanent residency (eijuken), clarifying what kinds of achievements in business, science, culture or sport can support an accelerated or simplified PR application. Finally, an official report on the basic policy for immigration control, published in August 2025, gives government context for the tightening of visa requirements in 2025-2026, alongside a document describing the simplified visa-filing category for so-called "super white" companies — those with a long, fully transparent compliance record — which face fewer supporting-document requirements for their employees' work visas. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/index.html — general official index of all residence statuses in Japan. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/journalist.html — journalist visa requirements. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/qaq5.html — list of residence statuses including the religious-worker visa. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri07_00045.html?hl=en — permission to engage in activity outside one's visa status, main page. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri07_00003.html — permission to engage in activity outside one's visa status, supplementary page. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00019.html — procedure to register a foreign name in kanji on a residence card. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/resources/nyukan_nyukan36.html — official guideline on the "contribution to the country" criterion for permanent residency. Source: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/others/05_001390_00001.html — official report on the basic policy for immigration control, August 2025.