Change of Employment and Acquisition of Permanent Resident Status
QUESTION
I have been staying and working here in Japan since 2008. First, I received a one-year visa, next another one-year and then a three-year visa. Now I have a five-year working visa. I want to resign at my present job and find a new work. I also want to resign and go home to the Philippines. If I resign and apply for a permanent visa, would be there any dismerit to my application? Or if I will resign and go back to the Philippines to study for six months, would there be any effect to my visa that I have now? If I return here to Japan to look for a new job, would there be a problem at the immigration because I don’t have a job?
– Sharon
ANSWER
Referring to your question, please find my answer and comment as follows:
1. Permission for permanent residence
If you will resign from your company, which you have been working now, it will be difficult to obtain permission for permanent residence. If the residence period of your stay permit without retiring will count more than 10 years, a permission-for-permanent-residence application will be granted by the probability near 100%.
On the other hand, if the present company has an intention, which carries out the change of your status of residence from “Engineer” to “Highly Skilled Professional (Kodo-Senmon-Syoku in Japanese)”, you may be granted permanent residence even if a period of your stay in Japan is less than 10 years.
Referring to this point, you must negotiate with your company, and ask to apply for it to the Immigration Bureau. Anyway, main conditions in order to obtain permission for permanent residence have been stipulated in the law, such as work for and engage in the present company or other company, which is equal to the present company and the continuation years in Japan.
2. Change of occupation
If you would like to change your employment from the present company to others, it is desirable to change your employment to the same scale as the present company or larger scale than it. Otherwise, your period of stay, in spite of having the period of stay of “five years,” will be shortened for reasons of change of occupation to “3 years” or “1 year.” Moreover, when a new company does not fulfill the criteria/conditions, your petition for “Change of employment” will be disapproved, and may be encouraged the departure from a country. Then, if your period of stay will be shortened, it will be difficult to obtain the permission for permanent residence.
On the other hand, if it is after the Immigration Bureau gives you the permission for permanent residence, you will become possible to resign the present company and change your employment to another company. It is no problem even if the company may be small scale. Moreover, the permission for permanent residence is not canceled for reasons of change of occupation. Furthermore, if it is after the permission for permanent residence would be given, since you can also return temporarily to your country using a deemed re-entry permit, and will not become a problem at an airport at the time of your re-entry into a country if it is less than one year. In addition to this, it is also possible to perform the change of occupation activities to the other company in the jobless state after the re-entry into Japan.
3. Residents control by the Immigration Bureau after resigning present company
However, when you resign from your present company, once yout try to find a new job to another company after temporary return to your native country, the various problems are surely raised to you:
First, your company has to report the fact of your resignation to the Immigration Bureau at the same time when you retired. This is the duty of the company, which has specified to the statute. If your company will neglect it, your company must be punished. When the Immigration Bureau receives this report from your company, they will check your departure record immediately. When it becomes clear that you have already departed by the “Simple Departure (the departure which he/she will not to submit the re-entry exit card, but return a residence card to the Immigration Inspector at the airport)” from a country after your resigning a company, they will close all your residents’ records. However, when you still reside without leaving a country, they will call you to the office and carry out a hearing from you. When you have the intention to change the employment, the Immigration Bureau will guide you making an application for change of your status of residence in that case.
On the other hand, when you do not have such intention, they will advise you that you must leave a country within a fixed period (about two weeks) and change your status of residence into “Designated activities” as a preparation period for your departure.
4. Problem of re-entry into Japan
If your change of occupation would be performed and could be accepted your temporary return to your country for six months by your new company, you have no problem at all. You can re-enter into Japan by a deemed re-entry permit in six months, and can work for a new company. However, if you would return your country temporarily without changing your employment, various problems will arise to you. The Immigration Bureau has full knowledge of your resignation by the report of your present company, and they will close all your residents’ records. Therefore, the “resident’s card” which you hold now does not have any effect, and you would be treated as those who made the Entry Application newly. That is, you will be examined at Special Inquiry Officer’s room as those who do not acquire the proper visa. At that time, if you would have already concluded the employment agreement with a new company and the new company itself has also fulfilled and adapted to the criteria (permission standard) of the Immigration Law, you may be granted after hearing. However, you are supposed to be not permitted the landing permit in the state of performing change of occupation activities after re-entering into Japan as you questioned me. I myself think that the Immigration Bureau does not accept it, and make you leave to your native countries after they confiscate your resident’s card.
5. Best way, which you may choose
Under these interpretations and practices of law, if you do want to set to work in Japan in the future, you should devise your plan in the following procedures:
a) Make an application for the Change of status from “Engineer” to “Highly Skilled Professional (Kodo-Senmon-Syoku in Japanese)” being in office in the present company.
b) If this application will be permitted, you may make an application for “Permanent Resident” immediately, and will acquire the permission of it.
c) When the present company is not cooperative to the application for change of status “Highly Skilled Professional (Kodo-Senmon-Syoku in Japanese)” and it seems to be difficult, you may change your employment.
d) After change of occupation, you must submit “Petition for change of employment” to the Immigration Bureau promptly, and secure the future residents permission.
e) You may negotiate with the new company and get the vacation for six months.
f) You may resume your position in six months after re-entry into Japan.
g) You may submit the application for change of status “Highly Skilled Professional (Kodo-Senmon-Syoku in Japanese)” anew.
h) When the application for change of status to “Highly Skilled Professional (Kodo-Senmon-Syoku in Japanese)” will be granted, you should apply for “Permanent Resident” immediately. If this application would not be accepted, you can make the application for “Permanent Resident” after your term of resident would have passed over 10 years.
In the case of which you would have departed with the “Simple departure from a country.” your old residents track record will be extinguished by the Immigration Authority irrespective of which you possessed “Residence Card” or not. Therefore, old resident’s record of accomplishment in several years in Japan will not be counted, but will be counted from zero.
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