You should check the necessary prerequisites for application before submitting anything to immigration.

This checklist is for general cases NOT involving existence of Japanese family (spouses, relatives, and/or dependents).

Info is taken from the official Japanese Gov’t Immigration site.

Documents to prepare for a person applying after 10 years of continuous residency

To prepare yourself:

• [ ] Passport Photo - 3 cm x 4 cm dimensions, taken within the last three months.
• [ ] Valid passport, along with a copy
• [ ] Current residency card, along with a copy (it should be valid for the max amount)
• [ ] A filled and signed application form (住許可申請書)
• [ ] statement of reason(s) why you need permanent residency (理由書)
• [ ] Copy of bankbook’s most recent transactions + account info page (預貯金通帳)  (A copy of your online bankbook screen which shows your transaction history is acceptable. However, documents must be printed in a way that makes them unable to be altered (Excel files, etc. are not accepted).
• [ ] National pension insurance premium receipt for the past 24 months 国民年金保険料領収証書 (copy)- please black out your insurance number before submission

If you have been enrolled in the National Pension System for the entire period of the past two years AND can submit copies of your National Pension insurance premium receipts 国民年金保険料領収証書 for the past 24 months, the below documents are NOT required.

• [ ] Pension Regular Mail ねんきん定期便 - (displays pension record information for the entire period)
• [ ] Generated "Pension record for each month" report from Nenkin Net ねんきんネットの「各月の年金記録」の印刷画面. Link for details
• [ ] Health insurance card 健康保険被保険者証 (copy) - please black out your insurance number before submission

If you have been continuously enrolled in health insurance for the entire past two years, the below documents are NOT required

• [ ] National Health Insurance Card 国民健康保険被保険者証 (copy)
• [ ] National Health Insurance (Tax) Payment Certificate 国民健康保険料（税）納付証明書 - If you have been enrolled in National Health Insurance during the past two years, please submit the form for that period.)
• [ ] National Health Insurance (Tax) Receipt 国民健康保険料（税）領収証書 (Copy) - If you have been enrolled in National Health Insurance during the past two years, please submit copies of all receipts for that period.
• [ ] letter of understanding

To request from either employer or local city hall:

• [ ] certificate of employment (在職証明書)
  • [ ] in case of self-employment: a copy of final tax return (確定申告書控え) and business license (営業許可書)
  • [ ] in cases where salary is not provided in the 在職証明書: Next year’s expected salary 来年給料見込み
• [ ] One copy of the resident tax (or exemption) 住民税の課税（又は非課税)
  • [ ] Documents proving that you have paid your resident tax at the proper time for the past five years (copies of your bankbook, receipts, etc.) ← this is only needed if your taxes were NOT automatically deducted from your salary for the past 5 years
• [ ] One copy of the certificate and tax payment certificate (証明書及び納税証明書) - stating total income and tax payment status for the year, for the past five years
  • As long as the certificate shows both your total income for the year and your tax payment status (whether you have paid taxes or not), either one will be acceptable.
  • If your city, town or village does not issue certificates for the past five years, submit the certificate for the longest period that they can issue.