Japan Permanent Residence with 70 or 80 HSP Points: Which Dates Must You Prove?

Having 70 or 80 HSP points today does not, by itself, establish eligibility for Japan’s accelerated Permanent Residence routes.

The Immigration Services Agency may also require the applicant to establish the necessary points at an earlier reference date.

This means that the practical question is not simply: “How many points do I have now?”

It is: “How many qualifying points did I have on every relevant date, and can I prove each item with records that existed at that time?”

The 70-point and 80-point routes

Route	Points to establish	Relevant historical date
70-point route	At least 70 points at the time of the PR application	At least 70 points three years before the PR application
80-point route	At least 80 points at the time of the PR application	At least 80 points one year before the PR application

The published guidelines also refer to continuing to reside in Japan while maintaining the relevant level of points for the applicable period.

The two calculations should therefore not be treated as isolated snapshots that make every change between them irrelevant.

Why a current calculation is not enough

HSP points can change even where the applicant remains with the same employer and continues performing similar work.

Common reasons include:

• moving into a different age band
• a change in annual remuneration
• completing another year of qualifying professional experience
• obtaining an academic degree or professional qualification
• passing a qualifying Japanese-language examination
• a change in the employer or employing organization
• the beginning or end of an eligible research or innovation-related item
• a change in the applicant’s HSP activity category

A point item acquired after the historical reference date generally cannot be moved backward and counted as if it had already existed.

Age points must be checked on each date

Age points are based on the applicant’s age at the relevant time.

An applicant may have received more age points three years ago than at the time of the current application. Conversely, a person cannot use their current age to recalculate an earlier date.

The date of birth, application date and historical reference date should be placed on one timeline before the point totals are finalized.

Annual remuneration requires more than one salary figure

Current annual remuneration may differ from the remuneration applicable one or three years earlier.

The relevant evidence may include:

• the employment contract in effect on the reference date
• a notice of employment conditions
• salary revision or promotion letters
• monthly salary statements
• bonus rules and payment records
• tax withholding records
• an employer certificate explaining the applicable annual remuneration

Care is required where compensation includes variable bonuses, stock-based compensation, overseas payments or allowances that may not be treated in the same way as ordinary remuneration.

Professional experience must exist by the reference date

Work experience accumulated after the reference date cannot be included in the historical calculation.

The experience must also relate to the professional work the applicant intends to perform under the relevant HSP activity.

When reviewing earlier experience, confirm:

Two simultaneous jobs do not ordinarily turn one calendar year into two years of professional experience.

Do you need to hold HSP status already?

The accelerated routes are not limited to a person whose current residence card necessarily says “Highly Skilled Professional.”

The official application categories also address applicants who hold another qualifying status but can establish that they met the applicable HSP point level while performing the relevant professional activity.

However, calculating 70 or 80 points is not enough by itself.

The applicant’s actual activity, status of residence, period in Japan and supporting evidence must fit the applicable official route.

Other Permanent Residence requirements still matter

The points route primarily affects the residence-period requirement.

Depending on the case, Immigration may still examine matters including:

• good conduct and compliance with Japanese law
• the applicant’s livelihood and financial stability
• resident tax payments and their timing
• pension contributions and their timing
• health-insurance premiums and their timing
• required immigration notifications
• the current status and period of stay
• the accuracy and consistency of the submitted records

Build a reference-date timeline before applying

A useful review begins with the intended PR application date and works backward.

Where the intended filing date changes, the historical reference date also changes. This can affect age, experience, remuneration and the availability of evidence.

Practical records to preserve

Records should be matched to the date on which the relevant fact existed. A collection of current certificates without a clear chronology may leave an important historical gap.

Final message

The 70-point and 80-point routes are time-based as well as point-based.

Before deciding when to apply, confirm: the applicable route, the exact historical reference date, every material point change and the evidence available for each claimed item.

If an important item is unclear, changing the filing date may also change the calculation. It is therefore better to build the timeline before fixing the application date.

Official references: Permanent Residence Guidelines / Permanent Residence documents for the 80-point route / Permanent Residence documents for the 70-point route / HSP Points System Q&A