Photo/Illutration The Immigration Services Agency in Tokyo’s Minato Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The government is set to shortly clarify permanent residency requirements for children of foreign parents who arrived in Japan while they were growing up and want to make a life for themselves in this country as adults.

The step mainly affects those who came to Japan with their parents in junior high or senior high school, typically between the ages of 12 and 18.

Officials of the Immigration Services Agency said the requirements will include more than five years of financial independence, as well as payment of taxes and social insurance premiums, while holding a “designated activities” visa.

Children on a family visa will be eligible for the designated activities visa after graduating from a Japanese high school and securing a job in Japan.

Although designated activities visas allow holders to work in Japan, they come with limitations.

Visa holders cannot start a business or bring family members to Japan immediately. For example, if they marry someone from their home country, their spouse cannot join them on this visa.

In addition, their residency in Japan depends on their parents or legal guardian, meaning if their parents leave the country, they would have to leave, too.

In contrast, children who arrived in Japan in elementary school or younger may be able to transition directly from a family visa to permanent residency.

Permanent residency offers significant benefits, including the ability to start a business and sponsor a spouse for residency. 

An ISA official explained that the agency has allowed changes from designated activities visa to permanent resident status in the past.

However, the specific requirements were not disclosed, leading to criticism that this creates hurdles for young people to plan their future.

Children who come to Japan by the age of 17 often obtain a family visa, according to the ISA.

As of the end of last year, there were approximately 266,000 people, including adults, with this status. That’s an increase of more than 30 percent in the last five years.