I've seen people mention this before but it seems to be based on a misunderstanding - your tax obligations to Japan are not based on your visa status, but on th

I've seen people mention this before but it seems to be based on a misunderstanding - your tax obligations to Japan are not based on your visa status, but on the length of your residence. See this official government page, it doesn't mention visa status anywhere. https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/section3/page7.html https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/section3/page7.... It looks like in some documents the term "permanent resident" is used to refer to "residents of more than five years" or similar, but it's not a reference to visa status. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/10/30/how-tos/long-term-foreign-japan-residents-must-declare-overseas-assets-taxed/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/10/30/how-tos/lo... Besides the terminology issue, I suspect that part of the confusion may be that the PR application does require proof you've been paying taxes, and Immigration can ask for further proof. In my own case my annual tax statements were enough.