RetireJapan

I'm easily over the 10 year qualification route, and have been employed the whole time paying tax.

Also, I still have a couple of years on current spouse visa, so there is some room to manoeuvre.

Reason I was looking to move things along was while I am still employed, but that idea is looking complicated from what's been said.

I know someone who switched - unplanned - jobs about 5 months after the application was handed in. Luckily he had employed an immigration lawyer (administrative scrivener they really are) and they took care of informing immigration/preparation of additional documents required. It altogether took almost one year until approved, compared to around 5-7 months for „normal“cases.

In case where s. o. has a Japanese spouse and young children, I heard (just rumours, but still) that it is easier to go permanent, as there is a strong emphasis to keep the partially Japanese family together.

In any case, I would consult with a reputable immigration lawyer first what your chances are, they usually charge around 5,000 yen for 30 to 60 minutes consultation and should be able to give you a realistic assessment of your chances.

I cannot really recommend the one I used, but heard that these are very nice and professional (depending where you live, this one is in Tokyo):

https://www.juridique.jp/

Hello Isodora

Thank you for the recommendation, but unfortunately the company seems to be overwhelmed with work at the moment.
"Currently we are only able to take on new requests from our existing clients and those who have been referred to us through our clients or acquaintances."

If any other companies have been recommended to you (or anyone else reading), then please let me know.

Cheers

Hi TokyoSurvivor,

very sorry for my late response, I asked my friend who asked a colleague and so on …… , unfortunately that office was also overloaded. Finally she sent me a link to another one this morning. Not clear to me if he can converse in English though.

Good luck, it may take some time; another friend has not heard anything after 8.5 months and that case is very straightforward (she did it on her own though). There really seems to be an application boom at the moment.

His name is Fumihiko Endo:

Sozoku-tokyo.com