I'm curious whether anyone here has a similar experience and can comment. Alternately, if you are involved in inbound migration and have specialized knowledge.
I've twice worked in Japan with a company-sponsored work visa. Both experiences were a long time ago. I worked 3.5 years in the 90s, and about 2 years in the 2010s. I married my Japanese wife in 1999, after my first stay in Japan but before my second posting. We've mostly lived in the US since then. My wife joined me in Japan for about a year during the second work posting. We've now been married for 26 years, and are considering retirement in Japan. I've read here that there's an accelerated path to receiving permanent residency based on the qualifications of having been married for 3 years and having lived in Japan for 1 year. In our case we've more than done both, but there's been a lengthy gap since our last residency. Based on your experience/knowledge, will I have to spend another year+ living in Japan before applying for permanent residence, or will our historical experience suffice so that I could apply for immediate permanent residency?
by uenoparker1