Hello everyone!
TLDR
I would like to know if some people have experienced moving temporarily their address to another prefecture (renting a cheap place) where waiting time to process the application would be much shorter than Tokyo (currently 2 years ish)
Details
So here’s my situation: I’ve been holding a HSP I visa for 1 year and a half with 80+ points and I was ready to apply for PR but unfortunately I got laid off so this might reset the 1-year period in case I find another job that allows me to justify a profile with 80+ points again.
I thought that being the PR all applications had to transit through Shinagawa at the national level but it seems that’s not the case and depending on which prefecture people apply from, they can get their PR approved within 6 months (4 the shortest I’ve seen).
Honestly, PR has been on my mind so I wouldn’t mind double renting, i.e. keeping my current place in Tokyo and renting another place, dirt cheap, in the middle of the countryside where I could get PR much faster.
I’d rent the place, change my address on my resident card, apply to PR, check once a month the mail box by going there and then once I get the PR “move back” by changing my address back to Tokyo.
Is it something that some people have already done? Would it look suspicious to the immigration to make such a move? Do I need to stay for at least a few months in a new address before being able to apply?
Note: I have an appointment with immigration lawyer this afternoon to clarify a few points about this but this is a 30-minute appointment so I don’t know whether we can cover it all.
I’m asking this because this is a very specific move and I couldn’t find specific experience feedback from any people online.
Thank you in advance for your help and advice!
EDIT After Consulting with Immigration Lawyer:
Because the immigration is checking proof of residency (住民票) it would look a bit suspicious to move too far and apply directly.
That being said, he mentioned that Kanawaga Area (Yokohama, etc…) + Machida (even though it’s Tokyo) are rattached to Kanagawa immigration office and since those areas are very close to Tokyo, it’s totally normal to move there for whatever reasons.
Also at the moment I’m writing this Kanagawa is around 6-month processing VS a 18-month one for Tokyo.
If I want to speed it up moving to an area rattached to Kanagawa immigration would be the move according to him.
Hope it will help some people!
by Iseril78