from student visa to permanent residency

Hi,

Im a Chinese student who is graduating at the end of March 08 and wish to stay and work in Japan.
Ive been in the country for about 7 years and is currently working part-time.
My visa is expiring soon. How can I do to stay in Japan and make a living?

thank you for your help

miya165,

If you have lived in Japan for 7 years, then you may well qualify for a permanent resident visa. The best thing to do would be do ask at your nearest immigration bureau. They will be able to tell you on the spot whether it is worth applying or whether you should wait a few more years. The only problem is that, unlike applications for other visa types, you cannot apply for permanent residency just before your current visa expires. You need to have something like 6 months remaining on your current visa, which means you need to renew it or switch to another visa status at the same time as you make your application for permanent residency.

I think you need to be in Japan for 5 years (sometimes more, sometimes less) for permanent residence visa.

That's all I know.
Glad you liked Japan so much!

I think you might have to wait a few more years, meaning your best chance of getting Permanent Resident status would be to find an employer in Japan and work there for a few years before applying.

The background is - I don't know what your visa status so far has been for the past seven years - that you need 10 consecutive years of living (including student and working) in Japan already before applying for PR status, but out of that 10 years, you need at least 5 years on visas "other than" student or pre-college visa types. This is just a guideline, though.

I think there is this "tanki katsudou visa" to allow you to stay a bit more beyond your Student visa to search for a job:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+6...