can i apply for PR visa now?

hi, i have a 3 year ''child of a japanese national visa'' and i was wondering if i could change it to permanent visa now. i have been here in japan over a year now but i went to the philippines for a vacation last march. am i qualified to apply for PRV now? TIA!

PR (permanent resident) is not a visa, it is a residence status that is granted to you.
It is offered by the Minister of Justice typically after 10 years of staying in Japan. This does vary however.

Just to add, more info here: http://www8.ocn.ne.jp/~risk21/permanentresidence.htm

You meet the bare minimum requirements for PR. They're going to change the rules for visa renewals in the coming months, so there's no better time than now to get PR. Go for it.

John,

I suppose you have nothing to lose by asking at your local immigration bureau, but if you have only lived in Japan for one year so far, there is a high possibility that they could laugh in your face. That was the reaction I got when I asked about permanent residence in my third year in Japan.

what are my chances guys? i can present them every paper required, i have a stable job and relatives to sponsor me. will my dad's presence make things easier?
@dave: why would they set the exemptions to the 10-year rule if they'll just laugh at us or something like that. i mean, they did set those exemptions specifically for cases same as mine, right?

John,

No one here knows with any certainty how the minds at Immigration operate, and you will even get different answers from different people at Immigration, so the quickest way to get the answer you are after is to head over to your nearest Immigration office tomorrow and ask them. I would recommend that you go in person rather than phoning. You don't need to present any papers at this stage, just take your passport and ARC. Explain your situation to the receptionist and he/she will either say "Yeah, could try applying for permanent residence. Here's the form." or "Come back in five years."

The often-quoted 10-year rule is not a hard-and-fast rule, and seems to be more of a myth these days, but you can really only expect special treatment if you are a famous sportsperson or former North Korean abductee.
Please take the time to come back here to tell us what answer you got from Immigration, as it will be of use to other people in a similar situation in the future.

i understand that luck is a big factor in the immigration. well, i have nothing to lose so ill give it a shot and hope to be back here with an answer to enlighten people with similar case. thank you and wish me luck.

any last tips that'll help me will be greatly appreciated. =)

I'm sure you won't get laughed at. You'll be treated differently than someone with a spouse visa. The reason for that is because your status as a child of a Japanese is permanent--unlike that of a spouse. That's why they laughed at Dave, because he can get divorced at any time and lose his spouse status. He has to prove his ties with Japan are going to last.

I've known a guy (child of Japanese) who got PR after 2 years. Of course, I'm not sure but I think you have a better than 50/50 chance of getting PR right now. Good luck.

I actually don't think your chances are very good after only a year going by recent trends in immigration.
BUT it will do absolutely no harm at all to try. If they say no just try again the following year. You do fit the bill to apply :)
I think 3 years is probably more likely though.

Do keep us updated with your application.