new residency status "Future Creation Talent Scheme (J-Find)” has been introducedIn April 2023, the Japanese government introduced two new residency statuses in an effort to bring highly skilled personnels to the country. One of them is the "Future Creation Talent Scheme (J-Find)”. Previously, in order for foreigners to enter Japan for mid-to-long-term stays whether to work, they needed to already fulfill a residency status criterion prior to applying for a visa. For example, a person already holds a job offer in their hands or has incorporated a company in Japan being in a position to have kicked off an entrepreneurship. If a foreigner wishes to engage in a job hunting after arriving in Japan or establish a company as a preparation for an entrepreneurship, they had to enter Japan on a temporary visitor’s visa and then return to their home country to apply for a work visa, which is a waste of time and money. With the newly established "J-Find" scheme, individuals can obtain a mid-to-long-term residency status for a maximum of two years specifically for the purposes of job hunting or preparing for entrepreneurship. Furthermore, they are allowed to work for their livelihood while engaging in these activities, and they can even bring their spouse and/or children with them. This is considered a groundbreaking residency status. There are only three requirements that need to be met:There are only three requirement to be eligible for this residency status. - Graduated from a university listed as one of the top 100 schools in two of the following three world university rankings. (1) QS World University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (2) THE World University Rankings by Times Higher Education (3) Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy - The graduation or completion mentioned above must have occurred within five years from the time of application. - The applicant must have a deposit of 200,000 yen as living expenses. However, considering that only two universities, namely the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, are eligible universities within Japan, it is evident that the requirement of is quite challenging. Nonetheless, opening up the opportunities for highly skilled foreign personnel is a significant move for Japan, and it is hoped that it will bring new vitality to the Japanese economy. Despite the high hurdle, there is anticipation that this will contribute to the growth and development of Japan. By attracting internationally outstanding individuals and fostering the exchange of technology and knowledge, it is expected to enhance Japan's competitiveness and spur innovation. We look forward to this new residency status system making a positive impact on Japan's progress. How to apply for the Certificate of Eligibility?Usually, a foreigner wishing to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility has to have a sponsor in Japan who submit the application of behalf of the applicant. With J-Find scheme, there is no sponsor meaning there is no way of obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility, therehore, the application for a VISA should be made directly at the embassy of Japan in their residential area. It is strongly advised to contact the embassy prior to making an application as staff at the embassy may not be used to VISA application without Certificate of Eligibility for mid-to-long term residency status.
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If a householder financially support his/her family member over 16 years old earning less than 480,000 yen, that can be declared as a “dependent family*” and qualified for dependency exemption.” When the “dependency exemption” is applied, the householder is eligible for tax reduction. Typically, dependent family members are full time college students on thier parents' residence registration but it is possible to include a family member living away from the householder as being financially supported. Furthermore, family members residing outside of Japan are also eligible as a dependent. For example, cases where a child has entered an overseas university.
The dependency exemption scheme is not limited to Japanese nationals, and most foreign nationals living in Japan are also eligible. It is worth noting that the dependent does not have to be the householder’s child and there is no upper limit of age of the dependents. So, if you are a foreign national working in Japan and sending money to cover your parents' living expenses in home country, you can apply for the dependency exemption. The purpose of the exemption is to financially relieve through tax reduction for someone who have to support other family members who are not capable of earning living cost in the same household. It can, however, be easily misunderstood that this is simply a way to pay less tax even when there is no family member who need financial support. While there are issues with the application system itself, cases of misuse such as declaring parents to be dependents despite their having a good income, or claiming to be financially supporting while sending insufficient amount of money for covering living expenses, are occasionally found. As a measure to prevent such misuse, clearer requirements for qualifying as a dependent family member residing abroad have been established as of January 2023. Specifically, in order to declare someone aged between 30 and 69 as a dependent relative, the householder must show an evidence of 380,000 yen or more money transfer each year to indivisual dependent family member. An exception is applied to those who have deregistered their residence registration prior to leaving to study abroad or those who have a disability. In these cases, there is no such minimum amount of money transfer in a year is required (instead, relevant documents need to be submitted). If a declaration of dependent relatives has been made but the remittance records are not submitted by the end of year, the amount of municipal, income, and other taxes may be recalculated and adjustment is made to the amounts before the dependency exemption was applied and the difference could be added as an overdue tax. Overdue tax incapacitates renewwing visa for some type of residency status such as Tokutei Ginou (特定技能 とくていぎのう). Also, it gives a negative impact for Permanent Residency (永住 えいじゅう)application and Naturalisation applications. Hence a careful provision is need before applying for the dependent exemption scheme by declaring dependent family residing outside Japan. |
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