Annual Income Required for Naturalization
When foreigners apply for naturalization in Japan, they must be able to live a stable life with their assets and/or labor, that of their spouse, or other relatives who share their livelihood.
This article answers the question of how much annual income you actually need to live a stable life in Japan, and explains the livelyhood requirement and the required annual income for a naturalization application.
What is the livelihood requirement?
It is a requirement that states “the applicant must be able to live a stable life with his or her assets and labor or those of his or her spouse or other relatives who share in the cost of living in Japan".
The living requirement is stipulated in Article 5, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Nationality Law.
In the “Summary of Livelihood", which is one of the documents for the application for naturalization permit, you must indicate the income, expenses, liabilities, assets, etc. of the people who share your livelihood.
Income includes:
Salary (after tax), business income, pension, child support/child allowance, remittances from parents, alimony, etc.
Expenses refer to:
Food costs, housing costs, loan payments, education costs, utility costs, miscellaneous expenses, remittances, maintenance costs, etc.
If you have taken out a loan, you should indicate the purpose, the borrower and the intended date of repayment.
Assets include real estate, stocks, corporate bonds, deposits, and savings.
When applying for naturalization, you must also provide documents supporting the income you are reporting.
For corporate employees, it is sufficient if they can deposit a certain amount from their monthly salary.
If you change jobs, you will need a “Certificate of Qualification for Employment".
Required annual income for naturalization application
When you apply for naturalization, you must meet the subsistence minimum, which means you must be able to support your “fixed subsistence" from the assets and labor of yourself, your spouse, or other relatives who have the subsistence minimum.
Although there is no specific annual income of 〇〇 yen or more, you must have the necessary financial means to live in Japan.
In other words, you will be judged on whether you can live a stable life from now until the future.
In general, you can apply with an annual income of about 2.5 to 3 million yen. Your monthly income should be about 200,000 yen.
However, it is not only based on the applicant’s annual income, but is comprehensively determined by the income of husband and wife, etc. If you can live a stable life as a family, you meet the livelihood requirement.
So even if the applicant has no income, naturalization may be possible if the relatives living together have sufficient income to stabilize their lives.
Summary
The livelihood requirement is “being able to live a stable life on the assets and labor of the applicant or the applicant’s spouse or other relatives who have the same subsistence".
Your living expenses summary should include details such as your income, expenses, liabilities, and assets.
Although there is no specific annual income of 〇〇 yen or more, it is necessary to have the necessary financial resources to live in Japan.
It is usually possible to apply with an annual income of 2.5 to 3 million yen. Your monthly income should be about 200,000 yen.