Permanent Residence Guarantor
One of the main areas of confusion when it comes to applying for Permanent Residency (PR) is the need for a guarantor. This is a crucially important part of the application and so naturally this becomes a problem for many people.
The main thing to be careful is that a guarantor must be either a Japanese national or an individual who holds Permanent Resident status in Japan. For people married to Japanese nationals it is generally the case that their spouse becomes their guarantor. In this case there isn’t really much need to struggle. However, in the case that a person is unmarried it is common for them to ask colleagues, bosses, or even Japanese friends from their student days.
Becoming a guarantor generally covers 3 main areas:
1.Living expenses in Japan
2.The cost of returning to one’s home country
3.Assurance the applicant will follow the laws of Japan
One of the main misunderstandings about becoming a guarantor to support a Permanent Residence applicant is when it comes to financial responsibility. Unlike a guarantor for a loan or when renting an apartment becoming a guarantor for a PR applicant involves no actual financial liability. In the case of supporting a PR application the guarantor is essentially attesting to the good character of the applicant.
Because of this it can be difficult to get someone to agree to be your guarantor. If the applicant is unable to secure a guarantor for their application unfortunately this means the application will not be accepted. Therefore, it is incredibly important to clearly explain what becoming a guarantor actually entails. It is also important to communicate that we have never seen a case where the guarantor has been forced to accept financial liability.
A guarantor is also necessary for other visas including Spouse of a Japanese national (日本人配偶者）, and Long-term resident (定住者) visas. However, from a practical view these both include the same requirements as for a PR application.
