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2026-09-18

From April 2027, unpaid taxes can cost you permanent residency

2027年4月から、税金の未納で永住許可が取り消されうる

April 1, 2027. From that date, permanent residency in Japan can be revoked for not paying your taxes or social insurance on purpose.

947,125 people held permanent residency at the end of 2025. The rule applies to all of them.

The word doing the work is "on purpose." The Immigration Services Agency has published a draft guideline on how it will read that word.

The cases it describes as grounds for revocation: still not paying after repeated reminders and collection procedures. Receiving reminders and never contacting anyone about them. Agreeing to a payment plan and breaking it again and again.

The cases it says are not: falling behind because of illness, a disaster or losing your job. Being on an installment plan or an approved deferral. Your employer deducting it from your salary and never paying it in.

Two more details from the same draft. There is no fixed amount that triggers it. And arrears from before April 2027 can still count if they come to light afterwards, although what you have paid since then is part of the judgment.

In the draft's examples, what separates the two lists is whether the person responded when they were contacted.

Revocation does not automatically mean leaving Japan. The agency's Q&A says that in most cases the person is moved to long term resident status instead. The permanent residency itself is gone, though.

If you are behind on something, the time to call the office that sent the reminder and ask about an installment plan is before April 2027.

The guideline is still a draft. The final version has not been published yet.

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