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The original was posted on /r/japanlife by /u/Fenrir1993GER on 2023-09-17 03:22:50.

Hello everybody, I changed jobs in August, and this time I realized that I have finally enough points for the HSP visa thanks to the salary increase. Since this opens the opportunity for fast PR, I am now preparing/considering to apply, but I have some questions regarding the point system and would be grateful for advice/opinions!

  1. Right now I am coming in 80 points calculating as below.

MA +20, 3 years working experience +5, 500mil./year +15, 29yrs old +15,N1 +15, Top 300 University +10 = 80

BUT for PR application I realized that I need to have 80 points in a year as well, and the problem is that I turn 30 this December, which would result in a -5 points penalty, I assume. Therefore my first question is, is there any way to get some additional points realistically? Would they really decline the application just because of the age?

I am not a researcher, and not in a company that is somehow supported by the government for some reason like special field of research, so my only thought was to increase my income to 600mil./year, but that seems impossible since I just joined the new company.

  1. If 80 points above won’t work, I thought about going for 70 points in 3 years. So I started working in Japan after graduating in April 2020. MA Graduation was actually October 2020, therefore most points really just start adding up from April 2021 with the first pay increase (To avoid confusion: I was working as a BA graduate (新卒) at first and graduating my MA remotely while working already). So thinking about applying like April 2021 - April 2024.

But I am curious: How much in detail do you have to prove your income for HSP/PR? The problem is since I changed companies once before already last year, I didn’t get a fully paid bonus once and my next one in April will be lower than usual as well because of my recent job change. Do you have to hand in every single pay slip from every month? Or is it enough to hand in the contract (労働条件通知書) and explain that there is a bonus included as well, which will add up for to the 400/500 mil. per year, without mentioning the cuts from job changes?

Points would be MA+20, 400mil./year +10, below 30yrs old +15, N1 +15, Top 300 University +10 = 70

Also just to be sure, do they include commuting allowance, overhours etc. in the income (年収) or only base?

  1. Am I understanding it correctly, that you don’t need the HSP visa, but only need to prove the points in order to apply for the fast PR? Because in that case I am thinking about saving myself some trouble for several applications and just apply for the PR directly as soon as I am eligible. Right now I have a 5 years working visa until February 2025 (International Services/Humanities/etc.).

Sorry for the rather long text, but any kind of advice/answer would be appreciated. Cheers!