外国人暮らしのQ&A 「４月の収入が減ったがこれから行う在留期間の更新に影響するか」

Q:

I am currently an English language instructor, with the status of residence of Specialist in Humanities / International Services. I want to apply to extend my period of stay later this year. According to some information I found on the Internet, your monthly income needs to be 250,000 Yen, but my income for April was only 120,000 Yen, so I'm a little worried.

A:

Among the documents you may be asked to provide as part of an application for extension of your period of residence (zairyū kikan no kōshin / 在留期間の更新) is documentation indicating your annual income (sōshotoku / 総所得) and the status of your tax payment (nōzeijōkyō / 納税状況). Specifically, you will need to submit a Certificate of Application (or Non-application) of Resident Tax and Certificate of Tax Payment (jūminzei no kazei (mata wa hikazei) shōmeisho oyobi nōzei shōmeisho / 住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書及び納税証明書) issued by the local government of the municipality where you were registered as a resident as of 1 January.

The most recent certificate that would be issued if you were to apply to extend your period of residence in late 2020 would state your income for 2019. Thus, a reduction in your income for April (2020) will not be directly reflected in the content of the certificate.

When making your application, if you are asked about the impact of COVID-19 on your income, you will most likely need to obtain acknowledgement of the special circumstances due to COVID-19, and, for example, explain that you have experienced a reduction in classes or students, and a decrease in your income as a result.

Incidentally, Japanese law stipulates that the requisite income should be at least the equivalent of the remuneration of a Japanese worker, but does not indicate a specific amount. The amount is most likely not specified because there is no flat amount of remuneration which Japanese workers are eligible to receive; rather this varies between companies and industries.

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