Hello. Recently, I applied for Permanent Residence status. I have lived off-and-on in Japan since 1998. I wasn't able to apply earlier because 1. I never had a visa longer than 1 year, 2. I hadn't lived in Japan 10 years CONSECUTIVELY, and 3. I didn't have any of the other qualifications, like being married to a Japanese or having special skills, etc.
Anyway, I've lived in Japan about 17 years in total, and finally reached the 10 consecutive years requirement and have a visa that's longer than a year. My question is IF Immigration rejects my application, are my chances basically shot for ever getting PR? I'm getting older, and I don't want to be living year-to-year, never knowing if I'll ever be accepted as a permanent resident.
I know people who have applied more than once. I believe that in many cases immigration officials will tell you why you are being rejected (I don't mean to suggest that this is at all likely) and what you need to do to have your application accepted (the next time). Still, it helps to be over-qualified. I did it back many years ago when there weren't as many means of getting permanent residency. I waited until I was certain that I'd get it before applying. Still, I had the mandatory (at the time) 1-year waiting period before getting it granted. I believe now the wait period is 6-months or even shorter.