Hello, this is Kou of IMS Legal Professional Corporation. The weather is already turning towards spring little by little, but it is also the time for hay fever, so I hope those of you with symptoms will take care of your health.
In today’s blog, I would like to talk a little bit about the relationship between visas (status of residence) and social insurance (pension and health insurance).
Earlier this year, I read an article that said, "Those who fail to pay social insurance premiums will not be allowed to stay in Japan.” In other words, this change in policy may be based on the expected future increase in the number of foreigners, and the fact that many of them are delinquent in paying their insurance premiums.
In Japan, employees who work for a company are covered by social insurance in principle, while those who are self-employed or freelancers are covered by the National Health Insurance and National Pension Plan. Foreigners are also eligible to join the system if they are over 20 years old and registered as a resident in Japan. Either way, it is compulsory for foreigners to join the insurance system, which often surprised people who are visiting Japan for the first time and receive a bill.
By the way, it is still unclear when the above policy will start and when it will cover all working visas, but it could have very interesting results for foreign residents. If you are an employee of a company and you are covered by social insurance, the premiums are usually deducted from your salary. Unless your company is dishonest, you will not be in arrears. However, there are many foreign nationals who do not join the social insurance system due to working for small companies or the company’s circumstances. These foreigners instead join the National Health Insurance and National Pension System on their own, and they will need to be careful in the future.
Until now, it has been evaluated as only a negative factor depending on whether or not you are fulfilling your official obligations, but from now on, it is likely to have a direct impact on your application for renewal permission, period of stay, or permanent residence.
And as some of you may know, if you are in arrears with your insurance premiums for a long time, you will receive a reminder letter. If you still do not pay, your bank account will be seized, and the premiums will be deducted from your account. This is a privilege of the Japanese government. I heard from a Japanese person who used to work at a bank that if there was a person who was in arrears for a long time, the ward office would send a letter of inquiry to the bank in question to see if the person in arrears had an account.
In fact, my sister-in-law had some health insurance premiums that she did not pay when she was an international student. When she failed to pay them, she received a notice from the ward office that they had seized her Japan Post Bank account. It's a scary thing. Of course, it is the fault of the person who has been delinquent for a long period of time, but I also wonder how it is to be forced to join the system regardless of whether or not you want to join. However, there must be times when you rush to the hospital and only have to pay 30% of the cost, and you are glad that you took out insurance after all. ^_^
Recently, the payment status of such insurance premiums is becoming a subject of examination when applying for permanent residence. If you have social insurance, you may not have to worry too much, but if you have a history of delinquent payments of National Health Insurance premiums or are not a member of the National Pension Plan, you should be careful. Many people have told me that they were asked to submit documents showing their payment status by the Immigration Bureau during the screening process for permanent residence. Since there are so many applicants for permanent residence nowadays, it is easy to be rejected if there is even the slightest flaw in your status of residence.
As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," and I think it is best to obey the laws of the country in which you live and fulfill your obligations. As the number of foreigners increases, it is only natural that regulations will become stricter, and it is also essential to protect the interests of your own citizens.
