Applicant must fill in necessary application forms, make ready attached documents and submit a service counter at regional immigration office.

1. Applicant
2. The legal representative of the applicant
3. The following persons may complete the application procedure (submit the passport, residence card and application form, etc.) in lieu of the applicant.
   * A member of staff of the accepting institution, etc. or of a public interest corporation whom the director of the regional immigration bureau deems to be appropriate (in cases pursuant to a request from the applicant or the legal representative of the applicant).
   * An attorney or administrative scrivener who has given notification, via the bar association or administrative scriveners' association to which he or she belongs, to the director of the regional immigration bureau which has jurisdiction over the area where such bar association or administrative scriveners' association is located (in cases pursuant to a request from the applicant or the legal representative of the applicant).
   * A relative of the applicant, a person living together with the applicant or an equivalent person, whom the director of the regional bureau deems respectively to be appropriate (in cases where the applicant is under the age of 16 years, suffers from an illness or owing to other grounds).

• Application form 1copy
• Photo (4cm×3cm) 1copy
  If the applicant wishes to acquire a status of residence which does not come under that for a mid to long term resident (a photo is also not required for persons under the age of 16 years).
  *A photo that shows the applicant pictured alone.
  *The applicant should face squarely to the front and should remove any hats, caps or head coverings.
  *There should be a plain background with no shadows.
  *The photo must be sharp and clear.
  *The photo must have been taken within three months prior to submission.
• A copy of document is necessary for the following categories:

1. A document that proves the applicant's citizenship (if the applicant gives up Japanese citizenship);
2. A document that proves the birth of the applicant (if the applicant is born); or
3. A document that proves necessary facts (if the applicant does not fall under (a) or (b) above, but needs to acquire a status of residence)(As applicant sometimes needs to submit document material(s) other than stipulated in the Immigration Control Act Enforcement Regulation, please refer to your regional immigration office or immigration information center.)

• Passport (if the applicant is unable to present his/her passport, he should submit a statement of the reason therefor.)
• A document that proves the status (if a legal representative or agent submits the application form on behalf of the applicant)
• In principle, documents and materials which have been submitted will Not be returned to you. If you have submitted any original copies of documents and materials, which would be difficult for you to re-obtain, and would like to have them returned to you, please notify us when you file your application.

• Application for Permission to Acquire Status of Residence[PDF] [EXCEL]
  (Note 1) The immigration bureau accepts this format if you print it out on Japanese Industrial Standards A4 format.
  (Note 2) You sometimes print it out on a smaller format than A4. To avoid it, please turn off "Shrink Oversized Pages to Paper Size (K)" in the print dialogue box.