Article 12Renewal of the Period of Validity of Special Permanent Resident Certificates

①A special permanent resident who has been issued with a special permanent resident certificate must, in the period starting 3 months prior to the expiry of the period of validity of the special permanent resident certificate and ending on the date of expiry of the period of validity (referred to as the "renewal period" in the following paragraph), in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Ministry of Justice Order, apply to the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, via the mayor of the municipality in which the place of residence is situated, to renew the period of validity of the special permanent resident certificate.

②A person who, due to unavoidable reasons, foresees a difficulty in making the application within the renewal period in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph may, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Ministry of Justice Order, prior to the renewal period, apply to the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, via the mayor of the municipality in which the place of residence is situated, to renew the period of validity of the special permanent resident certificate.

③The provisions of paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of the preceding Article are applied mutatis mutandis where an application is made in accordance with the provisions of the two preceding paragraphs.